One of battle rap’s biggest grudge matches is in the books, and, all said, it was fairly tame. No punches thrown, no pockets tapped, no real extra-ness. Just two veteran battlers facing off with well-prepared material and energetic performances.
The headline match between Hitman Holla and Shotgun Suge at U Dubb’s “High Stakes 2” went down January 22 after a years-long leadup and capped a long day of battles for the live crowd and a frustrating experience for anyone attempting to watch the unreliable live pay-per-view. Thankfully, the stream issues had mostly been resolved by the time the main event happened.
The general consensus immediately after the battle was that either Hitman clearly won, Suge clearly won, or that the battle was debatable … Yes, that’s what it’s like in the world of unjudged rap battles.
Those giving it to Suge are mostly pointing to his punch-heavy approach and his ability to connect with the crowd. He was aggressive but didn’t rely solely on his physicality, instead bringing a wealth of material and delivering it fluidly.
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Hitman’s supporters are saying the crowd slept on his superior content and that his approach was more dynamic and more complex than Suge’s.
Here are some tweets from people who were in the building or watching at home.
Here are some video recaps from battle rap’s most popular bloggers too.