We’re back again to continue our LOTM8 discussion, picking up from the end of Reece West VS F.O.S.
I’m not going to give a big old introduction again because we all know why we’re here, and we’re all here for the same reason - to read one more persons opinion on this compilation of war.
Gen Vs Rawza
this clash was another one that was hard to predict, with both artists having a loyal following and a focused mind, making it even more exciting.
Round 1
Was full of good interaction, strong energies and bars that make you go ‘OOOO’. There was good interaction between the pair, which was expected if you already knew about the artists in question. Gen’s delivery and clarity was glistening during this round, but Rawza had this never-ending amount of aggressive energy which was captivating beyond belief. All of the smoky chat on Twitter was unleashed during this clash, but not so much from the side who was chatting the most, making the following two rounds even more unpredictable. The winner of this round, for me, was Rawza.
Round 2
The energy seeping out of every pore from Rawza is iconic, the hunger for the win can be felt deep in your stomach. Rawza was so prepared that he could have ran all three rounds just by himself. I felt as if this clash got a bit sh*tty during certain parts with Gen complaining about the rules (THERE’S NO RULES), and it sort of dampened the hype a bit. Either way, Rawza wasn't letting any kind of ‘rule’ affect him, as he just continued letting off fire without hesitation. Again, the winner of this round was Rawza.
Round 3
This was basically one long war-dub aimed at Gen. Rawza knew that his game was only improving with each round, and you could see the confidence grow within himself as time went on. I feel as if Gen was getting quite stressed during this clash, in regards to wanting to stick to the rules and seeking support from Jammer (lame), which only gave Rawza more incentive to absolutely body him in every way. I don’t think I have to talk too much more for you to figure out the winner of this round. Rawza.
The overall winner of this clash was Rawza, 3-0. He came prepared with the best level of energy, a hefty set of bars against his opponent, and he only elevated in every round, never faulting once. I think this clash was a good match-up, and showcased the talent from both sides.
Jafro Vs Dialect
Unreal. Every single person in the clashing world, and the normal world, knew this was going to be nuts.
Round 1
We could’ve stopped this clash at Round 1, given them both the win and sent them on their way because I was not emotionally prepared for the levels, and I’m sure that’s a feeling a lot of people had. Jafro came with the most focused energy and was adversarial in his approach which was so exciting and expressive, battled against the cool, collected Dialect, prepped with freezing flows and hard-hitting content. My note for trying to decide who won this round was ‘AHHH can’t decide’ which I think sums this up perfectly. My decision for the winner was a draw, so rightly.
Round 2
Both parties came with focused clashing material, dominant energies and confident personalities, which is a big aspect of holding a W. Neither artist stumbled or hesitated, showing how ready they were to let off every type of fire. Dialect particularly caught my attention during this round, with an aspect I like to call a ‘accent advantage’. There are times when an artist from a specific place (e.g. Manchester and Birmingham) can use their accent to enhance a rhyming scheme or flow, and Dialect has this perk spot on. The clever use of creative flows done exactly what it was supposed to, and that was to catch the viewers attention, and for that reason, Dialect was the winner of this round.
Round 3
It’s almost as if Jafro knew my opinion from the second round, because he came bounding in with the most impressive flows, pulling all the attention back to him. He momentarily lost himself, but caught it again with such power that you have to respect it. This quickly became a battle of the flows when Dialect came back with his own perfected style, reaffirming his constantly strong position within the lyrical war. Both artists proved how incredibly talented they are through-out this clash, with every aspect solidly cemented in their characters. Because of this, the round was a draw. Seriously, how am I supposed to choose?
The overall result of this clash was a win for Dialect, edging so slightly in Round 2. I have to say though, this was one of my top three clashes from the whole DVD, and I actually feel blessed to have seen clashing in such an advanced form.
Tommy B vs Jay 0117
We all knew this was going to be an interesting one, but I think a lot of people had already decided their winner. I, however, had a feeling I was going to be pleasantly surprised by both artists - I was correct.
Round 1
The light-hearted aura of this battle was so refreshing, and reminded me that Grime isn’t all about being serious. Tommy came bouncing in with his never-faltering energy, a massive perk for an artist his age. Jay came bouncing in with pure entertainment, an aspect taking me back to iconic Lunar C clashes on Don’t Flop. Both artists came with the perfect style of content, focused but entertaining, providing genuine ‘LOL’ moments and several rounds of applause from my viewing party. The interaction between both parties was incredible, you couldn’t tear your eyes away for even a second. Both Tommy and Jay has strong, confident tones, and they were both very aware of the weirdly good vibes they was giving off. The winner of this round was a draw.
Round 2
This round actually highlighted the great sense of humor both MC's have. Tommy B showed his wide variety of content during this round, breaching out into different topics, coming at every angle. Both MCs were passionate and thrilling, dishing out bars that make you want to simultaneously buss gun fingers and crack up. As a viewer, you could feel this round becoming more heated, but in the most professional way. Again, this was a refreshing aspect, creating the enjoyable vibe even more so. Due to the range of content and ideas, Tommy B took the win for this round.
Round 3
Jay 0117 stands out particularly with that aspect, approaching the comedic value of the clash perfectly. Both artists are consistently strong through-out every single round, and both have tunnel-visioned bars, focusing on attacking their opponent. Tommy’s range of content followed into this round as well, backing up my ‘No Rules’ rule in clashing (basically, I believe you can say whatever you want, there are no rules in a war). Both MCs came with a well thought-out set of lyrics, giving clever, attention-catching content which suited their own personal styles. Due to the undeniable strength of both artists, the winner of this round was a draw.
Something which made this clash 100x better for me was the added Bonus Round. Both Tommy B and Jay 0117 came prepped with extra lyrics, just incase, which was definitely the best option considering this round popped out of nowhere. It’s good to see artists who are over-prepared, rather than under, as it shows they take pride in their work and they have a strong work-ethic, to go beyond what is required from them. A moment which particularly caught me was when Tommy spat his Hype Sessions bars at the perfect time, receiving the perfect reaction.
Even so, the winner of this bonus round was also a draw.
Overall, that means my scorecard for this clash rounds up to a win for Tommy B, edging ever so slightly in Round 2. This clash is also in my top 3, sitting very nicely at my number 1 favourite clash from LOTM8.
I’m going to wrap up this post from that, giving you time to agree and disagree with these opinions until you head over to the third, and final, LOTM8 post. In the next write-up, I will be discussing my top 3 clashes, and recapping my overall winners.
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