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Old 07-17-2014, 03:11 AM   #1
Certain
Mad fucking dangerous.
 
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Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 12,072
Battle Record: 40-19


Champed
- AOWL Season 3
- Art of Writing League (2x)

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Default AOWL SEASON 3 MAGAZINE — EDITION 19


Season 3, Edition 19 // Playoffs, Round 3


We the Four Best
INTRODUCTION by big baby
Yes, I'm passing off the introduction for the first time all season because big baby's predictions deserve this spot.





Lol @ the ranks. 9 SEED CERTAIN VS 5 SEED KING RA, YEAH THIS IS REAL GOOD LMAO! Let's be real, certain has the cadence of a retired MMA fighter like BJ Penn for example, jab sucks, ground game sucks, was a legend, but is shit now, VERSUS a guy like KING RA, who has the fucking consistency of a rapist in a community full of victims in wheelchairs. I dont know what that meant, but seriously, this battle is hilarious. This week is needed. We need loser writers to actually taste victory for once. This is what this league is. Remember when YDK entered the league and he was like, "oh, I'm doing so good 3-0 yeah baby gonna win and champ this" then literally just nosedived into oblivion, lost about 9 matches straight, bitched to certain about how many battles he lost, "I DIDNT LOSE 5 I LOSE 19" Like, we get it, you suck dude. THIS IS TURNING INTO A DUO PREDICTION INTO ONE PARAGRAPH, LISTEN HERE GUYS, READ ALL THIS. Timeless the fucking goomba from new jersey, with the prowess of writing that a butt hungry drunk adonis possesses. This is like the 4 amigos. Basically, this whole semi finals is basically if the flash, superman, batman, aquaman, wonderwoman, the martian manhunter, fucking the hulk, galactus all suddenly died, and all thats left is fucking like, that guy with the face from Watchmen, and a 3 regular suburban firefighters. Certain is Rorschach. Everybody else is a firefighter. "The route of all evil" the topic for Cert and Ra battle is intriguing, honestly. I have a feeling Certain is going into descent into evil. Where of course, I led him. I can feel his aura getting darker. Like Sasuke or Vegeta in DBZ. I am, obviously the creator oF THAT EVIL. I will lead certain into this evil path. King Ra is basically Goku, but with no muscles, and he can't powerup either. I've never seen King Ra ever be super good. I've never seen him like IM GOING TO OBLITERATE YOU, and then obliterate them. That's the funny thing. NONE of these guys possess that upper echelon of greatness. King Ra basically is just at the whim if his opponent is feeling good or not. Basically if his opponent has about 5 or more stressful tasks throughout the week, most likely king ra wins. If they have 4 or less, he loses. YDK vs Timeless in "less than hero" is fitting cause both these guys are less than zero. They're in the negatives. Shit, they're so far in, that I talked to the owner of the negative central of the numerical alphabet and he says they're currently docked at negative 5,000 and that the stock for fuckign NEGATIVE 5000 is actually going down because they OCCUPIED that place with their LOW LEVEL TIERNESS. But that's alright. Both of these guys are capable of harming a masturbating octopus if they focus enough of their combined chakra. I've never in my fucka life would have thought this would be the face of the semis. Certain seems dark and antsy. I feel his coworkers may have fucked the secretary at his office or something that he has a huge crush on and that he wrote many of his netcees raps too. I dont like clowning certain, but me and dull boy once had a conversation where we would teach him the secret handshake, cause we were like 'look certain writing rhymes, its like he understands whats going on, but hhes missing about 300 steps to actually master the dance, i kinda want to teach him a retarded handshake so that he feels more determined/motivated to reach our godly level." but then the aowl happened and the fire nation attacked. YDK squeaked past a lazy adonis, and timeless wrote a novel to compete with 4 lines to traverse in this semi final terrain. It could be amazing. It could prove to be costly. THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE, 4 CONTESTANTS, ONE TROPHY, ONE ACCOMP, NO LIFE, NETCEES. STAY TUNED. TEXT 40005 WITH THE HASHTAG #LOWLEVELTIERS TO WIN YOUR PRIZE OF ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, LIKE THIS TOURNEYS ACCOMP SYSTEM. Nah, but if you win. I'll legit buy someone something. I just can't figure out what. Legit. Gonna buy you shit. Srs. Gonna buy the winner of this tourney something. YOU HEARD IT FIRST HERE, AT THE *EXPLOSION* AOWL MAG. Over and out. Oh yeah. Prediction statistics numbers

certain wins 100-95.

I know that certain has 100, but whatever.

Timeless wins 75-25

why? YDK sucks, lol "hooks" are you kidding me bitch this isnt a toni braxton song lmao wtf srs this dude put a hook in his last verse. negged.



THE INTERVIEW by big baby, with Certain
The moderator and frequent interviewer switches seats to be interviewed by an infant.





Hello certain, now that you've squeezed your way past the fucking tournament and weaseled yourself out of another win, how do you feel about this upcoming battle? Please refrain from praising your opponent(s) in any way throughout this interview or I swear to god I will ghost write for them and obliterate you faggot.

I must win. I will win. It's my destiny. You said so.


You seem to be on the verge of mental breakdown. Explain to us, what is going on in your personal life.

I actually am doing pretty well right now. Work is finally slowing down a little, as is the league. So I'll have some free time. I'm pretty good with things. I could use a raise, but who couldn't? Thanks for asking.


Excellent. Now that you're in the semis of your own tournament, would you put an asterisk next to the accomp section since everyone who's good didn't participate at all? Let's be honest, do you really think you would win against Zygote/Zombie, or even your boyfriend, Johnathan Mercy (please refrain from agreeing with me that he's your boyfriend, be a little angry about it, we know you're gonna be like "I LOVE JM OMG <3" we know you like him, we know. You're a fag. Explains your avatar)

There's no way I could beat those guys. Except that I beat oats. And oats beat zygote twice. Also I've beaten everyone. There will be no asterisk. I will be victorious. Zombie's like a bad version of you.


Thanks for the honesty. So if you're doing the stylistic breakdown, since oats beat zygote twice, and pancake beat oats, and you love pancake, and zombie beat zygote and i beat zombie, does that mean YDK can beat any of these guys? Be honest. YDK at his best, vs anybody at his best. YDK couldn't even get what bicardi was. I have like 10 HOF posts back to back and nobody reps me. Some lame ass nigga says 'lol wtf' and he gets repped. Wtf is up WITH THAT? Answer all questions.

YDK has written a couple very good verses but usually falls more squarely into the third or fourth tier of writers here. He probably couldn't beat any of the guys you named if they were at their best, but he could beat them if he was at his best and they weren't. And I rep you all the time.


You have little to no grasp on actual humor. Did your ex girlfriend ever make fun of you this?

Yes.


Sorry to hear that. Do you plan on getting married. Do you have any crushes at the moment, would you date dyedinthewool if she stopped wearing jordans like a chonga 15 year old hispanic chick from the bronx who listens to dipset and wears a bandana?

I wouldn't mind getting married someday. I do have a crush at the moment, but you don't know her. dyedinthewool probably chews gum and bobs her head when she speaks.


Who do you think, out of the 4 non powerhouses left, has the most talent of a writer as a whole? Do you find it funny none of them champed this league?

Me. Yes, it's hilarious.


I don't like your fucking tone. Speak to me like that and you'll get ethered via regular battle. How do you think I look like? Go into detail of my features. Primarily my face.

I think you look like a very well-manicured cholo. You probably have a pointy but not overly large nose and flat eyebrows that you get waxed. You're also a baby, so you probably drool.


Certain. You were certain serpent when you first came.

That question can go both ways.

Like vivid.

But seriously, when you first came here, you were certain serpent, is this because you're a snake ass dude?


Yes. Actually I registered here at about 3 a.m. one day and was exhausted and liked the name Certain but decided to tack on the Serpent. But also I am a snake animagus.


I don't buy anything you're saying. But to continue. Top three contestants overall this tourney vs the top three of the other AOWL tournies, who wins? Give your favorites amongst the other tournies as well. Quick breakdown.

Season 1 was dominated by Frank and zygote but then won by dead man. Season 2 wasn't really dominated by anyone, but I'd say Frank and I were the best regular-season competitors, but then El Pancake won. Now in Season 3, zygote, oats and Zombie clearly were the best regular-season competitors. I thought Lars very much deserved the title in The Winter Topical. Mike Wrecka, El Pancake and I all did very well in the Writing Challenge League.


Besides yourself, who do you see winning this tournament?

King Ra. probably has the most upside of the other three, but I am going with YDK as the No. 2 pick because he's more consistent. Thanks for the chat.



Round 2 Rewind
BATTLE REVIEWS by Certain
Inspirational quotes inspired seven of eight people to show, so that's nice. But two heavy-hitters were eliminated leaving us with a very unique final four. All four results were upsets, by seeding and by expectation. Let's rank the battles and discuss what happened.





1. Certain beat oats 4-3. | “We cannot wait for the storm to pass over. We must learn to dance in the rain.”
This battle pitted a unique take on the topic against a unique take on storytelling as a whole. oats decided to put on a sports writer hat and write an ode to his childhood hero, retiring MMA legend B.J. Penn. He said he was not pleased with his verse, but I liked a lot of it. My issue was that he didn't go far beyond the results and a journalistic take on Penn, his career and his final fight. That meant that the verse never stretched beyond the confines of what the writer was handed in terms of content. It's not every day that someone other than Frank or zygote goes with a sports story for one of these leagues, and I don't think enough voters considered that when dissecting what oats presented. What's interesting is that while every voter seemed to like oats' verse, Certain's proved extremely polarizing. He broke out his own take on paragraph style, an approach that got him swept last season against NYCSPITZ. The result was an alienation of some voters who expect more from rhyme schemes and prefer diction that can be more traditionally associated with lyricism. But those who did like his verse almost all voted for him, saying he really connected emotional and embodied with the topic completely and thoroughly. That's one thing that I, as a biased and partial observer, felt gave Certain the edge here. oats wrote a better text rap verse by most measures, but did he really hammer the topic home properly? His verse seemed more like something he had on his mind and shoehorned into a fit. Still, this clearly was the battle of the week.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oats View Post
it was a torrential downpour, storms of elbows and fists
Penn could only writhe beneath the rain that belted him quick
yet he dwelled in the thick of it, weathered the mauling
until the next thing he knew the ref was yelling to stop it
time melted and paused, Frankie gave him a wild embrace
BJ wore a gash on his eye, a swollen nose…and a smile on his face
his style had aged, no longer was he the Prodigy from years gone by
he was slower, weaker, tired - but still possessing fearless pride

2. YDK beats Adonis 7-(-4). | “True change takes place in the imagination.”
I really liked big baby's analysis of this verse from Adonis, in which he explained that Adonis probably was hurt from a topic that seemed so up his alley that he had to go and be even more enveloped by his unique diction to the point where the entire verse was nothing but that sporatic, jilted phrasing. There was no meaning in this verse from Adonis. It read really nicely if you didn't put too much thought into what was being said. I'd like to hear his analysis of his own verse, as I'm sure he was going for something bigger and better. But it never landed. He fully traded in meaning and resonance and audience accessibility in favor of sound and lyricism. That's an especially bad idea against YDK, who put together a solid effort that very much hinged on his strengths. He took the form of a hermit crab in a pet store and overly dramaticized what would be going through that little guy's head. What YDK showed more than anything is that he has a very solid set of fundamentals that don't betray him very often, at least not when he sits down to write. His writing was clean, well-rhymed and occasionally interesting. It's easy to assume anyone can put together a verse like that. But that's not the case.
Quote:
Originally Posted by YDK View Post
Lying alone again in my home, focused
on the fact that I'll never be wanted, its hopeless!
The closest I'll ever get is being looked at a moment
as passers-by glance at me only to leave me unnoticed.
I sleep to dream but always awaken to nightmares,
I'm quite scared that I'll never have somebody that might care!

3. timeless beats Vividlyvague 3-2. | “If a man wants his dreams to come true, he must wake them up.”
This battle kind of sucked. Here's the thing: timeless and Vividlyvague already were the two most inconsistent performers of the season (though Adonis deserves a tip of the hat). And in this battle, it's not so much that they were at their very worsts but that they didn't put anything together. timeless struggled because he tried to do way too much. His dream sequence over dream sequence over dream sequence may have made sense in the context of the topic but never produced a cogent path for the reader to follow. There were flashes of good writing muddled by distracted and weird and bad sections. But he won this battle because he put together something more clear, somehow, than what Vividlyvague went with. Vividlyvague did exactly what Zenland did last week, riding out rhymes on a somewhat depressive verse in paragraph format with no real direction. But the topic didn't fit what Vividlyvague did, even though I could see how he probably convinced himself it all worked. This is one where Vividlyvague outwrote his opposition but didn't show any of his trademark creativity and unique topic approaching.
Quote:
Originally Posted by timeless View Post
Zoom in on the eyes of destruction as I describe this
event I was not on time with. Nor did I cosign it.
I designed it with intent to reach the sky with.
Now climb in and take a ride with me as I rewind bliss : ...
... It all felt timeless. We robbed the card game pretty easily.
Seemingly I was in the clear at peace, until three men seen
that it was a good idea to kill the other four of us and split the green.

4. King Ra. wins via Vulgar no-show. | “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?”
To be clear, Vulgar no-showed and King Ra. wrote like 16 lines. So this was garbage and barely even is worth the time of this review. King Ra.'s verse had a promising start in that his diction and rhyming were on a high level. He's improved during this season. But he never got to the story, so it's hard to say where it would have went.
Quote:
Originally Posted by King Ra. View Post
Ambition as a rider. Freedom fighter for truth.
Justice & order. The plan? Simple. Nothing to lose.
Years of hashing out the schemes & deciphering clues.
An ear for every word & eyes on the news.
As the time drew nearer, the vision became clearer in view.
They would never see it coming. Not even if they elected to choose.


Round 3 Preview
BREAKDOWN by oats
Our eliminated comrade graces us with a point-by-point examination of the final four competitors.





And then there were 4. It’s a tired sentiment at this point, but it’s true - nobody predicted this lineup for the semifinalists of the AOWL playoffs. Though the usual suspects have all dropped out, the remaining challengers are all talented in their own right, and both match-ups should pose interesting stylistic clashes. Here I’ll break down each of them by the broad components of topical writing, including the top writer for each during the season.

Approach
How writers engage the given topic

1. King Ra.
Ra is enigmatic. Earlier this season I said he flirts with top-tier, mostly due to his penchant to tackle large ideas from unique angles. That being said, sometimes his approach outshines his execution, which makes his overall performance hit or miss. Still, I have to give the Ra dawg props for his novel use of topics.

2. timeless
Timeless has really come into his own this season, and part of that has to do with the ambitious angles he takes. Though sometimes he can fall victim to that ambition, biting off more than he can deliver on, Timeless’ willingness to go big and outside of the box makes him a threat to anyone.

3. Certain
Certain being third isn’t an indicator of a weakness so much as it’s an indication how close all 3 of these guys are in this area. Really, all of them are interchangeable on any given topic. Unlike the top two, however, Certain tends to not stretch his boundaries much, opting for the safer, more reliable approach. This makes him more consistent, but has held him under a lower ceiling.

4. YDK
YDK is a good writer, but this has always been an area I’ve been critical on him for, and I honestly haven’t seen much improvement this season. His approaches can be predictable, which rusts some of the luster of his otherwise sterling writing. If he is to make a serious run at champing the playoffs, he’ll have to take calculated risks with how he goes about engaging the topics.

Season’s Best: You have to give this to Zygote. Almost every week, Zygote outthought everyone else in the league conceptually. Not only that, he fully encapsulates the topic, as he did in week 8 where he adopted the perfect fairytale tone to match his folktale. Not many can flex that kind of diversity.


Content
How interesting the stories and concepts are

1. Certain
Certain is a highly cerebral writer, which often gives him a leg up on his opponent because he can generally put more intelligent, meaningful insight into his rhymes than most. This also allows him to access emotional material without becoming overly sentimental or melodramatic. This may be the biggest advantage Certain has over the competition.

2. King Ra.
Ra takes the number two spot primarily off of his inconsistency. There are moments when he truly makes the reader stop to pause and reflect on the implications of his ideas, but then there are other times when he settles for the easy out and focuses on sun god imagery. He unquestionably has it in him, though.

3. YDK
Kuhn is definitely a writer who will make you feel before he’ll make you think. Which isn’t all bad, and in fact can be powerful when he gets it right. The problem is, he has a knack for melodrama, which is inherently less interesting. I think the next big hurdle in his development will be blending his strong emotional appeals with more unique ideas.

4. timeless
It’s tough to get an accurate gauge on Timeless because he’s steadily improving each week. Though he often has unique approaches, he’s shown some gaps in his ability to fully cash in on them (was it twice this season he ended up writing about weed and/or Bigfoot?). He isn’t far behind the others by any means, but I tend to feel a little letdown by his execution of otherwise great approaches.

Season’s Best: Vulgar sticks out among the crowd here, often juggling sharp, provocative ideas through off-the-wall stories. El Pancake is another who, when in stride, can really blow people out of the water with his ideas and insights. These two were the most impressive this season in my eyes, even in front of zygote and myself (and we’re pretty dope, too).


Diction
How each writer chooses and uses words

1. Certain
He’s said it himself, but it’s true: Certain is in the top 2 most refined writers on the site. Perhaps it’s his editorial prowess, but Certain strings unique words together so seamlessly and without error that it looks easy - until you try to emulate it. Youtube Kelly Slater, watch how easy he makes it look to surf. That’s Certain, only not as handsomely sun-kissed.

2. King Ra.
I might be giving Ra more credit than he deserves because of his italicized verses, but I don’t think so. I think he’s just a good writer. Ra has an oldness to his writing, and not in a bad way. It parallels the grandeur of his verses; newer writers tend to gravitate towards the smug sharpness of a casual voice, Ra’s writing has an epic quality to it. When he’s on-point, he’s among the best NC has to offer.

3. timeless
The thing is with Timeless’ diction, is that it just isn’t very distinct because he puts so much emphasis on his rhymes. Really, he and YDK are pretty close on this one, but I flipped a coin and Timeless won it out. His choice of words can be pretty bland at times, but when he lets go of his grip on multis, he has the writing chops to diversify his word choice effectively.

4. YDK
I feel like I’m beating a dead horse here, but Kuhn also has a tendency to be stale with his words, opting instead to focus on intricate rhyme schemes. This is a rap message board, so his deft raymes are appreciated, but he can start to throw his name into the elusive top tier if he takes more time with the language he utilizes.

Season’s Best: You have to give this to El Pancake. His writing is penetrating and affecting, blending subtle wit with scathing insight. Split Eight, when he wants to, is also a juggernaut of this category, though he wasn’t around as much as anyone would have liked.


Rhyme Mechanics
The complexity of rhymes and rhyme schemes, and the rhythm (or flow) of the writing

1. YDK
YDK was waiting for this category, because it truly is his forte when it comes to topical writing. His rhymes are crisp and his flow is usually immaculate. This is where Kuhn makes up for any shortcomings he has conceptually - he can out-rhyme anyone left in the playoffs. Once he starts upping his blasé concepts to match his mechanical mastery, he’ll be a force to reckon with for anyone.

2. Timeless
I’ve been hard on Timeless many times, saying he focuses too much on rhyming and not enough on content. I still maintain that sentiment, but it’s hard to deny Timeless’ multi-syllable blitzkrieg. He’s always enjoyable to read, and that makes him dangerous because you can’t slip against him. Like YDK, he’s prone to make up for any weak spots in his work by rhyming the fuck out of his lines, which can make him a formidable opponent.

3. Certain
Certain is a strong rhymer, but it’s definitely not his main strength. It isn’t a liability so much as it is just there. Because he’s not hellbent on impressing with his schemes, Certain is much freer to flex his literary muscles (see: diction).

4. King Ra.
Again, Ra is not a bad rhymer by any measure, but it’s definitely not something he seems to put much emphasis into. What places him here is mostly his tendency to have too many syllables in a line, which stunts the rhythm of his verses.

Season’s Best: This is a tossup between Zombie and Jonathan Mercy. Both of them string together vertiginous multis without compromising their rhythm or content. Bladed Thesis also deserves a nod here. Each of them possess enviable flow and rhyme schemes.


Consistency
Who brings it every time?

1. Certain
What makes Certain such a difficult opponent is that he’s never a gimme. Very few people can compete as frequently as he does without dropping a dud verse (not to mention his mod duties that also take a toll on his time). While I’ve criticized him for not always being the most outstanding writer in terms of grabbing reader attention, he’s undeniably consistent, and never wack.

2. timeless
Earlier in the season, I would have ranked Timeless pretty low on the consistency chart. But towards the end of the season he started to really pick up steam, and that steady improvement propelled him deep into the playoff picture as a legitimate threat to the season title. With a maximum of two verses left for the season, it’ll be interesting to see if he can keep the momentum going.

3. YDK
In a sense, YDK is actually very consistent. The reason I dropped him down to number 3 is that he hovers in the mid-tier consistently, seldom putting forth a truly memorable or dominant performance. The flipside is that he also rarely drops a wack verse either. His challenge will be to write the best verse of his season two weeks in a row - if he does that, he’s got a real shot to shock the league and win it all.

4. King Ra.
It was tough to put Ra here, but it’s true; he fluctuates between dope and meh more than anyone else in the final 4. It’s hard to speculate why, but sometimes he just seems uninterested, and it shows in his verses. But when he’s on his game, he can throttle everyone remaining. The question moving forward will be whether or not he can tone down that volatility for the final playoff push.

Season’s Best: A handful of names come to mind, but one stands out. Zygote takes this one again, never dropping a verse that was less than B to B+ range. I’ll give myself an honorable mention for my unprecedented 8 win run (I looked it up), but I shit the bed three times this season, whereas Zygote only had one subpar verse in my opinion (aborted violinist or some shit).


Potential
Assessing the writers' upsides

1. King Ra.
I’m a fan of King Ra, no doubt. He’s got all the qualities of a great writer within him, but just hasn’t seemed to put them all together yet. He lacks a masterpiece caliber performance right now, but it seems inevitable should he continue working. He can finally put to bed any talk of him being “almost there” with a big win over Certain this week, who has to be the favorite to win it all. But in order to do so, he’ll need to blend his signature brand of epic content and unique style, wrapping them under a clever angle to the topic. And since Certain beat me last week, I’m cheering you on.

2. timeless
I don’t think anyone has been as impressive as Timeless has this season, beginning to end. He made it to multiple champ matches, even notching a big win over Certain, and only seemed to get better as the season progressed. He still has some holes in his game, but he’s great at playing to his strengths, which he’s proved are good enough to hang with anyone. Regardless of how this season ends for him, he’ll be a monster by the time next season rolls around.

3. YDK
I’ve known YDK ever since I got into topical writing. He’s a good writer, but one knock I’ve had for a while is that he hasn’t seemed to improve much. Until recently, that is. From 2011 when I first read his stuff, until about midway 2013, he seemed like he was pretty much the same hit-or-miss writer. But he’s really come into his own this past season, and had he been more consistently active, there’s no doubt in my mind that he would have made at least one championship run. He seems to have more focus, and more importantly, more time to write now, so you can’t count him out, especially after shutting out the always game Adonis last week.

4. Certain
Here’s the thing: Certain is dope, but he’s been dope for over a decade now. He’s lamented his own creative decline as of late, and it’s hard to imagine him getting much better this late in the game. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have it in him to return to the form of his bygone glory days, just that he knows what his ceiling is. Luckily for Certain, his experience has shaved off all the sucking in his style, making even his most pedestrian performances no walk in the park.

Season’s Best: It’s hard to pinpoint a single person from the season. Pinot Grij rightfully earned the number one verse from the season, Pancake and Vulgar also penned some of the best verses to the surprise of no one. And then Zygote is Zygote. But the first name that came to mind was Just Write, who showcased tremendous potential early on in the season before signing out. Real life beckons, but it’s curious to think what would have been if he was able to maintain a consistent presence this season.



PREDICTIONS by Certain
Since I already gave you big baby's predictions, I figured I'd drop mine in the more traditional space. So here we are with Futurama episode titles as topics. How will this work out?





9. Certain vs. 5. King Ra. | “The Route of All Evil”
Well, the winner of this will be the favorite to win the title. So what about this one? Well, you get one guy who rarely ever takes the time to put together full verses before deadline and another who actively seems to fight back his urge to write accessible verses. Certain and King Ra. both have enough talent to consistently compete on the elite level. Certain has in the past but didn't this season, for reasons including work and moderating the season and ennui with the form. He's constantly trying to change the way text rap is written, and it becomes clearer by the day that he's fighting a losing battle. King Ra.'s mission statement seems to be that he wants every verse to be about the beginning or the end of the world. That tends to work best when he invests the time required for such demanding subject matter into his verses. But too often he's posting right at the deadline, showing half-efforts. Certain is the more consistent and sound writer. But King Ra. probably has greater upside right now as he is coming into his own with diction and rhyme scheme. Certain's versatility makes this difficult to predict, but he still is the favorite. Prediction: Certain 57-43.


14. YDK vs. 7. timeless | “Less Than Hero”
And here's a battle that I don't think anyone expected (even more than the other semifinal). YDK is a perennial underachiever, which isn't to say that he has elite talent but that even his above-average talent rarely comes with above-average results. He hedges the gap between traditional lyricism and topical writing, often writing with his heart on his sleeve in a way that can be knocked for lacking creativity but also feels very genuine. That's a rare quality in topical writing, and YDK slowly has learned to take advantage of that. He sort of has oats' core template without the mechanical prowess or stylistic dexterity of our champion breakfast. timeless' verses this season have been a whirlwind of interplayed styles. He rhymes as aggressively as anyone in this league, but he doesn't always seem to know where he's going with those rhymes. His verse last round was a good example of a bit of everything he can do. He can be creative, but he isn't often enough. He can be engaging and funny, but not as well as the best at that style. He can tell a straight-forward story but too often muddles things up. He can write forcefully but rarely has a point worthy of that. These are symptoms of a writer still developing his style. None of that is to make it seem like timeless isn't very talented. If he hones his strengths and forms consecutive rock-solid verses with committed styles, he could win this. But he doesn't have the grasp on what he's doing yet that YDK does. Prediction: YDK 53-47.



The Champ Is Near
CONCLUSION by Certain


Thanks to big bug baby and oats for contributing. And thanks to YDK, timeless and King Ra. for competing. Let's make this a memorable final two rounds.


__________________
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Old 07-17-2014, 03:29 AM   #2
YDK
ghost in the matrix
 
YDK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Covington, KY
Posts: 4,564
Battle Record: 14-25


Champed
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Loved this lol as always showed me where I need to improve an focus the most. Thanks to everybody involved an just for you magazine writers, I will be taking a different approach this week hoping to make improvement in areas I normally lack lol good luck to everybody
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Old 07-17-2014, 03:33 AM   #3
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dope, legit laughed out loud at baby's intro.
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Old 07-17-2014, 04:25 AM   #4
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for such a small bracket, this mag's content was stellar. I enjoyed the entire serving. Goodluck to all competitors and great mag. See you guys on voting day :)
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Old 07-17-2014, 01:00 PM   #5
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Big baby seems unimpressed with the proceedings. Not sure though.
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Old 07-17-2014, 01:06 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by El Pancake View Post
Big baby seems unimpressed with the proceedings. Not sure though.
you get that feelin too?
huh..thats weird
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Old 07-17-2014, 08:12 PM   #7
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solid mag



enjoyed it


the no shows hurt the league but what do you expect its summer. aint nobody tryin to sit in and write rainbow poems


never the less good shit
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Old 07-17-2014, 09:56 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by Mike Wrecka View Post
solid mag



enjoyed it


the no shows hurt the league but what do you expect its summer. aint nobody tryin to sit in and write rainbow poems


never the less good shit
wtf are rainbow poems lol
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Old 07-17-2014, 10:06 PM   #9
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Quote:
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wtf are rainbow poems lol
topicals duh
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Old 07-17-2014, 10:33 PM   #10
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topicals duh
lol why is rainbow poems and topicals the same thing? who has written about rainbows?
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Old 07-17-2014, 10:33 PM   #11
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I have.
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Old 07-17-2014, 11:24 PM   #12
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Really? Links?
I'm gonna attempt to tackle a topic I haven't done before this week. I'm taking all pointers and pieces of examples I can get lol
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Old 07-18-2014, 12:50 AM   #13
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big baby hates me
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Old 07-18-2014, 04:21 AM   #14
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good mag. enjoyed it from start to finish. thanks.
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Old 07-19-2014, 12:58 AM   #15
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Big babys intro is om hof material.


Shit had me on the verge of pissin my pants.

Real tizalk.
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Old 07-19-2014, 12:59 AM   #16
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Incredible mag btw.
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