The Road To Chrome - Let's Talk Battle Rap

LTBR Team: Kausion’s Road written by Staff Writer, France. | C3’s Road written by Staff Writer, Q Moody.

Remy Ma looks to put a ribbon on a historical journey for female battle rap this upcoming weekend at her Chrome 23 Anniversary Event.

The installment of the first-ever all-female battle rap tournament is coming to a grand finale. 16 ladies entered this competition to win $25,000 and a chance at battle rap history. And we are down to the final 2 competitors in C3 & Kausion.

One of the most prominent and legendary names in female battle rap vs the reigning Rookie of the year. Let’s reflect on both of their roads to the Chrome 23 finals.

757 Made Her Name Known

Kausion who is fairly newer to the battle rap scene is in the truest sense, what we would consider a rookie. She started getting her start battling at the tail end of 2019 and really made a stride in 2022 when she went through the 1SK and Brick by Brick process at RBE. Once she graduated from RBE’s farming system, she signed onto the league and wore the title of ‘The Queen of the Bricks’. And she wears the badge and logo of RBE with honor.

Within the span of a few battles, Kausion’s reputation quickly made stride on RBE, as she was consistently showing progression each time she stepped on the stage. Kausion was slowly starting to garner the attention of the media and most importantly her peers. One of the pioneers in female battle rap by the name of Gattas, got familiar with watching Kausion move up the ladder and make a name for herself, and she had earned a great deal of respect from Gattas. In fact, Gattas was the person who made a recommendation to Remy Ma to add Kausion to the Chrome 23 Tournament as one of the newer talents in female battle rap.

A day prior to the first round of the tournament, Kausion was also booked for RBE’s staple event, Blood Sweat & Tiers 7, which is a theme card to give RBE’s upcoming talent a shot against a veteran. Kausion had her first real test against Bonnie Godiva. And not only did she rise to the occasion, but she followed up this performance by battling less than 24 hours later in the first round of the Chrome 23 Tournament and advanced. Kausion really elevated her stock within the culture that weekend and gained a ton of respect and traction.

Her rise at RBE has emerged her to be not only the star of the 2022 class of Bricks, but also the best battle rapper of that class. Coincided with the run she had in the Chrome 23 tournament as the underdog, she earned her way into being anointed & rewarded as the Rookie Of the Year on Champion, and various other platforms.

3 weeks prior to the Chrome 23 finals, she was featured on RBE’s Divide and Conquer event. She was matched up against a female battle rap legend in QB Black Diamond, and while the results of that battle were not so favorable to Kausion, the experience of competing against a legend and standing in front of QB’s presence will serve as one of the most valuable lessons she could ever learn. Especially before her C3 battle, this could pay off to her benefit in the long run. And her last 3 opponents have been Bonnie Godiva, Qb Black Diamond & C3. 3 all-time greats in female battle rap. What an illustrious start to her rookie year.

First Round- Against CheyRaq

Kausion put herself in a very difficult spot to start this tournament.

Kausion coming off a back-to-back, shows a bit of fatigue in her pen. She opens the battle with 100% full intensity and energy but her content in the first two rounds was solid enough to hold some weight in the room but not strong enough that she couldn’t be overpowered. CheyRaq has a bit more versatility and range in her content. She was able to get into some dope rhyme patterns, some jokes, back to-back punches. She was just very lacking in energy. She arguably had the better material but didn’t deliver it as if she did.

Quarter Finals- Against Yoshi G

Kausion leveled up from her showing in the first round and she displayed all of her attributes at her highest level. Her performance and aggression were on 100. And she actually walked away with the highest score of the night on all of the judge’s scorecards. Which would be equivalent to being the performer of the night. She is now rewarded with a rematch against Bonnie Godiva after battling her six weeks ago.

Semi Finals- Against Bonnie Godiva Part 2

In a span of 6 weeks, we are presented with one of the fastest rematches in battle rap history, Kausion & Bonnie Godiva stand in front of each other again. And Kausion takes a bit of a step back from the level she performed at against Yoshi, and was able to be the beneficiary of Bonnie Godiva being unable to execute their material cleanly.

Kausion now advances for the second time going into her battle as the underdog and has completed 4 battles in a span of 6 weeks.

A Legend Getting Their Just Due

C3 is without a doubt legend in women’s battle rap. One of the most talented women to ever grace the culture and she has a track record of clear wins and classic battles to match. But for as great and consistent as C3 has always been, she’s not quite as box office or highly regarded as the Jaz the Rapper’s, 40 Barrs’, and Ms. Hustle’s of the world.

C3 has great clashes against all of her top-tier peers, and she’s even has some clear wins against the past two ladies that have won Women Of The Year (WOTY). But this is the defining moment to really put an early stand into C3’s 2023 and remind the world that she has the deepest bag of tricks, and one of the most versatile ranges of the skillset of any battle rapper, male or female.

Winning this Saturday vs Kausion in the finals of Chrome 23’s tournament could be the beginning of changing the narrative on that though. C3 was able to be a part of this tournament by the grace of Couture stepping out of the tournament. And she was literally added to the mix of names 20 minutes before Remy Ma announced the match-ups for the tournament. And now C3 is a finalist. C3’s path to the finals maybe wasn’t as rigorous as Kausions, but reflecting back on it, it was a pure display of dominance. You can easily argue she didn’t lose a single round on her way to the finals.

First Round- Against 40 BARRS

40 BARRS goes 1st and has a weak, choppy round, and C3 responds strongly and takes the first clearly. She places herself in a dominant position. 40 still can’t get it together in the 2nd and C3 continues the momentum putting the nail in the coffin to secure the win. 40 had some nice layered content in the 3rd but still could not deliver it cleanly, leading to a unanimous decision for C3 in a dominant showing. POTN (performance of the night) caliber battle for the veteran C3.

C3 Looks to be one of, if not the best battler remaining in the tournament. And 6 weeks later, that proved to be correct.

Quarter Finals- Chayna Ashley No Shows

Due to a health concern, the rematch between Chayna Ashley & C3 did not go down, and C3 advanced to the Semi-Finals

Semi Finals- Against Chetta

The Chetta battle was a really good back-and-forth between two women whose writing abilities are top-notch. For my money, it’s maybe the best battle from the tournament as a whole. There’s no shame at all in having a close battle with Chetta. Chetta is a perfect example of why “name” doesn’t always equate to the strength of schedule. Chetta on a lot of nights could be a tougher battle than plenty of other women who might be more popular, there’s a reason she made it to the final 4. C3 didn’t cut any corners or slack at all and took Chetta as seriously as she would take any legend or top-tier.

Path to Victory Cor C3

That brings us to Saturday at Chrome 23’s anniversary event. Finally putting a bow on the biggest tournament we’ve had for women’s battle rap. Winning this would mean a lot of things to a lot of different people, but for C3 it’s a stamp. That her name belongs right next to the best. That the history she makes shouldn’t get swept under the rug. Winning this tournament should get C3 treated like the model of consistency that she truly is.

Kausion is a formidable opponent. There are plenty of reasons to start talking about Kausion as having one of the best rookie campaigns ever and it wouldn’t be hyperbole. Here are some things that could keys to victory for C3 taking this battle and this tournament.

Relying On Her Freestyling

When I mention how talented C3 is, it’s not just her pen. She’s a truly great freestyler. And when you’re going to be on a big stage at such a big event, headlined by such a monster matchup in Eazy vs Hitman and how star heavy the rest of the show will be, having the freestyling ability could be a tide-turner and a way to keep Kausion from building too much momentum

Writing Uphill

Piggybacking off of the last point, C3 needs to put some of that veteran experience to use and let Kausion burn herself out in the first round. In a tournament battle, the thing you want is the last word and the final impression. Who did what in the first round doesn’t matter as much. Saving your best for last is maybe the best way to go and C3’s pen is more than potent enough to put pressure on Kausion early before putting her away in the later rounds.

Who Will Perform More?

Let’s be honest, this isn’t a battle between two women who are heavy performers or who have performance-based styles. When you see this battle on paper, you probably think potentially small room classic at first. This battle is happening on a big night though and because of that, who will control the stage more becomes an x-factor in this battle and C3 does have the edge in that department. If we get a more aggressive version of C3 who makes use of the stage and wins the visual war of the battle and LOOKS like she’s winning, that will go a long way in her getting decided as the winner.

Path to Victory for Kausion

Keys to Victory for Kausion to win this battle.

Shock value of the unknown

Kausion has the gift and the curse of this being the first big stage battle of her career. While inexperience can rear its head in this situation, we also don’t know what she looks like on a stage of this magnitude. If she shows that she is able to register her material and pace early with the crowd, it will signify that she has some understanding of how to translate on a big stage. If she gets some footing on what works, she can catapult herself with the momentum of everyone seeing the unknown.

Enhancing her current Attributes.

Kausion is a dense writer. The Metaphors are sneaky, the schemes can be hidden gems and there isn’t always a punchline connected to her aggression, but rather more, an idiom mixed with talking to her opponent. And this connects with the crowd because it’s relatable. She gets direct with flipping a name or talking about her opponent’s stigmas or reputations. And few times it can lack some directness, and with being in front of someone who is as surgical and calculated as C3, fighting fire with fire could be a good idea, especially with Kausion introducing her latest addition of adding humor and jokes into her material as we have recently seen against QB Black Diamond.

C3 is a much more versatile battle rapper. And in this situation, Kausion has to be the one to adapt to more of the environment than C3 does. Any holes that she can close with her content, will bridge the gap of their skillset.

Understanding the Categories

One small advantage Kausion does have in this tournament is that she’s battled more times than C3 within the format. The judges will be using the 5-Cat System that was created by Drect. This system is a point-based system that centers its focus on Punchlines | Performance/Delivery | Crowd Control | Wordplay | Improvisation.

Kausion having the opportunity to have 1 extra battle under this format, could give her a little more of an understanding of what the judges are looking for. But she will still have to execute. Writing uphill is always ideal and its what every battle strives for, but Kausion having a powerful third round can lasting impression to help her get over the hump if she finds herself staying competitive within the first two rounds.

There aren’t a lot of boxes that Kausion can check off, that C3 can’t. Flat out, C3 is the better battle rapper in all areas you can think of. Kausion’s inexperience could be very glaring in this situation. But Battle Rap is an underdog sport and Kausion has a chance to cement her name in history, while she stands in front of the most difficult challenge she’s ever had, against the most dangerous opponent she’s ever faced, on the biggest stage of her career.