Written by Staff Writers France & J-Smo
There are legends in our sport, and then there are legends amongst legends, and that is where battlers like Tay Roc reside. With a career that goes back to lost Fight Klub footage, early Lionz Den, and a break into stardom around 2014, the longevity + work rate combo that makes up Roc’s career is 2nd to none in Battle Rap history. Not only has he been competing at the highest levels of the game for over a decade as one of the best the game has to offer, but like LeBron in the NBA or Brady in the NFL, there’s an argument he’s gotten even better with age. Now, his 2024 is the prime crowning example of that.
Tay Roc's Complicated Relationship with COTY
When Champion of the Year was first established in 2017, Tay Roc landed #2 before O-Red won the first belt.
For years, this belief has been carved into the foundation of COTY like an unbreakable prophecy. To this day, many still argue that 2017 the belt was made for Roc, and it might’ve been the long-term domino effect that led us to our present day.
Within the next 5 years after 2017, Tay Roc makes the COTY top 20 list only 2 times. He didn’t rank within 2018-2020. He had major battles within that time with matches like Hitman Holla, Pat Stay, a K Shine rematch, Goodz, Geechi Gotti Daylyt, and Murda Mook, but still, many fans may have felt the peak of Roc was against Hollow Da Don on Summer Madness 6, and while he still reached high levels, we hadn’t seen that version of him for years. It wasn’t until his Chilla Jones battle in 2021 at NOME 11 and onwards that he started to see a 180 in the direction of Roc’s performances, his wins, and how he was shaping out his year. He was returning to form to being considered an active Top 20 battle, with a Top 10 placement in 2021, and in 2022, another runner-up year where he lands 2nd to Rum Nitty, the COTY of that year.
In 2023, Tay Roc ranked at #7 in the COTY Top 20. It was one of the biggest uproar and outrages of the 2023 COTY list, sending shockwaves everywhere, amongst the media, fans, Twitter spaces, you name it. The irony was seeing Fox 5 being integrated into the culture and releasing their own Top 10 active battler list at the end of the year, which also had Tay Roc ranked at #7, yet the list was praised and acknowledged by fans and Roc himself. It really showed COTY’s high prestige, and it makes sense why rappers actively pursue gold or high placements in their ranking at the end of the year. It’s the only version of an All-Star list in battle rap; it’s the only version of an All-NBA team or an All-Pro Team. It encapsulates the story of that calendar year within the culture, and with Tay Roc knocking on the door of this award twice within 5 years, it makes sense why it meant so much more to him.
Roc was vocal about wanting to be respected at a higher level when grading his years, especially after pushing up his volume of battles to 10+ for back-to-back years (his career highs up to that point). Once the initial wave of COTY-based frustrations passed, Roc’s message to start 2024 was very clear: he was coming for the belt. He made his statement felt by taking 6 battles within two months.
Did Volume Unlock Potential ?
Something to note with Tay Roc making the COTY List from 2021-2024 is the volume of his years.
Each year, he increased the total number of battles he’d had in a year. He expanded his reach by amplifying his output to an almost relentless pace. He made his impact and presence felt each time he touched the stage through sheer brute force, and yet, somehow, it was juxtaposed with a calculated approach. It wasn’t just being active and being outside for the sake of it. Tay Roc made his debut in 10 different leagues in these years.
It’s essential to highlight 2023 & 2024 because they served as an indie year for Tay Roc, almost like seeing a Tay Roc Road Tour. If he was one of your favorite battlers and you never made your way to New York to watch some of his prime years in Irving Plaza or the Gramaracy, his active years battling across the country on multiple different leagues was a way for new markets that have never seen Roc in person. Roc always puts 110% effort into it, so it pulled on the string of the battle rap hearts of fans, and it resonated with the people who may live in Milwaukee, Boston, Michigan, Orlando, and Raleigh and never got the Roc experience in person. It felt like they were getting an Irving Plaza Tay Roc showing in their backyards, and small things like this would eventually become compounded interest in building a deeper level of support.
The Trajectory of Tay Roc’s Volume:
2021: 7 Battles; Ranked #11
2022: 9 Battles; Ranked #2
2023: 11 battles; Ranked #7
2024: 16 battles; COTY
-Tay Roc battled three times within a month, in three different months (March, April, and October).
-Tay Roc battled 3x within two weeks, thrice in his year.
-Tay Roc battled on 9x different leagues in 2024; the most by anyone who has ever won COTY
-Tay Roc headlined 9 times in his 16 years of battles.
Averaging a battle a month, with the winning results he was producing, we have never seen this level of volume from Roc during his entire career. It’s a fine line between aggressive expansion and sustainability; it was like seeing a different version of Tay Roc’s prime refined.
On the one hand, it’s special to see one of the all-time greats increase his volume to this degree and be outside as frequently as he was. Although Tay Roc’s volume was solely rooted in accomplishing a goal, it brought up a lot of different talking points and opinions that may have clouded the vision. Some of the narratives consisted of fans feeling like Roc was unrightfully ranked in 2023, some narratives were about how a lot of high-volume battles before Roc’s 2024 weren’t as highly revered, or one of the most nonsensical narratives was that Roc had no one left to battle to ever win Strength of Schedule for COTY…
One Of His Most Competitive Years
Not just the most active year of his career, but I would go as far as to say one of the most competitive as well, as it consisted of many battles in the top-tier level matchups he had left. High-level fights vs. the likes of Bill Collector, A.Ward, Serius Jones, Bigg K, Chef Trez, and Jaz The Rapper. He also took on challenges, such as Reed Dollaz, Clone, Marv Won, and Loso, all on the road.
Loso and Clone on Bullpen, Reed in Philly on Battle Academy, Marv Won in Michigan on BMBL, A.Ward on his Riot debut. Then, the biggest fight of them all, facing Bigg K in a historic grudge match, on Roc’s KOTD debut as the main event of Massacre 6, which for many was an event of the year in 2024. He also secured two judged wins in the same weekend vs both Loso and A.Ward, showing the limits to which he pushed his prep time, too. This doesn’t even include the series of smaller league work where he was giving the same level of effort regardless of the level of opposition he stood in front of.
The Lows Points
No COTY year comes without controversy, obstacles, and, quite frankly, without a loss. Every single COTY has not been utterly flawless in a calendar year because it’s just not viably possible; you can point to every single Champion of The Year having a loss or two or a series of debatable outcomes.
Despite Roc obtaining a judged win over the Horsemen, many felt those battles were fairly contested. Or Nit-picking debatables from the Bill Collector battle, which is revered as one of the best battles of the year, or a competitive contest vs Marv Won. There was a tumultuous response to the time limit discrepancy in his Bigg K battle. (But if we’re gonna open that door, we’ll have a lot of battles in history to revisit. Even some of Roc’s battles this year where his opponents rapped longer than him)
But a clear Loss to Chef Trez and Jaz The Rapper having one of the best performances of the year against Roc in defeating him. Many will point to these two battles as the most significant stains of Roc’s year, but Roc still delivered a good showing in the Jaz Battle and clearly landed mainly in the Win column through 2024. The idea that COTY has been a ‘URL’ award has already been debunked in 2023, but even with Roc’s 2024. you can point to all of his low points being on URL and his high points being off the league.
Wins and losses are the foundation of someone building a COTY run, but this award has always been based on the 6 category criteria. Categories: Strenght of Schedule | Impact | Moments | Performance | Material | Consistency
When you couple Roc’s schedule being the toughest based on names and volume, coupled with his performances being consistently at a high level while generating cannon flash moments, and match that with being the most impactful battler of the year after checking off 4 of the 6 categories, it’s clear why Roc is our 2024 Champion Of The Year. He was rivaled by a worthy contender in Ave, who had a flawless year and dominated his categories within the criteria. He could also argue he had a better win-loss record against the same opponents. However, performance is the biggest separator between the two. Between the level of performances that Roc gave and those he received from his opponents.
As a main event battler through the era before and during COTY, Roc usually leads to elevated motivation from his opponents. Year after year, they face the best the game has to offer while they give their very best shot at knocking the king off his throne and standing tall with a list of Battle Of The Nights, Body Of The Nights, Round Of The Nights, and overall moments that are as long as a CVS receipt. 2024 COTY adds to a never-ending list of accolades from one of the most relentless and iconic battlers ever.
Roc isn’t just one of the best in Battle Rap; he embodies it and continues to do so after nearly 20 years of sharing his talents.
