There were some rumblings of discontent following the withdrawal of Tony D from his fourth consecutive title defence, but the introduction of Soul (and his writing skills) as his replacement gives a little more context to one of the undercard matches: Cee Major’s first international, against the esteemed Chilla Jones.
Cee Major is one of the U.K.’s best kept secrets, weaving dense lyricism and a persona that defies his frail ginger exterior to rise through the ranks of 2013’s Don’t Flop 2-on-2 tournament with fellow copper-haired crusader Wave Williams (formerly Cracker) to an eventual victory. He has rarely been pitted against battlers more established than himself, and his writing style is one that viewers accustomed to the Lunar Cs and Mark Grists of this world took a while to warm to.
He’s also had a very quiet 2014, battle wise. Focusing instead on his EPs and musical offerings (Humble Beginnings, released in July of this year, is marvelous) he ends his hiatus with a monumental challenge: a Chilla Jones bolstered from a year that featured an incredible clash with Real Deal and an impressive display against Daylyt.
Chilla Jones vs. Real Deal on King Of The Dot.
Having to handle a highly regarded URL mainstay as your first international clash would, for most people, be lodged firmly in clammy palms territory. But Cee is unflappable, and the only people I’ve seen soundly beat him are Shuffle T/Marlo and Ogmios — all unconventional rappers, and all well-equipped to side-step Cee’s fast-paced, savvy onslaughts and trip him up.
I do not see Boston’s Chilla doing this. He will tackle his opponent head on — maybe not thematically, as I imagine there will be schemes and double entendres and gun threats galore — but in terms of matching Cee’s flow and sharp delivery. And it’s because of this that the battle is on course to building some repeat viewing cult fandom.
Chilla will have the edge in performance, but his scheme-heavy style has become part of the modus operandi of URL imitation. Cee is a fresh voice, molding schemes together in interesting ways and shifting themes often enough to stay one step ahead of Chilla in terms of angles. I feel like it may come down to performance due to the scale of the event, so Chilla may leave the venue with the crowd rallying behind him but the result will look a lot closer on camera.
Chilla is in absolutely formidable form at the moment, and has been since his breakout battle against JC (with a short lull on URL's mainstage against DNA). Cee will have to do one hell of a lot to beat him. But, as he and Cracker’s doubles' final against Bamalam and Cystic clearly demonstrated, he goes all out when the stakes are this high.
Chilla is also, however, new to U.K. shores, and it remains to be seen whether his style will fully translate against the authentic Britishness of Cee Major’s London drawl. The ever-broadening global appeal of battling should see to that though.
I mentioned Soul in the opening paragraph as this clash is most reminiscent of Soul vs. 24/7 by way of being a collision of internationally respected writing styles, one of which is hugely under-appreciated on both shores. That clash was a little ahead of its time and frustratingly ill-received (and slightly shaky on both performers’ parts) but U.K. battle rap has caught up with this writing style and I reckon this battle could be a stealth success on both sides of the pond.
Who do you have? Let us know in the comments section below.
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