The difference between experienced veteran and first-time battle emcee was clear in Hitman Holla and Bonkaz' match-up at "Birth Of The Brave" this past Sunday (Dec. 6) in London, England. Their scheduled one-rounder marked the battle debut of Bonkaz, a U.K. grime artist who brought out some big names from the scene to support him. The official footage has already dropped — check it here.
BattleRap.com correspondent Impact spoke with both emcees to get their thoughts on the battle and the event as a whole.
Hitman Holla: "Your First Fight Can't Be Tyson
A seemingly confident and comfortable Hitman Holla opened the interview talking about the event as a whole. “It was a first-time event so I understand it's crazy, even SMACK events till this day be all over the place. So I understand, you know what I'm saying, it could've been a little bit better but I understand it's a first-time event ... as far as crowd and love it was wonderful.”
Hitman also spoke about Bonkaz' performance, taking into consideration that it was his first battle, "I think he did good. He could rap, that's what he's known for, he can rap. I just felt this was a wake-up call, like this is something totally different you know what I'm saying, he ain't really do as bad it's just you picked Hitman for your first one ... Your first fight can't be Tyson.”
Bonkaz: "I Don't Feel Like I Didn't Rep"
Bonkaz seemed content with his first attempt at battle rap. “It was dope man, it's exciting you know, even when [Hitman Holla] is rapping, it's something that I watch, I watch battle rap so when he's rapping and I'm like it's the same shit I'm watching on the Internet it's right in front of my face.”
Bonkaz said he took the event seriously and felt like he did well. “I got a lot of respect for the battlers you know what I mean and one thing I didn't want to do is come into somebody else's art form and not respect it ... I didn't feel like I took a L like that, I don't feel like I didn't rep.”
Despite what Bonkaz said, most of the feedback online is giving Hitman the win handily.
https://twitter.com/Claudio_Porter/status/673990576707117056
https://twitter.com/BabaMalt/status/673986882712297472
https://twitter.com/nazissistic/status/673986709076488192
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