Everything You Missed At URL's NOME 7

Our review of K-Shine vs. T-Rex, Tay Roc vs. Chess, Brizz Rawsteen vs. Ill Will and more.

On April 8, URL put on the seventh edition of their annual mega-showcase, "Night Of Main Events." Going into the night, expectations were high, with a jam-packed lineup battling in front of the sold-out Irving Plaza.

Here are our breakdowns of the battles from the event.

K-Shine vs. T-Rex

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This was the headliner of the card and for good reason. As integral members of Dot Mob, K-Shine and T-Rex have a history in battle rap that has long been documented. But then as Shine started riding with his NWX crew, a fracture formed in the relationship of one of battle rap's most notorious combos.
This was the lead-up narrative for a battle that was expected to be VERY personal.
Out the gate in the first, Rex took his time and masterfully executed a round that was one of the best and most direct he's had in a LONG time. In Shine's first, he focused less on the personals, deciding instead to try to bar Rex’s life away. He was successful enough that many fans said the first was close.

Rex started going downhill in the second round. He was missing the same quality that made his first round so great. Then Shine took the same wild energy he'd used in the first and added more personals to his second and absolutely smoked Rex’s boots.

The third round was more of the same. Rex had a terrible round (at one point — I kid you not — I believe he was speaking in tongues) and Shine had a clean round that ended with a fake handshake to Rex that made the crowd explode.

Result: 2-1 Shine, or 3-0, depending on the first.

Tay Roc vs. Chess

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Brizz Rawsteen vs. Ill Will was the first battle of the night candidate (more on that below) and this was the second one. What an EXCITING battle between two of the hungriest battlers on URL. Roc was technically the one giving the shot, but after a widely accepted horrible performance against Rum Nitty at NOME 6 versus the impressive showing Chess had the same night, these two MCs both had something to prove: Chess, that he belonged on the big stage, and Roc, to remind us why he's been there for so long.
Chess' first round …he left Earth. His aggression, energy and bars were all on 10 and it seemed like he was trying to KO Roc in the first round. Roc came back in the first with a couple of haymakers but overall, the first went VERY clearly to Chess. The second round was the complete opposite with Chess having a decent showing, but then Roc lost every marble he had and let the young MC know that he was going to have to EARN that win.

Going into the third with a clear 1-1, Chess had what was a stumble-filled and underachieving round, and was met with a third from Roc that was good, but most of all, consistent.

Roc 2-1.

T-Top vs. Goodz

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The battle of the swagger. The announcement of this match-up wasn't a surprise to many fans since there had been many comparisons between these two MCs' energy and presence. Leading up to this battle, the two went on a cypher on Funk Flex where Goodz spat his verse comfortably and T-Top choked multiple times. This caused a shift with the fans to think that this might be foreshadowing the results of the upcoming battle. And in this case, they were right.
T-Top opened up the battle with a VERY solid first, punching and showing more of the Top that was slightly missing against Tsu Surf. But Goodz returned with a solid round too, backed up by his unique, precise delivery that has been missing from URL since his last performance at NOME 4. The second round was another good one from Top and a drop off for Goodz. The third is where the separation happened, as Top had a pretty short short followed by an overloaded response from Goodz that included an angle that went over with the crowd as well as actually bringing relentless bars.

Goodz 2-1, depending on the first.

Shotgun Suge vs. Ave

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The dynamic of who fans were pulling for in this match-up changed drastically in the weeks leading up to the event as Ave was embroiled in a biting scandal that turned many fans against him and actually made him the underdog this battle.

Suge came in with an ELECTRIC first round in his first battle since facing Hitman, and capitalized somewhat off the negative energy for Ave. Ave’s intro elicited booing from the crowd and made this an uphill battle for the arguably most feared puncher in battle rap, who fought back from the boos with his constant heavy punching and flow. Going into the second, Suge let his foot off the gas and Ave pressed his foot down on it, using the whole round to constantly spit heavy punches, back to back to back to back, gaining the crowd back bit by bit. In the third Suge was coming with yet another great bar-filled, energetic round just below the results of his first, while Ave had an average round to close out this battle.

Suge 2-1, depending on the first.

Brizz Rawsteen vs. Ill Will

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The most overlooked battle of the night ended up being arguably the best. The energy in this battle was wild and inside the building, the crowd was loving every second of it. The battle showed Brizz Rawsteen and Ill Will at their primes, reminding many in the audience what made them fans of these two in the first place.
Outside of a slow start from Ill Will, there was a CONSTANT back and forth by both of them. Brizz continues to show why he is booked for the big stages as he took every round Will had and somehow came with a better round in return. For Will, this was a GREAT showing after the disappointing outing vs. Charlie Clips on NOME 6. There's not much to say about this battle other than both of these men solidified the reason they are in URL’s spotlight .

Brizz 2-1, or 3-0, depending on the second.

Mike P vs. New Jerzey Twork

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Mike P, a constantly improving battler, fights to get respect vs. Twork, URL’s most impressive rising star as of late, who is coming off an arguable 3-0 of Qleen Paper on "Born Legacy 5." The energy in the room was shock — a surprise battle had been rumored, but to feature two new stars for the second big-stage event in a row shows URL is serious about giving their new talent a chance to prove themselves in front of bigger audiences.
Mike P has a pretty good first round to start off the night, hitting with a couple of slick lines. But Twork responded with a round that shook the building, brining the same magnetic energy that has made him so popular on URL in such a short amount of time.

Coming into the second, Mike P's energy changed and he clearly fought back after getting blood put in his mouth with Twork’s first. The punches in this round were more consistent and overall, he outdid his first round. Twork's second was a step down from his first, which is to be expected after all of that energy. This was a word-play heavy round that had Twork testing his pen and not looking to shake the room. Although this was also a good round, Twork had a few misses that hurt the momentum and Mike P got it clearly.

Going into the third round, Mike P changed his flow slightly to slow down his delivery and up his aggression … and it paid off. Mike P’s third is clearly the best of his three rounds and the delivery change made it even more devastating. Twork's third round started off with a couple of lines and went right into his signature #Madness moment, but then he called #Jersey right after that. Smack wanted him to try to bring it back, at which point he choked in the middle of the Madness.

Mike P takes it 2-1.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

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