GTX Ouroboros Recap

By / August 9, 2022 / Editorials

Ouroboros

Event Rating

Event Recapped by France

LTBR Award Recipients

Battle of the Night: Dizaster vs Geechi Gotti | Pass vs B Magic
Biggest win: Aktive over Truth Theory
Best Round Of The Night: Marv Won’s 1st vs Sahtyre
Best Performances of the night: #1 Geechi Gotti | #2 Dizaster | #3 Pass  | #4 A.Ward | #5 Marv Won

Another Successful GTX Event

Ouroboros. Most hear would hear the name and follow up by asking, what does it mean ? Ourobors is a symbol that depicts a serpent devouring its own tail and that is used to represent the eternal cycle of destruction and rebirth. Consider it an emblem of infinity. The Ouroboros eats its his tail as a means of life. This ancient icon is one of the world’s oldest mythical symbols. It is tied with the beginning and the end. This symbol became a parallel theme of the card and an even deeper connection with the representation of what GTX brings.

GTX is going back to their essence, with bringing back familiar names, placing veterans against each other to relive moments of their peaks against each other, putting together older generation talent vs newer generation. It’s all embodies the infinite cycle of what we witness at almost every single battle rap event. Watching battlers destroy each other in the ring and build each other back up after their war, an endless paragon of battlers trying to reinvent their selves for performances or others that are trying to revert back to older version of their selves. GTX presents a theme of revisiting tradition and going back to a time period in our lives, to re-experience nostalgia in the present.

GTX touches back to it’s Grind time roots and continues to provide that nostalgic aura around these battles.

My favorite part is how dedicated GTX is to creating little Easter eggs within the aesthetics of their venues.

Overall the event was filled with some fun battles, some vintage performances, real entertaining individual performances and a great back and forth from your main event.

Personally thought the commentary was missing some of value from the first event. Drect, June & RX provided a great balance. I think 3 commentators fit very well to provide in a mediator and two opposing opinions. Beatz Gatlin & RX provided a fun commentary but I wouldn’t mind seeing Colombo just enjoy the event from the crowd, as he sounded a bit dated and out of touch with the current climate of battle rap. His analysis of the battle recaps seemed to only favor his predictions which he wouldn’t wavier on.

None the less, the stream was of good quality, I didn’t mind the delay in start time, It’s a Friday night, where else am I gonna go? Plus the battles were going through at a speedy rate. We got through half the card in about a little under 3 hours. The commercials and ads in between battles were interesting to say the least !

Listen to our Full LTBR Recap of Ouroboros on Twitter Spaces Featuring illmac, Pass, Frak, Fate.

Young Kannon vs Fate

Recapped by France

A match of two pure punchers set the stage for the night. Fate has been a rising talent and who made a name for himself during the KOTD Season one and he makes a consecutive appearance on GTX, to take on a battle rap veteran straight outta Chicago, Young Kannon. This was a perfect test for Fate to stand in front of someone in the role of a gatekeeper like Young Kannon and rise above to the occasion. I felt this was an opportunity for Fate to demonstrate what the potential of his ceiling could be…And Young Kannon made sure to spoil this opportunity.

Fate will always remain competitive in these battles but sometimes his lack of performance or inability to shift momentum or sustain a high threshold for his opponent to reach, has created an obstacle for him in some of his recent performances. He hasn’t been able to get over the Hump. Meanwhile Young Kannon is clicking on all cylinders, he is particularly comfortable battling in west coast crowds and had a powerful third round that can easily be considered a knockout round. 

Round 1: Young Kannon (clear)
Round 2: Fate (Edge)
Round 3: Young Kannon (clear)

Highlights:

“Law Abiding Citizen/can’t fight FATE.”
“Jerome from Snowfall beat your ass teach your man how to squabble.”
“762’s everywhere/look like my daughter spilled the crayon box.”
–Young Kannon

“Jimi Hendrix, I don’t got no spitting image.”
“named yourself Kannon/Canon/never be an icon/Nikon.”
“God flow, old Geechi Gotti/kill him with my eyes closed.”
–Fate

Reverse Live vs Xcel

Recapped by France

Another solid appetizer for the night. Reverse Live sets off the battle by going first and he enters the battle with a decent round, he doesn’t set the the bar of his first round too high but it is strong enough that will make Xcel have to snatch the round away from him. Xcel opens the battle off with a strong round and flexing his lyricism and quality penmanship. I have Xcel edging the first round, and Reverse live taking the last two. Reverse live has developed a very quality habit of knowing how to structure his rounds to write uphill and conserve his energy to increase and fuel his momentum as the battle progresses.

Reverse Live having an uphill round and getting better as the battle continues makes him a very difficult opponent to go the distance with. I have Reverse Live winning this battle in the last 2 rounds. 

Round 1: Xcel (clear)
Round 2: Reverse Live (Edge)
Round 3: Reverse Live (clear)

Highlights:
“Emergency airlift/chopper hitting X on the roof.”
“been trapping in the sticks like you snapping in the trail.”
“Smack knew you was a rip off from the door like a movie pass.”
– Reverse Live

“wave with black bags and that hearse fit/put that thing down flip it and Reverse it.”
“smack ya gums out the ring like Mr. Perfect.”
“you could tell his pop Dusty/Rhodes are different/his American Dreams are my Nightmares.”
-Xcel

Pass vs B-Magic

Recapped by France

An absolute treat and blast from the past for some high level rapping. Pass and B magic was once booked before and the battle fell through, so now its the perfect opportunity for them revisit this match. This is one of those battles that makes you say “That hasn’t happened yet???”

Pass is showing the consistency he has reigned all year from the KOTD S1 & his GTX Debut, fast pace rhythmic, well tailored multisyllabic attacks. He sets the tone very well for the Battle, as B-Magic first round was a visit to nostalgia. If you are a newer fan and never got the chance to see B-Magic in his prime live, his first round was a perfect flash of what he can do at his absolute peak. A seamless flow of hard hitting chain punching, in a smooth cadence.

While Magic’s 1st round put the battle in a bright atmosphere, his 2nd & 3rd rounds fell a little short from the heights he was able to surface. he still had some good rounds. Pass was able to navigate the direction of the battle with his ability to relentlessly attack. Pass is always switching gears in multiple pockets while building up to a good name flip, sprinkled with punches along the way or getting very direct and opening up angles about magic’s style or his career. Pass was able to touch on a little bit more areas for me.

Also upon further review, When B-Magic was scheduled to battle Pass the first time around, he posted a video online spitting some of the material he prepared for Pass years ago. And Magic featured some of that same material into his rounds. Doesn’t technically constitute as a recycle but doesn’t feel good to reuse public material. This is why it’s important to never just throw away your rounds when battles fall through. You never know what the future holds.

Despite all of that, it was a competitive battle all 3 rounds and held the bar for battle of the night for the majority of the night, until the main event.

Round 1: B Magic (clear)
Round 2: Pass (Edge)
Round 3: Pass (clear)

Highlights:

“One to your temple like Malcolm X.”
“Your whole hood fake like WandaVision.”
“Bullethead in from a Hightower like the Harvey show.”
– B Magic

“You’re a Spirit flight you’re only booked ’cause your prices dropped.”
“You’ve been on a losing streak since Obama been in office.”
“This the west, there ain’t no Mid here. You in the Midwest having a Mid Life, Crisis Cause you Mid Tier”
-Pass

 

 

Chef Trez vs The Saurus

Recapped by France

A fun style clash and a freestyle fest. Chef Trez turns on his motor for this battle and is out the gate punching and displaying a lot more energy than we have seen in some of his previous showings this year. Trez sets a good tone for the battle. The Saurus responds with a few rebuttals and a very good 1st round that not only matched Trez, but exceeded it. We were in for a good battle 1 round in. Chef Trez then has a rebuttal for The Saurus’s Rebuttal. It was like a Rebuttal inception.

Chef Trez was able to go the distance and sustain the energy he introduced in the battle for all 3 rounds, while The Saurus may have tapered off towards the end of the third with a chance to close the door on a victory, a hard stumble was costly.

Both battlers had some real chilling lines and great quotables and this is a fun battle on the replay.

Round 1: The Saurus (Edge)
Round 2: Chef Trez (Edge)
Round 3: Chef Trez (clear)

Highlights:

“Never Rob Peter to pay Paul I’m getting both of them.”
“Bullets going through the body quicker than a journalist.”
“I’m unpredictable with the frees like a stutter step.”
–Chef Trez

 

“I used to wanna be the best ever, Now I just wanna be the next Bender.”
“Talking to the Chef like there’s a hair in my food.”
“Win convincingly like the ’92 Olympic team, dropped 50 pounds/check the triple beam.”
-The Saurus 

 

Aktive vs Truth Theory

Recapped by France

This was the most dominant performance of the night. Aktive had his way this entire battle and was in control. He placed Truth under a lot of pressure and Truth was unable to handle it.

Much respect to Truth for having a warrior’s mentality for even standing in front of Aktive in such a hostile and tough environment. An environment where the majority of the crowd is here in support of Aktive. But I didn’t feel at any point of this battle, there was a moment that showed truth theory belonged on this level of a stage. (At least not just yet.)
Truth will get better over time with dedication to the craft but he looked out of his league. While Aktive styled on him every round in his fashion and just showed him the ropes and levels. Aktive had no mercy and walks away with the Body of the night for the event.

Round 1: Aktive (Clear)
Round 2: Aktive (Clear)
Round 3: Aktive (clear)

Highlights:

“Dying on the set like Brandon Lee.”
“I didn’t have to spar to beat this boy I came 300 deep.”
-Truth Theory

“You won’t hear a cricket on this block if the loc is (locus) jumped.”
“You Russell Westbrook, you never help with rings.”
“I would knock you out, wake you up, and put you back to sleep. You’re reMARKable”- Aktive”
-Aktive

Sahtyre vs Marv Won

Recapped by France

Sahtyre, a Grindtime Staple name that rings the bells of nostalgia makes his return to the ring. Sahtyre was one of the best battlers and freestylers from the west during the Grind Time era and after a 12 year hiatus he returns to battle rap, to take on a living legend, that can still tap back into his prime on any given night.

Normally when battlers take a long layover of at least 4+ years, they struggle with adapting in a few areas. The biggest struggles we usually find in battlers making a return, is the pace within their delivery. Another issue with knocking off ring rust, is sometimes the content isn’t formatted to captivate the ear of today’s battle rap audience. Sahtyre didn’t actually have an issue with either of those components in his first round. He had some good multis, his delivery was slightly fast but I expected him to be somewhat off beat in pace but he had some solid material that was working with this crowd. He was a bit over theatrical in his first round to the point it got me dizzy. But none of that matters because Marv Won puts on the best round of the night. 

Marv put Sahtyre in a damn poster and a highlight reel in that first round! Marv Won completely showed the levels in the playing field. It was looking kind of dark at this point of the battle and I was worried for Sahtyre, but he responds back matching the intensity. His second was filled with more punches & he found his footing on his delivery and had a strong round. Marv Won 2nd round comes back down to earth a bit and is still tailored enough to compete but he closes the 2nd round weak so at this point we are waving both index fingers in the sky. (*waves 1-1 with fingers*)

Sahtyre’s comes back down to earth in his third round. He went for the low hanging fruit of fat jokes every round which eventually became tireless. Ultimately I believe Marv Won also won the third round clear, but not by the same margin he won the first round and walks away with a clear 2-1 victory. For Sahtyre to have taken 12 years off, he easily had one of the better come back performances ever. It’s really interesting when you review the trend of battlers who make a return to the scene, whether it be veterans or commercial/industry rappers who battled in the streets before the digital age, they all make a return back to battle rap and don’t ever just get obliterated or lose clearly. The Professional and modern battle rapper has a very uphill battle to climb with the expectation curve of someone we aren’t certain will adapt.

This is a reminder that being dominate for all 3 round is a much more difficult assignment than we assume and sometimes it takes a conscious effort to just die in battles, especially when being an underdog and having little to no expectations are in your favor.

 

Round 1: Marv Won (Clear)
Round 2: Sahtyre (edge)
Round 3: Marv Won (clear)

Highlights:

“out of nowhere you getting Knuckles like Sonic 2/fuck Dr. Robotnik too.”
“stab you in your flat head with this flathead/chopped and screwed.”
“Two pieces in your face watch this no Usher.”
–Sahtyre

“Green light a shooter Larry Bird the 40.”
“Shoot the butterflies out your stomach and turn this into a conservatory.”
“Best sleep of his life when I wrap Saht in sheets/satin sheets.”
-Marv Won

A.Ward vs Kitchen Qleen

Recapped by France

A thoroughly entertaining battle and a fun watch from start to finish. A.Ward, one of the prominet names in the culture and pound for pound one the best in the world at the moment, makes his debut on GTX to battle his fellow Midwestern comrade,  Kitchen Qleen. Qleen is coming off a powerful GTX debut, where he went toe to toe with the reigning Champion of the year (Geechi Gotti) and arguably won. He follows up with another entertaining performance, but this one lacked a bit of focus and cleanliness.

Qleen opens up the battle and kicks it off with some jokes and then transitions into some direct content and sprinkles in a few punchlines and brings back a few more joke in between. All of it was a perfect recipe to keep you on your heels and entertaining enough to enjoy the show. Ward starts his first with his signature rebuttals. MY REBUTTAL GAME IS CRAZY. And after two rebuttals, the crowd erupts and A.Ward takes flight (pun much intended)

While A.Ward is showing the variety of his skillset with schemes, jokes, angles & bars he always displays a special skill that very few battlers possess and its the ability to exit out of his written material to make up a mid round freestyle and jump right back into place of his material. An Airplane flies over the venue and Ward is able to make a freestyle about it on the spot, without even taking seconds to think about it. As dynamic as A.Ward’s first round was, I do feel it’s still a close round regardless and some can even edge it to Qleen, but the freestyles put it over the top for me.

Qleen struggled in the middle of his second round, It looked like he was losing place of his material which then caused him to pretty much recite his bars rather than perform it and the lack of confidence was transparent. He began to slow down his cadence just a bit, which in result his momentum suffered. A.Ward was a beneficiary of Qleen not being able to stay Clean in this battle. A.Ward walks away with a fundamental clear victory, although I do feel Qleen provided a ton of replay value and entertainment and could’ve made for a more compelling back and forth. 

A.Ward is coming off his 8th battle in 8 weeks and while he could’ve had a bit of a sharper in his performance and in his delivery, make no mistake. He is one of the most consistent battlers out. He gives 110% effort regardless of the stage, platform or opponent. He Is able to rap at a high level while constantly being a weapon in multiple attributes and a threat towards your best material with elite level freesyling, A.Ward is coming off of a career year, where he was ranked within the top 5 of COTY 2021 and he is still performing at that same level this year. He is a brilliant talent. 

Round 1: A.Ward (debatable)
Round 2: A.Ward (Clear)
Round 3: A.Ward (edge)

Highlights:

“At this point unless it’s at your funeral, I rolled up and poured a 4 in the communion Juice.”
“Green beam on the dot, oh this little light of mine.”
“if it’s 27 in my palm I shot 3 out the 30..”
-Kitchen Qleen

“I know a hard fiend smell better than Darlene Snail.”
“even God know Paper plane/plain/I could fold you.”
“I know pastors and Gangsters that both prayed for bodies.”
“Potential every saw it in Kitchen like the junk drawer, they had everything for Kitchen it went from Bed Bath & Beyond.”
-A.Ward

Dizaster vs Geechi Gotti

Recapped by France

Geechi and Dizaster put on a special battle, not just for the west but for the entire culture. I will be the first to openly admit, I was a bit skeptical about the forecast of this battle. Solely because Geechi & Dizaster are all time great names and when you put two forces like this across the stage from each other, the expectations are through the roof. I mean my god, the commentator Colombo said this could be the greatest battle of all time (yeah sure, no pressure at all)

And we have seen this happen historically, two colossal stars share the stage and it falls short of our expectations. But not only was the battle exceedingly better than I would’ve anticipated, it was immensely great with elite level counter writing, angles, punches, transitions, mulits and they both attacked each other to a point with no mercy or regards!

The battle has everything that a battle rap fan could desire a battle to have. The level of competitiveness in each round is outstanding to a point, I would say you can make an argument for them winning any round. Dizaster opened up a variety of angles about Geechi losing battles, his accolades not mattering in this era, slandering the URL App & Champion belts, calling Geechi over-saturated and displayed some beautiful counters.

Geechi had a variety of angles too, he decided to flex his resume and accolades as well, he talked about Dizaster not being street enough, geechi returned the league slander by making fun of GTX, he opened up an angle about Dizaster not giving Aktive the best opportunities.

This battle got extremely direct and it’s honestly a masterful display of all attributes at an elite level. This was the best Geechi Gotti performance of the year and Dizaster delivered for a consecutive time as the main event of his league.

Round 1: Geechi Gotti (debatable)
Round 2: Dizaster (Debatable)
Round 3: Geechi Gotti (Could be to Clear for some but still can be debated)

Highlights:

“Rodney King/only known for one big Riot event”
“Throw a baldhead in the crowd and Will Smith Chris Rock him”
“I’m sorry Geechi/we can’t build an empire off your pictures with Drake.”
“Mausberg put his body in the mausoleum.”
“Battled Swave and bodied the entire city with him, your era was well conditioned with areas that was air conditioned.”
“New Era/all cap/only made for you to fit in.”
-Dizaster

“GTX is just King Of The Dot with cheese, Lush in the center Dizaster main eventing… how Fantastic/ this is KOTD but less Organic (Organik)”
“Diz you not in the Street enough I don’t care how many languages you know you don’t speak for us.”
“The only dude to kill Lux clearly that’s a fun fact, I done fucked up more names than drunk Smack.”
“Real estate agent/I kept putting my enemies in funeral homes.”
“While you was riding horses in Lebanon, I was doin drive-bys in a Mustang.”
– Geechi Gotti

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