Don't Flop Atlanta is putting on the second installment of the Resurrection series today (June 5), with a headline battle between Ty Law and Aye Verb. The undercard is just as strong as the main event with Don't Flop regulars Shuffle-T, Lu Cipher, DNA and Troy Brown making appearances, along with a couple of rappers who are newer to the U.K.-based platform.
The full card is as follows.
- Aye Verb vs. Ty Law
- E. Ness vs. Ness Lee
- Shuffle-T vs. Carter Deems
- Lu Cipher vs. QP
- DNA vs. Troy Brown
- Qleen Paper vs. Chef Trez
In his Don’t Flop debut, Ty Law goes against St. Louis legend Aye Verb. Law is someone whose bars have been quietly respected in battle rap for years, and recently he's been getting some bigger-name competition, like in his URL battle with Cyssero and on SupaNova against DNA. His last battle with someone from St. Louis was a debatable classic with B Magic. Verb is having his second Don’t Flop battle after last year’s epic 2-on-2 with Hitman Holla vs. NWX. That battle was, by all accounts, a very, very strong debut for the 2-on-2 team. We'll see if he can keep that bar high with his solo debut.
E. Ness vs. Ness Lee is a battle that people have been wanting to see for years. At first glance, you might assume the similarity of their names is the only reason this battle makes sense, but the two share more similarities than just that. E. Ness, as many know, has been an industry rapper, finding fame via Puff Daddy’s "Making The Band" TV show. Ness Lee was also signed to a record label, and is one of the most talented musicians in battle rap. Both guys have incredibly fluid deliveries, and both are overlooked in relation to many of their contemporaries. If you’re a fan of rapping abilities in battle rap, this one has potential to be your favorite battle on the card.
For their lane in the game, Carter Deems vs. Shuffle-T is pretty close to a dream match. In some ways, they use a similar battle style, in that neither are particularly aggressive, and use witty material, but their approaches to the style couldn’t be more different. Carter plays with battle rap tropes, finding comedy within them with in-the-know wordplay and absurd one-liners. The humor in Carter's content often comes purely from the fact that it's Carter delivering it, with absolute conviction. Shuffle also subverts battle tropes, but he's so explicitly sarcastic about them that he is often in satirical territory.
In the past year or so, Lu Cipher has become one of the best up-and-comers in battle rap, and Don't Flop has helped him get to that point with solid looks in the U.S. and the U.K. At "Resurrection 2," he goes up against perhaps the best writer in the game (or at least Top 4). QP’s writing is so intricate that you could watch his battles back for the 20th time and still catch new things. He has a reasonable claim on popularizing the style of wordplay most prevalent in battle rap today. If you’re a fan of good writing, this may be the battle for you, and there is definite potential for an all-out classic.
DNA is one of the biggest names in the scene (and will soon surpass Arsonal as the #1 most viewed battler), but still is someone willing to give up-and-comers a shot. Though Troy has been battling since the Grind Time era, it’s his recent work in Don’t Flop that has been a catalyst for the hype that he’s been getting recently. He just arguably beat one of the toughest opponents in Don’t Flop, turning in a solid performance against former league champ Tony D at "Checkpoint 3."
There have been rumblings that Qleen Paper canceled against Chef Trez, but so far nothing has been officially announced.
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Predictions? Let us know in the comments below.
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