On a recent Twitter Space, Hitman Holla took the opportunity to address some of his recent tweets directed at Aye Verb, sparking widespread speculation and conversation among the battle rap community. The tension between the two Saint Louis battle rap icons became palpable after a series of cryptic messages from Aye Verb’s timeline on Sunday seemed to be aimed at Hitman.
Man Verb u can say whateva u want .. BUT you and I kno what’s going on .. ima say this .. stop the internet shit b4 we pull up to a battle event .. I hid it from the public since 2018 (the first time u got caught) me and u both kno this ain’t a problem u want..
— #BallGame✌ (@HitmanHolla) July 15, 2024
Hitman Holla opened a Twitter Space and started it off by giving a bit of a back story of when he first met Aye Verb. He began to chronicle his relationship with Aye Verb from the mid-2000s to the pivotal turning points in their relationship in 2010. After Hitman battled Arsonal, he says he got the word about Verb wanting to battle him in 2011, a year before their historic battle in 2012.
This is important to highlight this because Hitman points out how there had always been rumblings or remarks from Aye Verb that would occur behind the curtains and get back to him.
“We battled and created history, but ever since then, I’ve always kept my eye on Verb. I ain’t ever gonna let the public know. People know my voice matters a little more; I got more respect in battle rap than Aye Verb. I always got more respect than him, and he never really liked that. It always bothered him, but I always chose to stand behind him. Verb didn’t come to my biggest battle at the time against Arsonal, but I was always front line for him.” – Hitman Holla via Twitter Spaces
— #BallGame✌ (@HitmanHolla) July 15, 2024
Fast Forward To 2018...
Hitman began to reference a tweet from ARP that was made back in 2018. Which ARP tweets to Aye verb “Damn Aye Verb, did you tell Hitman Holla how you told me, if I book Hitman, he can’t get paid more than you, and how he (hitman) ain’t done nothing for me, and he ain’t ever put me in a position to win so I ain’t gonna do nothing for him.”
ARP showed this to Hitman to highlight what Aye Verb would say about Hitman behind his back.
This revelation was the catalyst that led to the private fallout, where Hitman and Aye Verb didn’t have much of a connection behind the scenes but were able to save face for the public.
Deterioration of The Relationship:
Hitman Holla candidly shared that over time, his relationship with Aye Verb had gradually deteriorated, resulting in infrequent communication. Despite this, Hitman emphasized that he harbored no ill feelings towards Verb and had never publicly voiced his suspicions that Verb might have always been jealous of him. Still, he always got word of things he would hear about what Verb would say regarding Hitman, so Hitman kept his distance. Instead of being vocal about this, Hitman chose to keep his feelings private, avoiding any public remarks.
Hitman points out that he still supported Aye Verb and showed up to many of his battles. He would speak highly of him in interviews or on social media, all off the strength of Saint Louis and maintaining the public relationship for the Battle Rap culture.
Hitman even shares that while trying to organize the Murda Mook battle on his league, Bags & Bodies, he offered Aye Verb a battle with Bill Collector for $10,000. Aye Verb said he wanted to be paid $20,000, and they couldn’t come to an agreement on it. This shows that despite their current relationship, Hitman would still try to look out for Verb.
The Murda Mook battle is the next & crucial phase of this.
Multiple Different Murda Mook Negotiations:
In the Twitter Space, Hitman began to detail some of the hurdles he’s gone through with trying to get this mega match to happen. He states that Remy Ma wanted the battle on Chrome 23. Remy advised Hitman to start writing but he never got a deposit or downpayment for the battle. He has expressed that he is unable to get invested or creatively into a battle unless some form of payment is received. He views his time as an investment, and without the initial capital to reconcile the time he would need to use to prepare, he can’t get focused on a battle without any money upfront. Time has prolonged, and no motion came from Chrome after the initial contact.
Hitman tried to set the battle up on his league and have him, and Mook get 50/50 on the event, but the logistics could not be agreed upon. After failing at the attempt to set the battle up himself, on June 13th, 2024, Hitman Holla and Beasley from the URL (Ultimate Rap League) had officially made contact and were officially in communication.
Hitman then confirms that private ongoing discussions with Beasley have been reoccurring behind the scenes in regards of the potential booking of the Mega Match against Murda Mook. Beasley informs Hitman that securing a sponsor is crucial, and while the URL is still searching for a sponsor, Beasley asks Hitman to use his reach to see if he can find a sponsor of his own who can cover the down payment of the battle so that it can be locked in.
Sponsorship & Transparency
Hitman reached out to former NFL player Gerald McCoy to see if he would sponsor the battle and provide the necessary down payment. Hitman was transparent about the amount he would receive. McCoy agreed to provide $20,000. The agreement was that once the down payment was received, Hitman could start preparing for the battle, and the remaining logistics would be sorted out later by URL. However, Beasley informed Hitman that they were still trying to secure a sponsor for Murda Mook’s end of the battle.
Hitman Holla and Beasley had been in communications for a few weeks, negotiating with him to make his return to URL. As a reminder, these negotiations were confidential, and to mislead the public in marketing and potential promotion efforts, hitman would go on Twitter and say things like “Beasley is welcome to reach out to me. Beasley still hasn’t called my phone yet. Multiple days have passed, and there are still no signs of Beasley.”
All of this effort was to calculatedly misdirect the public with this smoke screen. The ultimate goal was to make the battle’s official confirmation a thrilling surprise. The plan was to make the public believe Hitman & Beasley were not speaking, adding to the excitement of the eventual reveal.
Hitman Holla followed up with Gerald in regards to receiving the down payment for the battle so that he could get started on writing, but he did advise Gerald that if the battle logistics didn’t manifest and pan out, he would be able to return the $20,000 downpayment to him. However, no money has been sent out yet because concerns have been raised.
ARP's Intervention and the Communication Breakdown:
As Hitman continued to voice himself on Twitter during the negotiations with Beasley. ARP reached out to hitman to tell him he had a potential sponsor for the battle with Murda Mook. ARP explained to Hitman that Gerald McCoy had called him, but he was concerned about sponsoring the battle, and he was seeking a second opinion because he felt Hitman might be setting him up.
Gerald had become suspicious after hearing Hitman say he hadn’t spoken to Beasley on Twitter, which contradicted their agreement for the sponsorship. At that point, Hitman realized Gerald was unaware of the marketing plan that Hitman & Beasley had laid out for his potential URL return.
Clearing The Air With All Parties
ARP also revealed to Hitman that Gerald sought a second opinion from Aye Verb. Verb then advised Gerald not to trust Hitman. Verb allegedly told Gerald that Hitman and Nick Cannon were not on good terms and that sponsoring Hitman was a bad idea.
Hitman requested a three-way conversation with ARP and Gerald. During this call, Hitman asked Gerald why he hadn’t reached out directly. Gerald explained he was seeking a second opinion because of what he saw. Hitman explained to him that this was a part of the marketing of the battle.
Hitman then initiated a three-way phone call with Gerald and Beasley. Beasley clarified the marketing plan to Gerald, explaining that the intention was to keep fans in suspense by making it seem like the battle wasn’t happening. This revelation led Gerald to realize he should have contacted Beasley or Hitman directly. Gerald apologized and assured Hitman that the down payment could be sent anytime.
Before ending the conversation, Hitman, ARP & Gerald got on another 3-way call again where everything was cleared up, but Hitman made it clear to Gerald to let Verb know that he was aware of the negative remarks made behind his back. Hitman chose not to go public because Gerald asked him not to. But Hitman advised him just to let Aye Verb know. He is well aware of what he said, and this is the second time Hitman has noticed Aye Verb talking about him behind closed doors.
Update On Murda Mook Battle
Hitman gives a final update on the battle and says that the Murda Mook battle is off the table. Below is a full clip of Jay Blac asking Hitman Holla about the status of the battle, and Hitman gives a detailed update.
