Counting the press conference on Thursday and the comedy show afterparty on Sunday, "Blackout 6" was a four-day blur packed with memorable moments. The cancellation of several top-tier match-ups (Pat Stay vs. Serius Jones, Daylyt vs. The Saurus, and Caustic vs. T-Rex) was a definite hit to the card, but ultimately allowed some of the lesser-known names to step up and shine.
We're working on another recap with every detail of every battle, but for now, here are the standouts.
Day 1
Battle Of The Night: Dizaster vs. Iron Solomon
This battle was the textbook definition of a classic, and it pretty much rescued Day 1 on its own. Diz and Iron clearly set out to make a memorable battle; both of their performances lived up to their potential and were, at times, groundbreaking. Diz said horribly offensive — and frequently anti-semitic — things in between meaningful personal attacks, but the utter genius of how he structured them has to be commended.
Iron far surpassed expectations in matching Diz's energy while playing to his usual angle-based strengths, and every round was competitive. Diz was pretty untouchable in his performance, but calling a winner doesn't even seem necessary.
Performance Of The Night: Pass
Outside of the BOTN performances, the Oakland veteran was the clear standout. Many are now noticing that Bishop Brigante didn't do badly at all versus Pass, but in the building he still got cooked. Pass was mean as hell as always, attacking Bishop as a host and as a man. Of note, he got very upset when Bishop closed his first round by mentioning his family members by name, and he began Round 2 with something much closer to a warning than a rebuttal. As is often the case, Pass' ability to switch between rapid-fire patterns and haymaker punches proved too much to match.
Debatable Of The Night: Charron vs. Cortez
It's no surprise that two dudes who always give 100% had a close battle. Charron was his usual self, going for it on every line even when it didn't work as well as it should have, and he amassed a ton of reaction from punches based around potent — though familiar — personal angles.
Cor definitely seemed to be making a point in simply out-rapping Charron, and it's safe to say he was somewhat slept on. It essentially comes down to preference, so you'll have to call this one yourself.
Surprise Of The Night: Knamelis vs. Big T
Approximately zero people predicted this match-up and, truth be told, it made the battle a bit weird. Weird isn't all bad though, and this clash had its moments. As always, T had an explosive first round, and he was on point with his patented animated performance until a small choke and stumble in Round 3 that Knamelis really capitalized on.
Knamelis mostly stuck to the "you're fat" approach, but he was ruthlessly creative about it. This could have gone in the previous category because it was so close, and it comes down to Round 2.
Newcomer Of The Night: Shotti P
To be clear, Detroit emcee Shotti P was newcomer of the entire weekend. Relative newcomers Lexx Luthor and Jay Rell had a decent, albeit sloppy battle right after Shotti vs. Skelly, but neither of them matched the range or smoothness of Shotti's performance. Against a very aggressive Skelly, he rattled off reasons why his opponent was corny while casually dropping haymaker references and cracking jokes. Expect to see him back on the KOTD main stage for sure.
Day 2
Battle Of The Night: Carter Deems vs. Chedda Cheese
This was the first battle of Day 2, and it was a perfect way to start. If you didn't know, Chedda is a really good actual-rapper, and his rounds were short but flawless. He's one of the only battlers so far who understood how to battle Carter, and his unusually aggressive but typically hilarious performance hit all the right notes. Carter was Carter, and if you're not already a fan, you will be. Like "gnome five," this time a "macaroni and cheese/Illmac, uh, Roney, AND Cheese" bar brought the house down. This battle was hysterical on both sides, and it could go either way.
Performance Of The Night: Rone
If you haven't heard, the Prince is now the King, and it's hard to imagine what the previous champ would have needed to do to win Rounds 1 & 2 (Illmac still had a wild third). Rone might have been more aggressive than he's ever been, and many are calling this the best performance of his career. He came at Illmac from all angles — why he's a lousy rep for KOTD, why battle rap is all he has, his height, and so much more — and maybe even more importantly, there were no slips or stumbles whatsoever. This was undoubtedly his cleanest performance ever, and it might have been what took Illmac slightly off his game.
By the way, Arsonal could have been awarded performance of the night as well, because he wigged on Head I.C.E in all three rounds without a stumble in sight.
Debatable Of The Night: Psycoses vs. Gjonaj
First off, this battle was for $2,000, with both emcees putting up a rack and getting it judged, ultimately ending in a split decision in Gjonaj's favor. Psycoses had a crazy first round, featuring one of the best fake chokes ever ("... he just needed a moment of silence before the casket dropped"). Gjonaj did exactly what he needed to do in returning to KOTD, though, and it was enough to win him Rounds 2 & 3. He had some incredible bars in every round, and his slower, more deliberate style was extremely effective against Psycoses' wordier approach. Still, there's a case to be made for Psycoses winning if you like that style, and this was a classic that sends both of their stocks soaring.
Surprise Of The Night: Realiztic vs. Bonnie Godiva
Aside from a few insiders and perhaps a few extremely observant fans, no one saw Bonnie coming as Born's replacement. What's even more surprising is that she and newcomer Realiztic had a very solid battle on short notice. Realiztic might have won Round 1 in the building with a shocking amount of disrespect, but Bonnie was snapping throughout. She had jokes, angles, and of course bars, and she downplayed Realiztic in expert fashion ("Your battles have more dislikes than views"). Salute to both of them for the short prep.
The pay-per-view for the event is still available. Get it here.
Cover image by Zach Macphoto. Follow him on Instagram for more.
What were your picks for the weekend? Let us know in the comments below.
{{ comment.author.name }}
{{ reply.author.name }}