Daylyt vs. E. Farrell: Post-Battle Breakdown

A closer look at the "Superman vs. Batman" clash from iBattle's "Takeover 3."

Here it is: the battle you may have seen covered on MTV as "Batman vs. Superman." Daylyt and E. Farrell don those respective capes, but spoiler alert: to real battle fans, this is just two great, “normal” rounds followed by a solid, gimmicky third.

Watch the battle here if you haven't already.

All things considered, the third-round costume switch was a savvy move, like an improved version of Day’s old antic formula. Rather than doing some crazy shit that overshadows (or completely eclipses) the rest of the performance, why not have both emcees deliver some quality content before the attention-grabbing Round 3?

Farrell is still on the rise, so some have questioned why Day accepted this battle. Aside from the fact that he’s usually open to battling pretty much anyone, Day actually (wisely) requested this one. His enthusiasm is clear from the gate, and he delivers Round 1 in vintage fashion with carefully crafted iBattle-specific content. Farrell fights back, and though slightly assisted by his home crowd, he earns some big reactions. Depending on your preference, you might give Round 1 to Farrell, but I edged it to Day.

Day’s second is also strong, and still solid gold in terms of iBattle specificity, but it doesn’t quite match his opener. Farrell, however, shines in Round 2 with a justification for his approach that bears repeating. Flipping Calicoe’s “If it’s real, it don’t gotta rhyme” slogan, Farrell declares, “If it rhymes, it don’t gotta be real.” This is the perfect encapsulation of his style, as it’s apparent that he’s never taking himself completely seriously. That, along with a truly on-point Daylyt impression, makes Farrell’s Round 2 even more memorable than the superhero clash that was about to go down.

Closing his second round, Farrell announces that he’s “gonna go take a shit” and unceremoniously leaves the ring, in obvious reference to Day walking out on Rone at Don’t Flop Philly. After what feels like an eternity — seriously, it takes too long for the thing we already know is going to happen to happen — Day and Farrell return to the ring dressed as Batman and Superman, respectively.

The excitement from the crowd is obvious, and maybe I’m just jaded, but there’s nothing all that special about Round 3. Even Day’s opening bars, which might be the highlight of the round, are well-worn "kryptonite/crip tonight" territory. If you were to call a winner for this round, you’d probably have to give it to Farrell. He clearly makes an effort to stay on theme and does so more successfully than Day, who seems to be mostly freestyling. Still, Farrell stumbles a few times, making this probably his weakest round.

Round 3 will bring in casual viewers, but hopefully it’s the first two rounds that bring them back. Battle rap seems to get the most mainstream attention when it’s at its most dysfunctional. This isn't sustainable. We can’t have battlers focusing more on their antics than their bars and we can’t breed new fans that hunger for blood and insanity from every match-up.

Don’t get me wrong — I salute Daylyt and E. Farrell for getting their views, especially in a way that saves the antics for the end. Still, I had a much better time watching the first two rounds. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Cover design by Steve Finch. See more of his battle rap design here.

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