It’s finally happening: Charlie Clips vs. Hollow Da Don at URL's "Night Of Main Events 5." Do I even need to explain how colossal this match-up is? Setting aside industry crossovers and battle rap’s growing mainstream liaisons, this is one of those battles that every fan knew needed to go down. Sure, Lux vs. Mook II was a timely opportunity for a lavish “King-of-New-York” showdown, but to many viewers this battle means even more.
Hollow has been pretty quiet ever since his relatively sloppy win over Joe Budden at "Total Slaughter," but his confidence hasn’t faltered in the least. How does he feel about battling Clips? According to his recent VladTV interview, (and branded clothing line) he’s not excited. He’s not even excited about battling Mook, someone he considers to be one of the only people on his level of battle rap prestige.
Hollow considers himself a rebel, unconcerned with making moves people think he should and more interested in testing his skills against hungry opponents. He names Pat Stay, Charron, and Shotty Horroh in the VladTV interview, and his statements speak to one of his defining traits: being staunchly anti-diva. We all remember him airing out Lux’s demands for $40,000 to battle him (which, oddly, doesn’t even seem like that much anymore), and he may have some similar prima donna-related territory to cover with Clips. Phoning in certain performances goes hand in hand with overcharging, and it’s hard to imagine Hollow sparing Clips that angle.
Simply put, Clips battled all the time in 2014 and didn’t always put in enough effort to win. Call it what you like: oversaturation, overconfidence, not always being focused … It doesn’t matter, Clips gave some lousy performances in 2014, and Hollow will attack him for it.
Most notably, Clips recently tried to cancel his battle with Charron at the last minute due to apparent family issues, but Organik persuaded the headliner to come through for the league and Toronto. Salute to Clips for showing up, but it was ugly, and not something Hollow will gloss over. But let’s not forget that this is the same guy who obliterated Harlem legend T-Rex (who was also having family issues that day), every single round.
Anyone who’s watched a Clips battle where he was on point knows that he is one of the most dangerous in the game. He’s the type who can have the whole crowd losing their minds over a rebuttal before he even gets into his written bars. He’s the type whose delivery is so powerful that it causes the crowd to continually swell from silence to deafening applause throughout his rounds. He’s the type who can delve into a long and elaborate scheme and still control the room. The scary thing is, Hollow is the same type of animal, and that’s what makes this match so massive.
With both battlers being so completely well rounded, it’s hard to say how exactly this clash will go, but it’s easy to say that it will probably be incredible to watch. Barring any inhibitions to their respective capabilities, this should be an absolutely explosive back-and-forth. It will be bar-heavy. It will be freestyle and rebuttal-packed. It might get personal. Hollow and Clips may be chummy in real life, but that all goes out the window with a battle this big, and URL should be the perfect place to settle the score. What can I say? I’m excited.
Tickets are sold out but there's a live pay-per-view available for $30. Details here.
The cover photo comes from the unofficial flyer made by Famous Effects.
What do you think about the match-up? Let us know in the comments below.
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