[Certain]

PancakeBrah: I almost feel like I should avoid voting in your battles because of how much I like and relate to your style. In my time away from rhyming, I half-finished a few short stories and wrote a few essays, and the voice and tone was a lot like your style. I may go back to that voice and tone for a verse or 10 here just because you've proven to me that it does in fact work in rap form. OK, enough dick-sucking. How is "Sumer" pronounced? Is it like "Summer" or like "sumo" with an "er" instead of an "o"? This story was all in the telling. You captured minutiae with precision and the exact state of mind required to properly display your narrator's condition. He was one part Gregory House, one part Hannibal Lector. The testimony from the stand was really great, about as natural as a monologue can get while maintaing a moderately complex rhyme. The rhymes throughout were very strong, which was impressive. And I really liked the tie-in to the topic. This man didn't care about anything except experiencing new things. That's why he killed poor Isabelle Sumer (however it's pronounced), and that's why he refused a plea bargain. So yes, there's the issue that not a whole lot happened in your story. And murder suspects don't really allow themselves to get cross-examined, though I could see this guy convincing his defense attorney that it would be a good idea. Look, the truth is I think this might have topped "GRIZZLY BEARS" as the my favorite verse I've read on this site. It's really nice to see you put it on for this league after weeks of shorter, unfinished products.

Objective: Like PancakeBrah, you hadn't fully impressed me based strictly on your league verses, but your potential was obvious. Unlike PancakeBrah, I hadn't read any open mics or earlier verses from you to give me an inkling of how talented you are until I saw Split Eight rank you fourth in his open mic top 20. Well, I get it now. You told a really great parable-style story here, the type that I think would have translated really well to audio. Your language and use of details don't quite match PancakeBrah's flair for the minutiae but probably is better suited for moving on a traditional story. And I loved the way you took time to get me emotionally invested in multiple characters. That's really important, and you did it well. My biggest criticism comes from the mechanics. Your rhyming felt secondary to the point where lyricism simply wasn't a factor. That's the type of thing that will hurt you when you're going against some of the more polished rhymers who also tell stories well in this league, like PancakeBrah and Pinot Grij. The good news is you can tell a story as well as any of them. The way the details clicked together in your piece was impressive, even if the final sacrifice of taking credit for a crime our narrator could prove he didn't commit seemed a bit stretched. Again, the emotional connection made really paid off by not making me hate that aspect. I liked the take on the topic, in which you criticized the justice system as a whole through this tale. To be honest, this is probably my third-favorite verse of the week. It just happens that you fall behind your opponent (and dead_man, if you're wondering).

Vote: PancakeBrah