Staff Writers: Q Moody (Senior Staff writer), France, Justin Smolenski (J Smo)
Black Ice Cartel’s No Order event showcased raw talent and competitive battles, and a UFC-style octagon/cage setting that makes this league unique. It features a stacked lineup that paired some of battle rap’s finest against The Cartel’s seasoned roster. Special shoutout to those guys because a lot of them rose to the occasion against top-tier talent; a lot of the names like ShowStoppa, Bankhead, Killa B, and Cut Eastwood are thriving and ready for any challenge and also prepared to take the show on the road. I wouldn’t mind seeing a Black Ice Cartel vs Another League card in the future.
The card also featured female battle rap veterans like 40 Barrs, Viixen, and C3 making their long-awaited return; it was a full-circle moment for these ladies, as the last time they shared a card was back in 2014. The nostalgia and energy surrounding their return set the tone for the night.
In addition to these familiar faces, the card also included emcees well-known to Black Ice, like Danja Zone & Qleen paper, who has had some of his best performances on the Black Ice Cartel stage. His presence added weight to an already crazy lineup, further magnified by the debut of heavy hitters such as A. Ward, Hollow Da Don, Fonz, and Mike P.
Much respect is owed to Jon Doe, Black Ice, and the entire production team for curating this unique experience. As Mike P mentioned in his post-battle interview, there’s something unparalleled about the energy at a Black Ice event—the intensity is palpable, and the “cage-rattling” battles immerse you fully into the moment. Even through the PPV screen, the excitement was electric. Special recognition is due to Avocado and the Ruin Your Day team for capturing the cinematic feel of the event, further elevating the experience for both live attendees and viewers at home. This event was more than just a series of battles; it was a masterclass in presentation and atmosphere, bringing something refreshing and raw to the culture that we love.
The culture is in a better place when Black Ice is active, and It was noted they made an effort to push the event thoroughly through the week off, with multiple interviews with the Media, Hosting their own Twitter Spaces, Highlight clips with unique templates of their interviews and promotion leading into the battle. Sometimes the little details get lost in the sauce, but it’s all worth it when the battles live up to the hype and deliver on its front.
Salute to C3 and Danja Zone, two emcees who have consistently brought heat to Black Ice in the past, set the tone for the night with a dope battle that served as the perfect tone-setter for an intense evening of competition.
Top 5 Biggest Takeaways
A.Ward & Hollow Da Don Deliver As A Main Event
Another legacy battle for A.Ward that he passes with flying colors.
This shouldn’t be shocking to anyone who doesn’t have an agenda to push and gives fair credence to his accomplishments, but it needs to be stated how often and time after time Ward gets matches of this magnitude and doesn’t appear out of place.
Because he’s not out of place, Ward is ranked amongst the best in the world every year because that’s precisely what he is, and he proves it damn near every time.
This one is especially impressive given that Hollow Da Don is viewed as an endgame battle for guys who implement freestyling, character assassination, versatility, and rebuttals into their style. And even though he’s had some ups and downs in the last 6 years, this was a very good Hollow. It’s the best we’ve seen since last year’s Ill Will battle. His first round was excellent. He started with some dope wrestling and basketball schemes; the comedy with the “that way” stuff was effective, and his pockets were sharp.
Ward saw the level Hollow was operating at and took it up a notch. This battle is probably some of Ward’s best freestyling to date. Immediately, he took the steam from the “that way” angle; the Sam Perkins/set shot rebuttal was genuinely insane if you’re a real hoops head, and the way he implemented the guy waving the Black Ice flag was masterful. Before he even gets to his written material, Ward already was taking control of the battle. But once he gets to that, it’s just bomb after bomb. The “fake more on the block than Hakeem’s shoulder,” “this could have been me and Johnny cage after he split you with a punch,” and the color scheme are some examples; Ward was on fire in this round. Despite how good Hollow was, I still have Ward soundly taking this round.
Hollow continued the trend of dope freestyling with his opening rebuttals in his second round. There’s some slick rhyming and lines that stand out. “Leave with some jewels like Sean Kingston,” the mini car scheme with cross bars and AAA, the music segment “hypnotize him faster than Biggie driving backward/get him mixed and mastered/get to punch’ (punch in) like I’m trying to fix an adlib.” But a lot of Hollow’s round is comedy, and it’s not bad comedy, but it’s not something that necessarily left Ward in a position where he had to fight to get out of a deficit. Still a good round, but a step down from his first.
Once again, though, Ward starts off with some stellar freestyling. Ward’s rebuttal to Hollow’s doctor show scheme honestly is one of the best I’ve ever heard from him. To come up on the spot with, “I’ll send him to the General Hospital when I bring the House down; that’s what I do when I’m talking to Scrubs” is straight-up insanity. To follow that up with the “Hollow don’t like multiple choice questions or Math problems” setup and then the scheme correlating battle rappers to the Bible, he was already outdoing Hollow. He may not have landed the same number of bombs as in the first, but his second is still super potent from a writing perspective. “Who better than clean up an attic (addict) than the man upstairs, the reverse punch at the end of his Nigel HasBennett segment and the build-up to “this where Jon Dough went put the hollow sounds in the edit”, Ward says a lot of great stuff in the second and again despite how good Hollow was, Ward kept raising the bar.
The third is the weakest of both men. For as good as Hollow’s first two rounds were, his third starts turning into nonsense. This is about par for the course for these Hollow battles in recent years. He starts strong and runs out of gas. Hopefully, we can get back to a complete three rounds of focused, structured Hollow, but the performance we got from him here is still among the best we’ve gotten from him since 2018.
Ward opts to use the third as the round where he spends the most time angling. While I did like the “I’m a civilian, imma call the police” bit, it did feel like a bit of an unnecessary risk, and overall, as an angler, Ward doesn’t seem to be able to land what he’s trying to do all the way. The material he’s pulling from or trying to use isn’t bad, but from Bigg K, Verb, and Hollow, something is sometimes lacking in Ward’s angles. But there’s still more than enough good and I like his approach enough to feel still like he won the 3rd, especially with how weak Hollow’s round was. Thus, I view this as a 3-0 in favor of A. Ward.
This battle will be generally viewed as a debatable. Hollow gives enough in the first two rounds as to where I don’t think it’s out of the question or crazy to say that Hollow edged the battle. But as strong as Hollow was here, Ward stepped up to the plate and had the more substantial material. It was a big moment and spotlight for him. It’s a primary event battle against a legend he’s open about being inspired by, and to put up that kind of performance, we’re extended past the point of any doubts about A. Ward making logical sense. He’s one of the best in the world, and as time passes, his case for being the best battler to never be on URL gets stronger and stronger.
Viixen Is On A Run In 2024
One of the 2 premier matchups of the night was a top tier ladies clash between 40 and Viixen, and like the main event this battle met expectations and was one of the standouts of the night. It started off with a contested 1st, both battlers angle heavy and high quality leaving a debate over who took the 1-0 lead.
From there, Viixen only went upwards quality-wise wise while 40’s stumble-heavy delivery took her trajectory downwards, leading to Viixen creating clear separation in the final two rounds. Although the win is good enough on paper, Viixen’s material and performance in this battle once again stand out on the whole card, similar to her Official and Nitty performances early in the year. It is a much more diverse set of attacks with more angle-heavy content, a much sharper pen from the in-between bars and setups to the level of haymakers delivered, and even creating moments like her fake choke/”I can do what she does” segment in her 3rd. She was surgical while still keep that high-quality level of wordplay we expect from her and had one of the best showings of the night vs a pretty respectable version of the legend: great home game showing and another powerful battle in Viixen’s 2024 catalogue.
The Black Ice Brothers Came To Play
Black Ice always puts their homegrown talent in spots to gain on their cards, many times pitting them up against big-name vets. Bankhead battled Mike P, Capboy Hurt battled Fonz, but the biggest examples of this on this event were the actual twins of the roster in big matchups with Showstoppa vs JC and Killa B vs Rum Nitty. Both ended up being some of the best battles of the undercard with Killa B vs Rum Nitty really standing out a near contender for BOTN.
Showstoppa did good vs JC, and an excellent JC at that, fighting back with three quality rounds and never really getting dominated in the battle. While JC was at top form, and may have edged every round, Show clearly did his part and gave one of his most potent showings yet in a solid battle. Killa B vs Rum Nitty was similar with even more impressive, as Killa B also fought all 3 rounds but may have had the round of the whole battle with his 3rd. Nitty is Nitty no matter who he faces. His 1st 2 rounds may have already got him the W early, but with two good rounds from Killa as well (Armstrong/Moon Landing bar was crazy) and a 3rd that he clearly took you can’t not be happy with this result if from Killa B who snatched people’s attention and is someone to pay closer attention to as he pops up on cards. Both talents have been holding it down on Black Ice for years, and performances like this is the perfect way to show the hard work paying off.
Mike P & BankHead Was A Bar Burner
Mike P vs. Bankhead was undeniably one of the standout battles of the night in the cage. Mike P’s style was damn near tailor-made for this intense atmosphere, where the energy in the room amplifies his delivery to the point that everything he says resonates with clarity and power. From the moment Mike stepped onto the stage, it was clear that he was inspired to perform at a high level; he even alluded to it in his post-battler interview, which was nothing like he’s ever experienced. His first round was absolute fire; Mike P perfectly contextualizes his bar prior to the punch-line, and even the ones that don’t get a lot of reaction sit so well on camera on the watch back, plus his signature rhyme patterns that set the tone. However, as impressive, if not more, Bankhead matched Mike’s intensity and content and took command of the first round.
As the first round progressed, Bankhead had come prepared to compete at whatever level Mike was bringing. Although, keep in context, he rapped nearly twice as long as Mike in the first; he effectively overpowered him. It was back-to-back haymakers from Bankhead filled with energy and intensity. Sometimes, Bankhead tends to overdeliver or over-perform his bars. Still, in this instance, it was the perfect blend of animation mixed with much better writing, and he had complete control of the cage at that point, forcing Mike into a defensive position where the room is yelling at him to fight back. Mike P got Bankhead’d in the first round, no doubt about it! And now, with his back against the cage, Mike started to bob and weave everything Bankhead threw at him, waiting for the opportune moment to counter, and boy did he ever! In the second and third rounds, Mike P began to show the separation, and it was one of the better showcases of his skills when fully executed. Mike broke down Bankhead’s style with multiple attacks: “You have drawn punches that might land”. There are different rhyme pockets again from Mike P that we love; he brings in some humor, such as clowning Bankhead and barrage of punches. This approach allowed him to regain momentum, showcasing his depth.
The second round saw some separation in content, with Bankhead delivering good material again but Mike P edging the last two rounds with more compelling material. Please make no mistake, though: The back-and-forth of the battle made it a gripping watch; at one point, it started to feel like we were headed towards a major upset! And instead, both rappers gave this match everything and exceeded expectations, especially given how it may look on paper; it might’ve been a match that may not have caught your interest, or you may have felt Mike is the more seasoned battler and would be in complete control, but this was a dog fight. The cage environment was instrumental in bringing out the best in both battlers. This was one of Mike P’s better performances in recent memory, while Bankhead delivered his strongest showing of 2024, and Bankhead added another prestige name to his decorated resume.
Cartel Always Comes Correct
Black Ice Needs Appreciation For Their Consistency.
Black Ice has given us battles since 2012, standing as the only prominent and consistent league out of Milwaukee during this run. One of the best factors of the league, and one that shows the artists’ respect for it, is how they consistently get high-level performances out of significant talent that touches the platform. Whether it be gems like Clips vs Chilla Jones and Quantum Physics vs JC, or performances as recent as Tay Roc and Rum Nitty showing up at max effort. They’ve also played a role in some better years of specific careers, bringing us the best work from battlers like Danja Zone and Qleen Paper, Qleen vs. Arsonal still stilling as the platform’s highest viewed battle and a classic. All this while also being innovative with Jon Dough’s signature editing in the footage and, of course, The Cage setting, which many battlers have wanted to compete in from all tiers and many who have spoken highly of.
While those are the hallmarks of a staple and respected league, the best quality may be the consistent and healthy relationship between Black Ice and the fans. Events run promptly, footage/stream is clean and crisp, and the crowd is engaged and adds to the event’s energy. Battlers always tend to show up, no doubt in correlation to the constant praises for the excellent and drama-free business they do. The events are always worth the watch and consistently a smooth experience. A little commentary for the intermission wouldn’t hurt, but they check pretty much every box for what fans ask for of leagues logistically, and their constant transparency and quality product is something we should appreciate more and more in a time where complaints about league etiquette and product is at an all-time high. The Cage gave another good event in 2024; we are grateful for it.
Salute to Black Ice Cartel for a successful event. Major props to Avocado & John Dough 🎥 💪🏽
— Let’s Talk Battle Rap (@LTBRpodcast) October 7, 2024
And much flowers to the queen Black Ice from John himself 💐🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/8xT3gZLipN
