I feel i'm an authority to speak on the top 10, as myself, Paradoxx, & Shaka Pitts have taken the battle rap scene in this area to points it had never reached. We took the term "DMV" to a global audience & have made stars of the talented emcees in this area. This list is based on the battle alone, not by the amount of views, the league etc...just the rapping/entertainment itself. With each battle, I'll try and give a background of how the battles came about and any other relevant nuggets about the battle. This is my list so some battles were a tie in my opinion, so it's more then 10 battles fuck it. Some dope performances got left off...due to battles being so one sided
(ex. Danja Zone vs Infinite,& Rio vs Lil D...different comp would've made it a classic)
So with that being said, let's get started:
These battles just missed out on being in the top 10:
#13: Ty Law vs Smooth Black (Grind Time DMV)
Dope battle between two of the top battle rappers out of PG County. Smooth had gotten his name up in both Grind Time & Pit Fights before this battle. Ty Law everybody in the DMV knew was dope, this battle was what solidified him outside of the DMV with being a monster. *sidenote* Don't mind me in the thumbnail...I just got caught at a bad shot lol(nh)
Tie
#12: Troy Brown vs Eskwyre (Grind Time DMV/SupaNova Battles)
This battle would of been higher up on the list if Eskwyre was able to perform the way he did in his previous battles. It still makes the list just off of Troy's performance alone. It doesn't land on the one sided list, cause Eskwyre is what makes Troy's bars relevant...although Eskwyre said he's not Jewish lol
#12: PG Skillet vs DeastroDollar (Grind Time DMV)
PG Skillet was in the first group of battlers Paradoxx & myself had met when we first started Grind Time DMV. We were able to get him out of state battles, & on worldstar hip hop as well. This battle is more about what you prefer. Skillet has a mean delivery & is known for bullying opponents. Deastro is about wordplay...this battle was a interesting clash of styles.
#11: Danja Zone vs Daylyt (Pit Fights)
This was a on the spot battle, as Day's original opponent no showed, so Danja stepped up. This battle would of been higher up on the list had they both prepared for each other.
The Top 10:
#10: Eskwyre vs Casper (Grind Time DMV)
This is just a fun battle to watch. Not every battle has to be about thugs, gunplay etc. Sometimes you just feel like laughing during a battle. Eskwyre (more on him later) had a incredible buzz in and out of the ring since he burst on the scene. When I was in Atlanta, I had seen Casper battle...before he even had a chance to get off the stage after his battle, I had approached him & said I needed him to battle Eskwyre. I'm thankful I was able to make it happen, & this is the result.
#9: Ty Law vs Anymal (Grind Time DMV)
This battle as shown on the intro was long overdue. These two had been going at each other in different battles for awhile. We all had taken a road trip to Atlanta & they talked about battling the whole trip lol. Ty Law's 2nd round in this battle is debatable whether it's the best round on this whole list.
Tie
#8: Rolla vs Rod (Pit Fights)
This was my first time seeing Rolla, he's from the 7 Cities area of VA. He def did his thing in this battle. He had dope PF name flips in the whole battle. Rod is a PF vet, and def showed up and showed out in this joint.
#8: PT vs Smooth Black (Grind Time DMV)
No emcee coming out of the GT DMV tryouts had more hype then PT. As you know, "the Real PT is in the DMV". PT was killin shit in both out of town battles, and in the DMV in Grind Time DMV & Pit Fights. He was able to live up to the hype in all of his battles. PT is a mixture of jokes & bars, and for awhile was considered the best in the DMV. Smooth is known for spittin gun bars in his battles. He was also killin shit in Grind Time DMV & Pit Fights as well. Therefore, this battle had interest locally. Smooth has a lot of nice wordplay & delivery in this battle with well structured verses also.
Tie
#7: Dreams vs Ivan Da Great (Grind Time DMV)
This battle is about straight bars & nothing else. Ivan came down from Upstate NY to take on Dreams a battle veteran out DC. This battle was one of the first I booked, and turned out to be a instant classic. Dreams has some of the best schemes in the DMV, and Ivan fed off the energy in the room to deliver a dope performance.
#7: The Author vs Precyse (Grind Time DMV)
This is one of my personal favorites. I had helped establish Precyse as the DMV's leading female & I knew she would come with it vs a male battle rapper. One of the most disrespectful battle rappers I knew was The Author. I had watched The Author's progression in Pit Fights & knew he just needed that one battle that would help him out. Prior to this their had been other male vs female battles, but I don't think any of them were this good. This battle also helped put the male vs female battles in style, as many others came after this matchup.
Tie
#6: Smooth Black vs Murda (Pit Fights)
Smooth already had been making a name for himself between Grind Time & Pit Fights. This was Murda's breakout performance & really put him on the map.
#6: Eskwyre vs KO (Grind Time DMV)
This battle was from our tryout event in Washington DC. Up until this point the battles were blah...out of nowhere this guy Eskwyre KILLS this battle & shocked everybody in attendance...as you can tell from the crowd reactions. Props to KO for freestyling, but in this format dope writtens will always destroy freestyles.
Tie
#5: PT vs Pro'Verb (Grind Time DMV)
This is a DOPE battle period. Pro'Verb was prepared for 2 minute rounds & PT was only prepared for 1 minute rounds. Therefore, PT had to freestyle for half of the battle. These two both went crazy in this battle & established both as true DMV heavyweights.
#5: Andari vs Real Talk (Grind Time DMV)
This is a amazing battle that almost never happened. Andari was scheduled to battle in a Upstate NY event & wasn't able to make it. Jusone the Upstate GM wasn't fond of Real Talk doing the battle for that reason. He finally relented & agreed to have the battle go down & thank god he did...cause if he didn't the fans would of been the ones to lose out.
Tie
#4: Uno Lavoz vs Jonny Storm (Grind Time DMV)
This battle was from the last ever Grind Time DMV event. This was a classic case of the up-and-comer vs the veteran. This battle would of been a lot doper if Storm hadn't forgotten some of his bars. I think he took part in to many festivities before the battle that effected his performance lol. Leading up to this battle Uno kept telling me he was going to out rap Storm & I didn't believe him. This battle is known for Uno's second round & as the battle that got "Lavoz kicked out of Grind Time". The fans don't know that it was due to a FB argument & not this battle. This battle gets mentioned all the time by fans, the sign that it was a dope and memorable battle.
#4: Rio vs Uno Lavoz (Grind Time DMV)
This is a battle that the fans kept demanding. I worked extremely hard to make this battle happen. The Grind Time DMV division had 2 of the funniest battlers doing it today, so this battle had to happen. It took a lot of work to make it happen & in the end it was worth it as Grind Time dropped this battle last year at midnight on Christmas to compete with other leagues that were also dropping new battles at midnight.
Tie
#3: Dreams vs D'Meitz (Grind Time DMV)
This battle really helped establish the DMV division of Grind Time. These two had a CLASSIC battle and went on to become stars in battle rap. This was the battle that helped get their buzz started. The top comment on the battle with over 50 "thumb's up" is "One of Grind Time's all time great battles" I couldn't agree more. This is one of the few battles where the comments are split 50/50 down the middle.
#3: Pro'Verb vs Anymal (Grind Time DMV)
This is one of the most controversial battles in battle rap history. When I set this battle up, I was worried that Pro'Verb would be able to hang with a more aggressive emcee. It was well known that Anymal had been shot previously. He had previously said he had killed the guy who shot him. Pro shocked the whole venue by showing up with Anymal's ex girl in his corner. During the 3rd round she had passed out a newspaper article saying that Anymal had pointed out the shooter & got him arrested shocking those in attendance. We at first weren't going to release this battle, but due to the fan demand & after Drect (CEO of Grind Time at the time) seeing the battle, the decision was made to drop the battle.
Tie
#2: PG Skillet vs Dirt (Grind Time DMV)
This battle came at the right time for the DMV. Skillet had a huge buzz from the start of the division. Dirt had a huge buzz from the start of the Upstate division. This battle was a meeting of both divisions heavyweights. This helped put both divisions on the map & established both as two of the best in all of Grind Time. A interesting nugget about this battle is Dirt stayed at my house the night before the battle. He let me know that he expected Skillet to come with gun bars vs him & he had a whole round that he felt would neutralize that. Hence the fact after Skillet's first round Dirt says "gun lines huh?" and spit a whole round about breaking guns down. The buzz from this battle helped establish Skillet as a DMV beast to get him to battle...
#2: PG Skillet vs Tay Roc (Pit Fights)
Dope battle that really helped put Pit Fights on the map. Skillet was doing damage in Grind Time and Roc was doing damage in URL. This battle is known for Tay Roc throwing up mid battle. This battle was also helped by the fact that him throwing up was mentioned in numerous battles afterwards.
#1: D'Meitz vs Richard Cranium (Grind Time DMV)
Just a insane battle at the top spot. This is a CLASSIC battle that established both of these emcees as true lyricists. I got the idea for this battle off of a trip to Atlanta we had. When D'Meitz battled Ice'Alino Cranium's reaction game was on point. That gave me the idea to match these two up & it was well worth it, as the results were amazing. This battle was mentioned in a 3 page article that The Washington Times newspaper did on the DMV division
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/sep/13/marine-with-a-mic/?page=all
This battle brought out the best in these two that in my opinion they haven't reached since.
Please comment or holla at me if you think their are battles I left out, or if you agree or disagree with the order. Big shout out to Paradoxx, & Shaka Pitts for all the work us 3 have put in, and for giving these talented artists a platform to perform on. The top 10 out of town DMV battles will be dropping soon.
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