[bleak]

[Intro]

57 Battles. 38 Unique Battlers participating. 11 No-Shows. Allen Knight hits 100 wins. Zelph defeats Resin M-I-C in the inaugural champ match. Jabari Black dethrones Zelph and defends his title against Blue Bayou. Infiltrate and Flow reach 50 wins. Ryno vs DynamiCz, 22 lines. Dominate vs Aero, 20 lines. Blue Bayou vs BodySnatcher, 20 lines. Resin M-I-C vs Jabari Black, 16 lines. Sinacog vs anyone, 16 lines. Veritas, Incredible, and Objective develop the ability to throw compelling punches.

This has been one hell of a six week stretch for text and it’s about to get one hell of a send off in a PPV. Here's our send-off mag.



[Semi Finals Analysis and Review]


1. Jabari Black vs 4. BodySnatcher

The last stick clique matchup of the season and these guys did not disappoint. This featured exactly what you might’ve expected from both with some subtle surprises from both. The two came correct, but, in my opinion, stepped up their game for the battle.

BodySnatcher has caught some flak from, well, me, for erring on the side of not being personal enough, and he included a nameflip to open and close but otherwise, had his usual quality generics. The thing that stood out to me was how he played with his delivery. His verse read fresh as hell the whole way through and really let the creative concepts shine. The only bar I felt fell flat was the Butterface line, and even then, it wasn’t bad. Overall, a quality verse with some crazy standouts, my highlights being the crosswalk and Washington Wizards.

Jabari, the defending champ, also brought his usual style that could fit the page or the stage. Madly creative flips and the personal angles that hold it together nicely. That 12 talk line was so direct it made the bars around it look more personal. I noticed Jabari, in his longest verse of the season, was a little more concise than normal (249 words here, verses 222 in 16 lines vs Zelph week 5). The opener, closer, and stick figure are great examples. Next to BodySnatcher’s symmetrical setups/punches, it gave the verse a different feel. Less Bill Collector and more ‘TALK TO HIM’ that gave the whole verse some more shape.

Voters generally found Jabari to have the better drop. For me, the personals did it - there’s something so effective with a diss aimed right at your opponent that will give you an edge 9 times out of 10. Great showing to both though, and now BodySnatcher has to get his shit in line for Resin in his BA title defense.

bleak
This battle was really more of a battle within. Body had not dropped his best verses in the last half of the season. It showed in his reliance on a tiebreaker to make it into a playoffs that we all would have predicted him to be a shoe in for, at the beginning of the season. He righted the ship in a way for this battle but it wasn't enough.

On the other side, JB was on a hot streak, tallying wins against some of the best 2019 has to offer. The interesting thing to me was, could he keep his momentum up going into playoffs. The answer was emphatically YES, he dropped probably his best verse of the season and chiseled out his name at the end of the bracket.

Body may have gotten a bit boring here, depending too much on sports bars to try and take it while JB had some fresh personals. That argue with these mods shit was different and worked perfectly. I'm a fan of switching up what is the comfortable norm, especially when there is shit on the line. Props to both.



2. Resin M-I-C vs 3. Blue Bayou

No exaggeration, this was the hardest vote I made all season. By the 10th or so read, I truly felt that Resin’s punches just had a little more hit to them, but man, it wasn’t by much.

Resin really built up to some heat here. It’s pretty rare to see a huge break in a verse, but in a 24 line battle it gave his verse a different kind of structure. Most voters felt lukewarm about his opening 8 but found some big hits after the break. His flips, especially the gunbars, felt effortless, and the bits about Blue’s wife were pretty mean. All in all, the opening 8 hut Resin, but once you got past that, it was quality. Felt like he was really warming up to it.

Blue had his hardest gunbars yet in this one. I have to think he felt like he had something to prove after going 1-1 against the stick clique with minimal love for his gunbars. The Labor strike line was his hardest gunbar of the season until the retinal scan one later in the verse. I’d say this was peak Blue Bayou on NC in 2019 - the wordplay was solid, but not stretched, very little was seen as corny (which is rare from Blue, but a gunbar gone bad is painful to read) and the angles/concepts were spread out so he was striking at his opponent in a variety of ways.

Barring the champ match, this was my battle of the season. Across 24 lines a piece, you didn’t feel bored. The variety of angles from both made everything feel fresh, and while this may make me seem like a text dinosaur, I have to think that couldn’t happen if you only went the generic gunbar route. Resin and Blue threw everything imaginable and then some at each other and they put on one hell of a battle that could have closed this season on a high note. If you missed it, go back and read it now - and that should say a hell of a lot since I haven’t said that about a battle, if at all, in years.

bleak
What a great battle, very little to separate the 2 verses. This definitely came down to bangers vs consistency, even though Blue had highlights. The first half of Resin's shit was alrriiigggghhhhttt but damn after the break it really got good. I don't think anything missed after that.

Blue had nothing but hits imo, I don't think anything truly missed and he did it with a style that some may say is not his strong suit.

There was no way I could pick a winner here even if I had read it before now. Shame to see Blue hold the L but that's not to say Resin didn't earn every vote he got.



[Season Top Punches]
Sharp

Jabari Black

vs Zelph
He started the 1-2 league and then left. Then I ran the shit when he needed the help/
So when I grab these twin glocks...it ain’t the first time I picked up the pieces for Zelph/

vs BodySnatcher
U let Zelph say that racist shit. You shoulda knocked his fucking head off/
I know you a gunbar rapper...but that’s the wrong way to let the 12 talk/


Resin M-I-C

vs Zunto
Get popped and shamed, ya whole block of lames are gettin rocked & maimed..
shotgun to the chest.. see ya ticker sweep across the room like we were at the stock exchange.

Vs Blue Bayou
u gettin served now, the tre beamin.. it’ll be horror, the place screamin..
the flow, u stay bleedin.. i’ll grab the fifth and wave at ur face: you daydreaming.


Blue Bayou

vs BodySnatcher
pussy ur too broke to fire pistols. kill the noise about this piece ya point
how you got Fire-Power?!! you ain’t even the Manager at a fuckin pizza joint

vs Resin M-I-C
so this pussy wants a fight?! then things fin to get graveee tonight
no Vital Signs - i’ll ’put a Stick to this Square tryna Pickett’ like a Labor Strike


BodySnatcher

vs Jabari Black
I’m the best stupid...nigga u know this boss talk sinful,
If u run the streets...I’ll ‘light ur body up from head to toe’ like a crosswalk symbol

vs Blue Bayou
Fuck prewrittens from a fossil. I'm strap w/a later made model,
So this lever action rifle can a leave a 'bolt thru a G' like a Gatorade bottle

Dominate vs Aero
Rollin on em & the 4s are prepped. Body shots – he gettin torn to shreds
No questionnaire getting finished… motherfucker I’ll fill ya form w/ lead

Ryno vs DynamiCz
Shit is insane...No games, surround em w/ lasers & follow it up w/ 5 claps
This ain’t Galaga, once ur beamed up there’s no chance of u gettin ur life back

DynamiCz vs Flow
I dont know what they told ya, but if you the Canine in the circle imma fold ya
Since Flow got it backwards, i put this Wolf in front of a round like the logo for Minnesota

Zunto vs BodySnatcher
I’m at ur house w the goons, anyone comin’ outside will get got - I swear it
& if u pussies wnt come out ill have animals circling over the crib like a baby carriage

Infiltrate vs Veritas
I bet dress shopping w/ your fat wife's hard when she's big as a bitch
In the Tensile Strength to crush steel couldn't squeeze her ass to fit in that shit

Allen Knight vs BodySnatcher
get off'd w/ the uzi faggot cuz shells abusin u is vital
i ain't throwin Caltrops but this metal is stoppin u from cruisin to the title

[Champ Match Analysis and Preview]


1. Jabari Black vs 2. Resin M-I-C

Week 1’s highlight just became the season’s highlight. These two had the most talked about battle to kick off the season and they’ll end it one week from tonight. Verses will go up as part of the BA PPV on Wednesday, 3/20.

Looking back at the week 1 matchup, I see a significant change to Jabari Black’s verses and a noticeable change to Resin’s. Considering how many nameflips that battle saw vs how many the two used last week (4 nameflips in 32 combine lines vs 2 nameflips in 44 combined lines), it’s surprising I’m saying they’re both getting more personal with opponents. Both have stepped up their wordplay a bit. I think Jabari’s more personal gunbars could have given him an edge in week 1, but Semi-Finals Resin reads like a crazed beast compared to week 1’s Resin. I think the winner here will be decided by head-turning personals, because the voters seem equally receptive to both of their styles. They get gritty with their bars and know when to go gunbar, beatdown, get the knife, or get personal, but the quality of a hand-crafted haymaker can’t be denied. However it goes, it’s been a dope ride and these two have proved themselves to be the best candidates to come out at the top of it all. Good luck to both.


Jabari Black
Don’t just put him in a stick clique box. He’s had the hottest personals of the postseason and he’s not slowing down.

Strengths:
Personals
Wording
Swagger/Style

Resin M-I-C
Perennial champ and the one person to beat Jabari at all this season. Time has passed since then, but Resin’s only gotten hungier.

Strengths:
Wording
Concepts
Style

[What Next?]

The BA PPV will have battles going up starting Tuesday, 3/19. Read about them here:

http://www.netcees.org/showthread.php?t=139790

The next season of NC’s 1-2 League will begin Monday, 3/18. Hosted by Flow, featuring some new takes on the format. Signups found here:

http://www.netcees.org/showthread.php?p=730490#

RB’s LLL is still up and running with Blue Bayou and Clout at the helm. You already know this since most of you reading are already in it. Found here:

http://rapbattles.com/forum/forumdis...yricist-League


[Interview with bleak]



Alright, in a final twist, I'm here with SOL co-mod and PPV participant, bleak. Sup man?

Yo watup great to be here at the end of the road.

Agreed. We made it lol. Now that the Finals are up and your responsibilities end with this mag, I have to say - thank you for the work you've put into it. How do you feel about this season?

Overall very successful, we were never late with anything. Battles were closed properly and you helped me make some key decisions, while also trusting my judgment with others. There were some crybaby faggots but there's always those.

I have to point out, you got shafted with the delegation of work. This league really only started with you making a thread and agreeing to do a bunch of work to meet my specific terms. It's way late, but better than never: How do you feel about the short season model/PPV wrap up?

I don't think it was too bad a trade, at least at first. Later, some people made it difficult to operate as the day to day guy but it didn't stop anything from reaching the heights it has. People showed very consistently, made it easier to mod for sure. You also wrote thicc fucking mags that I only contributed my small part to. This league wouldn't have had its momentum without those mags.

You still had a rigid schedule and plenty to write for. I get carried away with the analysis but you still had plenty to keep up with haha.

Not like I was writing solid verses anyways

Is there anything you would have done differently this season - either as a day to day mod or with the greater structure of the league?

Everything with the logistics worked perfectly, only thing is maybe stricter voting rules and rules in general. We trusted the competitors to follow the unspoken NC rules, and obviously some of them took that leniency and ran with it. Luckily we nipped it in the bud lol and the only butthurt competitors are Flow, who is a primadonna bitch made wannabe Philly-born mongol, and Zelph, who is much of the same only a little more successful. Good riddance, glad you signed out.

You think 6 weeks was too short or the right length? Full disclosure, I couldn't commit to any more with my schedule so that helped shape it.

On top of that, we had a final 4 situation instead of 8 man tourney - not common for leagues at all - and it was yet another source of drama. How do you feel about the postseason?

When it came to playoffs, maybe too short. I would have liked to see a 6 man, 3 week playoff after seeing the rankings system. Not that I wanted to stretch this out any further, I'm glad I don't have mag responsibilities anymore.

I also liked the 1-2 play in match idea to solve it, something different

How do you feel about this RB/NC coordination? Between more RB heads battling here, and being told 'if you want a reg league, hit up the LLL,' it's a different paradigm.

I've honestly done very little boarding at RB and never understood the rivalry outside of being two separate sites. It's good to see someone be the bridge and take the effort to present an option for everybody. Who knows, maybe I'll pop in and do my first RB battle

Who did you enjoy reading? What were some of your top battles this season?

Honestly I got very bored of text about halfway thru this season. Everything reads the same. That being said, reading your verses as Cynic was an interesting thing for me. Knowing you would win 100% of the time on your main account and yet losing 5-0 with a clearly superior verse, that really affected my perception here. Veritas was also fun to read week to week, and Body was an interesting one.

Dominate vs Aero was my favorite battle but I haven't really read Blue v Resin which apparently was very good. Should probably read that before reviews huh?

Worth the read. I'm still mulling over a winner tbh. Do you think that your new perspective on text has already/will continue to influence your battles? You've been getting some attention for trying to be less formulaic in a league where 'xxxxx like xxx' can be 90% of punches in a battle - can we look forward to the bleak the battler getting creative in execution?

I'm afraid you may see very little of bleak the battler in general. Maybe in 1-2 but my battle with Flow may be the last battle for a long stint.

What do you think should be next for text?

Flow running 1-2 is fine but idc tbh. Shit is in good hands from this point on, I hope. DynamiCz just needs a push toward the edge and he will join us as mods too.


What about after the 1-2? If RB/NC can trade off leagues, we'd have room for tourneys on one site/leagues on another without it getting too stale. Any particular kind of gimmick you'd wanna see see?

I think the most important thing, if you are trying to keep this shit alive is to accept new people and make them better thru ur feedback instead of talking down to them. Can't just assume everyone is an alias even if most of them are. Look at Lenox. Aspiring text head and quits because most of his feedback is roasting.

Saw he signed into 1-2 tho good shit


On to the PPV - how do you feel about Flow, the assumed future 1-2 mod, as a battler here? How do you think you'll do?

I'm sure he will do fine but it doesn't make him any less of a crybaby. He knows what he did to get DQd and only he disagrees with it. We all know how much of a faggot he is. Honestly I'd battle him and Zelph together but Z is a ducking faggot like Barc says tbc.

To be clear, Zelph said he'd battle under ridiculous conditions... I read his message back to me and, for the first time in years, had to say 'damn, it's just text dude.' Any bold predictions for the PPV now that the card is up?

He lives for this shit it's sad, must get boring being a security guard. I remember when I was 17 and cared that much. He thinks he's the savior of text tho so godspeed

Parting thoughts?


yeet


[SOL Parting Thoughts]


Personally, I think this, coupled with the PPV, highlighted my idea for sustainable text. Anyone, running anything, feel free to adapt any. Or don’t. This just works for me. The key concepts were:

-Consistent, predictable schedule. Battles always up Monday, mag every Tuesday, always due Friday. You did your part in the writing and voting so we did ours.

-Short season end. I consider tourneys to be a cancer in text right now. I’ve watched so many start and burn out over the last few years that I don’t believe anything more than an 8 man tourney would work. I felt 4 was better because I really don’t have the time, and it was worth testing the supply/demand extreme. I think it was a fitting end to a six week league, but it did cut out people. Honestly, I think it’s an acceptable trade for not losing interest and running out of steam.

-PPV to supplement. Short season means some guys get screwed with a tough schedule, some join too late to get their chance to shine, some anticipated battles just can’t happen due to schedule. The PPV covers that while making the BA titles relevant. It also gives you a sense of who is active to pull from when selecting challengers.

-And most of all: Dope fucking writers. This wouldn’t be worth reading without you. This would be worth running, modding, or even starting without you. This community is talented as fuck and hasn’t had the consistent modding it deserves, and frankly, needs, to thrive. This 6 week experiment, to me, proves that there’s an immense pool of talent here that just needs the right facilitators and I am so disconnected from text in general that I’m sure it’s not me. Keep writing, NCGs. Peace.

yeet