Battle Academy: War Ready Takeaways

Battle Academy’s War Ready event was another successful showing, as league owner Stizz continues to breathe life into the Philly with his dedication and passion. Known for bringing that authentic energy and grit to every event, if you know, you know! Grab you a cheesesteak from the Papi store and enjoy some battles. Battle Academy consistently delivers a fun experience. Politics vs The People is another battle rap event with a Political partner involved during an election year. This reminding us a little bit of Politics. As usual, the best part about these theme cards is not only is they empowering our community with knowledge, but they also strip away the tiers we are used to seeing in battles and just let anyone catch wreck. Stizz has faith in his roster and has been giving them top-shelf names for the past few years now. This is another instance where Stizz gives his Battle Academy roster of rising talent big opportunities, matching them up against top-tier opponents and providing invaluable exposure.

Stizz hired the Champion team to be on the commentary, and Jay Blac registered his 73rd live stream event for his career as a commentator; it’s a special milestone when you stop to think about how many events he’s done since 2013. When you realize how much experience he has in the commentary booth, it is a reminder not to take him for granted for all of his efforts and contributions. Salute to Battle Academy; the event was filled with intense performances, some COTY implications, some future foresight, and a long evening of raps, six and half hours to be exact! A big thank you to the event partners, OnePA Vote, for being involved in this event and showcasing their ads on the PPV stream—your support helps make it all possible!

Our Vote Is Power

Tay Roc Won't Be Denied

We’re in the 10th month of the year and Tay Roc is still going strong in 2024. To be as tenured in the game as Roc is and to still be giving this level of effort is reaching unheard of levels. The effort is the same no matter where he is or who he’s battling. He’s not cheating the fans and he’s honestly doing way more than is even required of him. 

On paper, there was a chance of this Reed Dollaz battle being a difficult task. Obviously the first part of this is battling Reed in Philadelphia. But the other side is that in big spots over the last couple of years, we have seen that Reed has the ability to be competitive against people like Eazy The Block Captain or even pull off the upset like against Rum Nitty. Add on the volume that we’ve seen Roc battle and it provided a bit of rationale to maybe predict Reed for the upset. 

None of that mattered. Roc bulldozed his way through Reed. It’s evident how much this battle meant to Roc because he showed up extremely clipped up material wise. But it wasn’t just that he overpowered Reed with longer rounds, he just wrote better and Reed never felt like he could keep up. It’s a clear win to add to an already insanely impressive resume in 2024 and with announced battles with Clone (which is next weekend) and Marv Won still on the horizon, Roc is doing nothing but tightening the chokehold he has on the COTY race. If Roc is still delivering like this, it’s gonna be virtually impossible for anyone to close that gap.

An Honest Conversation About Reed Dollaz

It’s time we have a talk about Reed Dollaz.

Reed’s contributions to battle rap are never in question and never will be. He opened eyes to an entire city’s battle rap scene, has given us legendary freestyles and has had moments of truly achieving greatness in the modern format.

But Reed has escaped A LOT of valid and warranted criticisms.  Mostly because Reed is really unproblematic, especially compared to a lot of battle rap. He doesn’t get in any drama, he doesn’t do a wild amount of trash talk and that keeps Reed from being criticized for his low points to the extent in which he should be. 

Tay Roc vs Reed is a huge battle. One that’s been talked about for a long time and has been awaited by fans forever. Tay Roc showed up prepared for the occasion, fully displaying how much this battle meant to him, while Reed showed up with weak material and choked. Reed, in one of his bigger battles of the last decade, choked and got bodied in Philly. 

Reed hasn’t done himself any favors post-battle this go around, going on Instagram and in interviews being upset about the time discrepancy in the rounds him and Roc rapped. On some level, there probably is a conversation to be had about time limits being more strictly enforced in battle rap, but when Reed went on Champion prior to the battle, he expressed that he didn’t care about how long Roc rapped and that he was “Loaded  up” for such circumstances. So, to complain about it post-battle after treating it like a non-issue leading into it is just a bad look and comes across as saltiness about taking a loss.

Reed has now choked in his last 5 three round battles (Tay Roc, Calicoe, Tru Foe, Oun P and Pass). He also choked in his 1 rounder against Dre Dennis. In all these battles he has flashes of dope material, but it’s far from consistent and then the choking and stumbling absolutely doesn’t help matters. But because Reed doesn’t do a ton to garner any unwanted attention outside of the ring and because we don’t want to harshly criticize our legends, it basically goes without being talked about.

And that needs to stop. We have to be consistent in our outage and our displeasure. Reed can’t be allowed to skate by for underperforming and choking when we will admonish other battlers for the same sort of behavior. Just because Reed is a legend and we all respect him, doesn’t mean he should get a pass. He’s under the same responsibility that any other battler is under and if he’s not prepared or his heart isn’t in it, then he should stop battling. 

In 2022 on his RBE appearances, Reed committed the unholy trinity of battle rap. He read off of his phone, choked and recycled in batles. If this was anyone else, we would have been on their helmet. But Reed really didn’t receive any flack for this. To top it all off, he no showed a battle and that was the last we’ve had to remember of Reed’s RBE run because he hasn’t been back since then.

Murda Mook vs Reed Dollaz is called maybe the worst main event in Summer Madness history. Mook gets a lot of the blame and criticism for this battle, but Reed is marginally better, if he’s better at all. Reed won the battle, but he’s not good in this battle either. Again though, it shows how because Reed isn’t an antagonistic personality in battle rap, he gets to skate by. 

Reed has his moments. He’s great in his Chess battle, he has a win over Rum Nitty, and he was awesome against Eazy The Block Captain last year. He’s been able to get some respectable highlights. But they don’t outweigh the underwhelming or inexcusable stuff, and as a culture, we need to hold our legends accountable, even if it hurts.

A Clash between The 2011 Class

The battle between JC and Bill Collector is a full-circle moment for two legends who both emerged from the illustrious 2011 Proving Grounds class. Over a decade later, these emcees have solidified Hall of Fame careers, earning respect for their unique styles and consistency. Both battlers have recently added impressive achievements to their résumés, winning $100K tournaments, with JC claiming the Ultimate Madness 5 crown and Bill taking the KOTD S1 Championship. Their careers have mirrored each other in many ways, from their PG debuts to their gradual ascension in battle rap.

The battle itself starts slowly in the first round from both battlers, but as the rounds progress, JC finds his rhythm and gains momentum, delivering some of his best material in the latter rounds. Bill Collector, known for his witty and unpredictable style, stumbles with a rare choke in his second round but recovers well, ending his third on a stronger note with his signature humor and creative punches. Despite Bill’s recovery, JC emerges as the shining highlight of the battle, dominating with his pen and leaving the audience impressed. This victory is a perfect setup for JC to capitalize on his momentum and secure bigger opportunities on the horizon, solidifying his legacy even further.

O-Red vs K Walker have Battle Of The Night

O-Red and K Walker delivered the best battle of the night, setting a new standard that the rest of the card couldn’t surpass. As the event reached its peak, you could see on camera during the PPV, that the atmosphere completely shifted, and it was as if everyone in the room could feel that we were entering the main battles of the evening as the Prelims were coming to a close!

K Walker and Red seized the moment, putting on a high-energy back-and-forth that kept the room engaged from start to finish. O-Red came out thunderous, dominating the first and having a strong 3rd round with his booming delivery and aggressive punchlines. Props to K Walker for not wavering. Highlights of K Walker’s showing were his writing uphill and gaining momentum with his 2nd and 3rd rounds. I thought after standing in front of Red’s 3rd, the battle was over!  But Walker didn’t give in and kept his foot on the gas, and that’s a level of a heart you respect. When the whole room feels nothing you can do to match round, you do just that and possibly even take it. Walker’s incline through the battle created a perfect balance against Red’s explosive performance, making it the most competitive exchange of the night. Red played the room brilliantly in moments where he would ask the crowd “Is this your champion?”  And they would respond back “NO!” Little details like that turned the pressure on Walker, and the potency that Red punches with was just too much overall for Walker at times, so If I had to go with a winner, It would be an edge to Red, but the battle was very entertaining on both ends, and I salute K Walker for the dog fight. 

Kapo Bravado With A Clear Win

Kapo Bravado delivered a solid performance in his battle against Bandit Montana, a clash between two rising talents from the most recent Crucible class. Both emcees entered the league around the same time, and this was supposed to be a judged battle sponsored by We The ‘People.’ Kapo took full control from the start, leaving no room for debate about the outcome. For Kapo, this battle was another important highlight, as he continues to prove that he is more than just hype—it’s backed by clear, decisive victories. A win is a win.

While Kapo’s style may not appeal to everyone, his branding and marketing outside the ring have become just as vital to his rise as his recent in-ring performances. The energy and Bravado (no pun intended) he brings to antagonize his future opponents really draws attention; he keeps himself in the talks. His ability to craft narratives around his battles and keep his name buzzing makes him valuable.

As for Bandit…Bandit Montana has been battling since Grind Time… yes, you read that right, since Grind Time, and somehow, in all that time, he has yet to elevate his game. Honestly, someone like Bandit being signed to URL has to be one of the most questionable decisions in recent memory. If you haven’t seen a shred of real progression from him in the last 14 years, what makes you think we’ll suddenly witness a transformation now? At this point expecting someone to show growth after 10 years of stagnation is like watering a dead plant for a decade, hoping it’ll bloom. At some point, you have to accept that it’s never going to sprout, no matter how much time or effort you put in—it’s just not in its nature to grow.

Shank Prezzy: The Best Battle Academy Has to Offer

A staple of Battle Academy cards is the use of their own roster, with the likes of Newz, Top Floor Lut Marz, and KWalker. While Walker has the most work/pedigree, and the others have had a hard time putting up meaningful performances, Shank Prezzy stands out as always one of the more lowkey but solid performers on the card. After winning the last event vs Ms. Hustle in a one rounder, he took on Shotgun Suge in a 3 round battle, and once again, he pulled the win out.

While Suge has been stumbling or having short rounds for all of 2024, he gave one of these more applied showings this year with short but efficient rounds vs Prezzy, particularly a good 1st. However, Prezzy not only went on to win the battle, but without abusing the time limits or home-field advantage either. He went bar for bar and once again showed his clever pen by landing punches throughout and a couple of bombs to match Suge’s peaks as well (the Carbon Fiber bar was a highlight moment). Getting through the initial Suge flurry in the 1st, Prezzy maintained consistency in the last 2 rounds and won the battle 2-1 as a result. 

With a few decent showings in a row for the Academy, there’s a fair argument that he has been their most consistent talent and stands out right now as the best on the roster, although he still could use some improvements in the performance/delivery department. He picks up his 2nd win in a row vs a top talent and stands out as one of the better performers on this edition of the War Ready series. 

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