With all of the hype surrounding Summer Madness 12, it can be unexacting for news, announcements and matchups to get swept under the rug. Tay Roc vs Swamp is one battle that certainly deserves some spotlight in the wake of the ‘madness’, due not only to it being Roc’s 8th SM appearance (2nd most of all time) but it also being Swamp’s 1st SM appearance!
This is just another day in the office for Tay Roc as he is only chasing his own shadow, while also attempting to outperform his Guntitles brother Tsu Surf on the world’s biggest stage. However, we have a ton of potential to look forward to with his upcoming battle vs Swamp! Tay Roc wants to be the best to ever do it, while Swamp is hungry for a staple, career win that will permanently elevate his status in the culture. Both of these MC’s deserve an immense amount of support, anticipation and coverage as they collide as two of the world’s most unique battle rappers.
The Day Is Finally Here
This battle vs Tay Roc is one of the last chances Swamp has at becoming a mainstay on the Ultimate Rap League. It’s one thing to consistently be labeled as an underdog, but to be so close to stardom and not capitalizing on it would be an almost criminal fail.
I was talking to my fellow writer/analyst/content creator Taurus (The Coin Flip) and he had a profound perspective on this matchup. When asked about Tay Roc vs Swamp compared to JC vs Surf, Taurus said: “If JC loses this battle, what does he really lose?… Think about how many tiers away Swamp is from Roc… The tournament was the first time I actually got to see what Swamp looks like in that pocket… But if he fumbles the bag, I think he’s likely to fall back into that obscurity.” Frankly I agree. I’ve been a huge Swamp supporter and I love to rep the South, however another bad loss here and I won’t have much to defend as far as his top tier status goes. This is the last hoorah for Swamp to prove he can be a consistent and competitive main stage presence.
There’s not much on the line to lose for Tay Roc ahead of this matchup. He’s come out publicly and said his goal is to be better than Tsu Surf on SM12. At this point in his career, I feel that is a viable plan for success. If Roc and his Guntitles brother can be the top two performers on the card, it would be clear that their group runs battle rap at the moment. After being the face of the league for so long, it is incredible that Roc and Surf have come together to go from individual powerhouses, to creating a team of statistically dominant battle rappers. Tay Roc looks to keep up the momentum his team has garnered on the world’s biggest battle rap stage.
WFSC! (We From South Carolina)
Swamp is making his Summer Madness debut in the Carolinas, with hopefully two goals in mind:
- Defeat Tay Roc (not just stay competitive)
- Impress the hometown fans
Not only is this a “home game” for Swamp where he is set up to be as comfortable as possible, but it is also his second big stage showing on URL in 2022. Swamp was originally scheduled to battle Chef Trez, on The Riot’s ‘Came Bearing Gifts’ card, on September 3rd. Battling 3 weeks prior to Summer Madness may have compromised Swamp’s possibilities of putting on a clean performance against Tay Roc. Swamp may have made it all the way to the finals in UM5, but it’s worth nothing that 3 out of his 4 performances during that run, were not 100% clean. He had a hard stumbles vs Suge & Rum Nitty, which to his benefit were not as costly as the choke he had against JC in the finals. The self-awareness to reschedule the Chef Trez battle due to his notorious history of stumbles/chokes, could turn out to be one of his best business decisions.
In order to defeat Tay Roc, Swamp is fully aware that his performance needs to be clean and his bars to be potent if he wants to be able to knock out the face of the league. I think this rest time is the perfect opportunity for Swamp to capitalize on his momentum from the UM5 tournament and proves he is a captivating big stage battler!
Now Tay Roc is no stranger to “away games” as this will be his 3rd time on Summer Madness vs a battler in their home state. Roc has a history of doing well in these battles, seeing as how he beat DNA by consensus (& personal opinion), plus his Hollow Da Don performance was absolutely classic. I anticipate him to deliver a comparable performance this time around as well, seeing as how Tay Roc embraced the road game challenge in a recent interview with HHIR.
Eliminate The Filler
The real factor deciding who will win this battle, is going to be the MC with the least amount of dry spells throughout the battle. While this may seem like common knowledge to most, scheme, bar and angle potency will play a key role in the outcome of this bout.
Tay Roc has recently been doing well at sticking with one rhyme pattern for a significant amount of time during any given round. This type of rapping opens him up to the possibility of being redundant and not being received as well on playback. If he can eliminate the pockets where the crowd feels he “isn’t saying anything” then Roc has a strong case to win yet another Summer Madness battle.
Swamp has been a heavy angler as of late, and how the crowd reacts to certain angles is definitely hit or miss in 2022. One risk of battling a guy who’s been around since the League’s conception is, there isn’t much to be said that hasn’t been said already. Swamp’s biggest challenge is breaking down his opponent in a way that not many people have been able to do so effectively. If he can find a way to blindside Tay Roc with a mixture of angles and haymakers, Swamp could be on his way to the biggest win of his career.
What To Expect From Tay Roc & Swamp
Swamp’s going on a 4 battle win streak has ranked him within the Top 10 on the URLTV app.
Tay Roc will be Swamp’s third opponent that is ranked within the Top 10 of the league (Rum Nitty, JC & Tay Roc). As Swamp climbs the ladder, so does the competition.
From all projections & factoring in experience, Tay Roc SHOULD win this battle. Every prediction thread, voting poll, or blog that I’ve come across has him listed as the favorite. This is Tay Roc’s 8th trip to Summer Madness vs Swamp’s debut, which justifies all the numbers you see in terms of predictions.
But that doesn’t mean we should expect Swamp to lay down and take an L in front of the entire battle rap world. There is history to be written with this card and these battlers want to be remembered for their best performances to date.
As a fan, expect to see a style clash that exudes everything we are looking for in a Summer Madness battle. You’ll get to see the hunger of a battler on the rise looking to prove himself to the world as one of the best MC’s in America. You’ll get to see a veteran, staple figure in the culture fighting to show the world he is STILL at the top of his game even after a decade of battling. Expect Tay Roc to show up with his energy on 1000 ready to punch his way to victory. Expect Swamp to show up prepared and ready to make up for UM5. These are the matchups we all didn’t know we needed. Tay Roc is a clear favorite, but make no mistake, if anyone can find a way to pull off an upset here, it’s Swamp. Don’t let the polls and prediction blogs fool you.. ANYTHING can happen and we will find out, September 24th at 3PM ET on CaffeineTV. Live and for free !
