Clone vs Nu Jerzey Twork Recap
Twork and Clone is a battle that emphasizes punching and acts as another big name for Clone, who has added some of the absolute best to his resume in the last couple of years. Although this had the elements to be another great back-and-forth, the lack of cleanliness from one party was the difference in what ended up being a high-level W for a battler who’s been working for one.
To assess Twork’s performance in this, it’s one of his many cases where his lack of execution, not content, cost him the battle. In round 1, he started as badly as he’d be, all battle, stumbling from start to end. The broken-up pace makes the round a giveaway, and while the stumbling in rounds 2 and 3 was not as abundant, it was an issue repeated throughout the battle. His 2nd round is a step back in the right direction with plenty of good material, but not only were the stumbles still there, but also what many noticed was a recycled scheme he used vs. Wise on GOTG. Being technical, the Clone battle happened first, so this was the first time it was used, but it adds to an element of carelessness that you can see in the Clone and Wise matchups from Twork. His 3rd was pretty much completely clean, being a more drug talk-based round, and his best and most clean of the battle, although for many, it was too late into the battle.
Takeaways from Clone's performance
As for Clone’s performance, while many will say the first two rounds were basically handed to him, I think it’s a bit more detailed than that. He was good in the 1st, and although he wouldn’t have lost unless he had a slip-up, he still performed at a reasonable level. This wasn’t exactly the case in the 2nd, as even with the stumbles continuing, there’s an actual argument Clone still didn’t match Twork content-wise and left the 2nd round reasonably debatable. The real difference, though, is the 3rd, where Clone matches Twork’s approach with some drug and real talk of his own and has the best of the round and outbars a good Twork round.
When you get big matchups, people want to see if you can compete with the best while they’re also engaged and if you can match or defeat them at that level. While the 1st two rounds were Clone handling business while Twork at times didn’t, the 3rd is Clone doing more than what’s asked and taking the round even when the material he’s facing is formidable. Whether you call it a 2-1 or 3-0, it’s a clear W for Clone over one of the bigger names in the entirety of Battle Rap and something that helps his arguments when discussing where he ranks amongst some of the better punchers in the sport. Great win for one of the more underrated battlers in the game right now.
Bad Newz vs JC Recap
The Co-main event of the card, Bad Newz locked in with another top-tier talent, but this time a pen-heavy talent with JC. Newz’s last 2 years have been very stock-positive, with many top-tier battles and successful YouTube numbers to match almost every look. JC, on the other hand, has been in one of the least impactful eras of his career post Surf, but as per usual, dropping the occasional gem of a battle no matter the league.
1st Round
The first round of this battle is solid but the least back-and-forth of all three, with JC leading the battle with his weakest round. Still, with witty lines throughout, it wasn’t really a bad round, but it lacked the pace, energy, or haymaker highs he would have as the battle went on. By the end of his first, he landed his Ambidextrous and Action Figures bars shortly before he ended his first, making it a formidable but beatable round.
Bad Newz took advantage in his first, having all the energy and peaks he needed to show clear separation. Worth mentioning, the basis of this round was mainly Vice Lord/Vice flips, which led to some of his best bars of the round. Newz’s pen was clearly a step up from the usual level through one round, and combine that with his already strong delivery, and you have a clear 1-0 lead for the Carolina native after one round.
2nd Round
The 2nd is where JC needed to respond with power, which is what he did. With a round delivered with more aggression, the landing rate and the impact of each bar was up from the 1st. Landing a bomb early with:
“I got a silencer / I got a silencer / I don’t mind saying it twice
“Just as John John / you can’t even add it on (add Di Don) if you ain’t saying it right”
From there, his momentum never stopped, landing his best material from the battle throughout and showing an elite level JC that set the bar extremely high to win the 2nd. Although Bad Newz started his 2nd very heavy as well, with his Disciples and Splinter (one of his best of the battle) bars to start, his 2nd was good but just not good enough. It was a good 2nd round start for Bad Newz, but with JC waking up in the 2nd, it was a clear 1-1 heading into the 3rd.
3rd Round
As is with many good battles, it came down to the 3rd round. JC starts his 3rd with an angle about Bad Newz and Remy Ma’s matching watches photo, something both battlers had mentioned through the battle for bars but only used as more of a full angle here. While ending in comedic fashion, the angle wasn’t very strong, and it took JC a couple of punches afterward to heat up as well, giving him a slow start at a time when he needed the opposite. The rest of his round is similar to his 1st, where it’s witty but lacks that momentum he found in his 2nd and lands his best bars of the round only right before the round ended (last time Bad Newz shut down the A / was COVID).
This left the door open for Bad Newz, who himself didn’t start too crazy with a pair of Chess and Rock schemes, which both were somewhat outdated. After this, though, he handled business, picking up momentum by talking about being in jail before battle rap, saying he “always had a career in the bullpen”, flip obviously off the league itself. He carried that momentum into his wordplay off the word “liability,” and finally, a couple more bars about JC’s Loss to Surf, an approach that still feels effective vs. the legendary pen. Although this round isn’t as straightforward as the 1st or 2nd was, it did feel as if Newz once again matched JC in content while still doing the other aspects of battling at a higher level. With one of his most complete showings vs another top name in his career, Bad Newz comfortably wins the 3rd, with an impressive 2-1 victory in a good battle overall.
The run that Bad Newz has been on in 2024 has been highly consistent now, with Wins over names like Dot, Arsonal, and JC. With another call-out for T-Rex in the 3rd round of this battle, it looks like Newz could be building up the best year of his career if he keeps up with his top-heavy schedule and battling at this level. JC’s career is cemented, and there’s no changing the legend he is. While battles like this used to be locked in clear wins for him in the past, rounds like his 2nd still show he very much has all the ability he’s always had, and it’s just a matter of getting a battle where that JC shows up for all 3 rounds—one of the better Bullpen battles this year.
