"When living life is like- making plans to die/ Because if you're liked, It'll be romanticized and amplified/ Cause when no more's left to be buried/ Legendary is something you have to let Fans define." - Loaded Lux
Yo, Shout-out to my sponsor Paradise Bay Cigars. Def hit them up on the west coast. Now let's get this work in. I have been pushing to become legendary. I want my daughter to look back: see all the awards, accolades, performances and say he was awesome. More so, I want my impact to be remembered so be steady Thinkers. I am dropping The Phoenix Project CD this year. Shout-out to my sponsors we reached the 8K funding point-so the project is fully funded for a poetry project. That's crazy! If you wish, you can still donate-see my front home page. Thank-you! Feel free to push "Dear Son" YouTube is a process; however, The video did 5.8K and counting on facebook so now we pushing the youtube. It's been crazy the response and checks coming through to combat suicide and domestic violence prevention on the urban communities. I appreciate ya'll word of mouth. Now let's get to this work!
Yo, Danny Myers came through and battled! And did he battle? Hell yeah, Angry fan was shooting off about the timing. I felt that but I like the fact that Danny is a battler. He is a warrior and backs down from no challenge. Ironically Nu Jerzey Twork fell ill and the battle on URL didn't happen. I look forward to this next battle.
Danny gave everything he had like he was on stage in front of 20,000 at URL Summer Madness for a smaller league. He definitely won a fan in me. Def follow that brother. As far as his opponent, Local Iron Mouth Battle League Past Champion Jose Irvin showed an impeccable heart. Stood in front of monstrous bars, held his own and wasn't thrown off by veteran tactics: freestyle, crowding, rebuttals. He just kept fighting and punching.
In the end, Danny Myers showed that it is levels. His punches hit consistent, Room Rockers and twists, name flips- deadly, Talked to him, schemed, multi's just the whole damn kitchen sink. But to me it was the small things: the phrasing and pauses, set-ups and presence set the difference. Example: the small pause before the throw him off a mountain- I like my Jose on the rocks bar. The pause just set up the anticipation and then boom room rocker. Just levels but I think Jose is close. Lesser men would have choked, stumbled, faltered and came out with being completely overmatched. I didn't come away with that. I came away thinking Jose is close. Hope -Danny shoots the kid some info and pointers. But if I was Jose next opponent I'd be worried cause Jose 3rd round Jeesh. Shout-out to Danny for being professional and just giving a helluva show. Check the link below for that Danny vs Jose! Dope battle.
After the footage dropped, a debate of who is legendary stormed the page. It made me think what does make a battle rapper legendary? So I started to look at society's list of male legends: Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, Prince, Mike Tyson, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Muhammad Ali, Joe Montana, Tupac, Malcolm X, and I realized a common thread. Legends have a consistency of greatness over an extended period of time with the "It" Factor and a sense of invulnerability. It is not that legends are completely incapable of losing but it is the sense that to defeat a legend it will take your best everything just to survive.
With that in thought I compiled my list of IMBL LEGENDS- Ranked in order.
1. B-GUNNA - Champ 3X- Any list that doesn't start with Gunna is blasphemy. Just throw the whole list away and don't continue. Facts are she has dominated the woman's division. She has traveled and ripped through opponents on the road. B-Gunna then entered an all-star field of men and came out with last year's belt as well. At the end of the day, the stage presence, domination and literal destruction of men and women and holding three titles is something no other local battler can claim. If B-Gunna doesn't take another battle- her fate is sealed. #GetTheStrap as 50 would say cause y'all know B-Gunna is a nasty ... well y'all know. B-Gunna is a monster in the tourneys and she will freely give out that work.
2. Steve McSwain- Champion- Word play, Schemer, rapping monster. The knock on Steve was will he ever be focused. Well we see-he wins championships. He bodied Aye Verb by popular opinion but what is more impressive is his list of bodies. Debate as you may but his resume is impressive and if there is one thing we know he is memorable: the spin, college football, the anticipation of what he will do. People remember. He is one of the most asked about battlers.
3. 5'9- One of the best pound for pound battlers period. No matter what style 5'9 is confronted with he excels. He has an uncanny ability to become powerful or water. Think Bruce Lee in the battle rap arena. His offense is deadly but his defense and ability to predict and combat opponents is lethal. He has been on every stage in Memphis and left chaos in his wake. Consistently, becoming one of or the outright best in each league. His performances are always quotable and memorable.
4. Jose Irvin- Champion- Word play, schemer, and real life comic hero. At the end of the day, whether you debate his style -his body of work is evident. He has walked through some of the best, holds a title, has never choked or stumbled and shows a ridiculous ability to stay relevant and adapt to his opponents. Proven winner and champion gives the nod to him over others. He may be a cyborg because to be under the pressure- the flu, Danny Myers, sick, deaths in family and still compete at that high of a level. The fans respect it.
5. Nasa- May be the most decorated IMBL battler period. Holding the 2014 Rookie of the year, 2014 and 2017 Iron Man of the Year, being a part of the 2015 and 2017 crew of the year while holding the record for longest winning streak in IMBL history at (11). He has been kicked out, made enemies, been labeled the heel of IMBL. Constant villain and antagonist but the one thing you have to know is that NASA in the ring is a monster and something most duck and want no parts of. He is a pitbull of aggression and schemes. He holds a crazy clear win record. He has literally done everything but win the championship.
6. St. Courts - Not many in the world that I respect when they say they will spark. St. Courts is one of the few. His realness and directness speaks volumes. You believe his bars are more that it is possible. St. Courts is either your brother or your enemy. It is clear and distinct that there are no grey areas. When he spit the whole round with a razor in his mouth vs a top tier Showoff-it sealed the deal. He has battled the best and consistently shown well. People consistently try to call him out or bait him to battle because they know the footage will be good.
7. TP THE GREAT- Tito Porter- At the end of the day, this may be the legend of all legends. He is like a myth. People know he exists but haven't seen enough to make sure that it is real. So they try to dismiss it by saying there is not enough of a resume. I struggled with it as well; however, TP maybe the smartest IMBL battler because he dictates his terms and only books the biggest moments. He destroys people on stage and consistently pushes the view count. Battlers constantly try to battle him because 1) They know the man can rap, 2) TP does views and that is what battle rappers thrive on, 3) He may be as infamous as local famous-people just know him and his brand. He spits in a way that the people identify and rally behind. Fans just love the guy- flat out and anticipate his next battles.
Battlers I considered: All 40 from all 6 years of rankings especially: Almenjoi, Bo The Great, Yella Mane, ATM, Stizo, Guru, Henny, TKFM
EXCLUSIONS:
Murk- I consider more of a bigger stage artist and has a clear legend status from all her big appearances. Came back and gave locals shots and has one of the highest viewed battles period.
Jason Harris- Boooooo- I just felt like hating on the freestyle king and definite Memphis Legend for rapping and battles so I intentionally put him last so if he did read this it would be a waste of his time after people tell him he was mentioned or he googles his name. Petty- I know. I embrace it. (Memphis inside jokes-blessings brother)
Yo, so that's the list. Like It, Love It, Debate It? Preciate you reading! Shout-out to AC DUTCH you legendary owner status.
As always Live, Love, and Dream- Urban Thoughts
Yo, Shout-out to my sponsor Paradise Bay Cigars. Def hit them up on the west coast. Now let's get this work in. I have been pushing to become legendary. I want my daughter to look back: see all the awards, accolades, performances and say he was awesome. More so, I want my impact to be remembered so be steady Thinkers. I am dropping The Phoenix Project CD this year. Shout-out to my sponsors we reached the 8K funding point-so the project is fully funded for a poetry project. That's crazy! If you wish, you can still donate-see my front home page. Thank-you! Feel free to push "Dear Son" YouTube is a process; however, The video did 5.8K and counting on facebook so now we pushing the youtube. It's been crazy the response and checks coming through to combat suicide and domestic violence prevention on the urban communities. I appreciate ya'll word of mouth. Now let's get to this work!
Yo, Danny Myers came through and battled! And did he battle? Hell yeah, Angry fan was shooting off about the timing. I felt that but I like the fact that Danny is a battler. He is a warrior and backs down from no challenge. Ironically Nu Jerzey Twork fell ill and the battle on URL didn't happen. I look forward to this next battle.
Danny gave everything he had like he was on stage in front of 20,000 at URL Summer Madness for a smaller league. He definitely won a fan in me. Def follow that brother. As far as his opponent, Local Iron Mouth Battle League Past Champion Jose Irvin showed an impeccable heart. Stood in front of monstrous bars, held his own and wasn't thrown off by veteran tactics: freestyle, crowding, rebuttals. He just kept fighting and punching.
In the end, Danny Myers showed that it is levels. His punches hit consistent, Room Rockers and twists, name flips- deadly, Talked to him, schemed, multi's just the whole damn kitchen sink. But to me it was the small things: the phrasing and pauses, set-ups and presence set the difference. Example: the small pause before the throw him off a mountain- I like my Jose on the rocks bar. The pause just set up the anticipation and then boom room rocker. Just levels but I think Jose is close. Lesser men would have choked, stumbled, faltered and came out with being completely overmatched. I didn't come away with that. I came away thinking Jose is close. Hope -Danny shoots the kid some info and pointers. But if I was Jose next opponent I'd be worried cause Jose 3rd round Jeesh. Shout-out to Danny for being professional and just giving a helluva show. Check the link below for that Danny vs Jose! Dope battle.
After the footage dropped, a debate of who is legendary stormed the page. It made me think what does make a battle rapper legendary? So I started to look at society's list of male legends: Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, Prince, Mike Tyson, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Muhammad Ali, Joe Montana, Tupac, Malcolm X, and I realized a common thread. Legends have a consistency of greatness over an extended period of time with the "It" Factor and a sense of invulnerability. It is not that legends are completely incapable of losing but it is the sense that to defeat a legend it will take your best everything just to survive.
With that in thought I compiled my list of IMBL LEGENDS- Ranked in order.
1. B-GUNNA - Champ 3X- Any list that doesn't start with Gunna is blasphemy. Just throw the whole list away and don't continue. Facts are she has dominated the woman's division. She has traveled and ripped through opponents on the road. B-Gunna then entered an all-star field of men and came out with last year's belt as well. At the end of the day, the stage presence, domination and literal destruction of men and women and holding three titles is something no other local battler can claim. If B-Gunna doesn't take another battle- her fate is sealed. #GetTheStrap as 50 would say cause y'all know B-Gunna is a nasty ... well y'all know. B-Gunna is a monster in the tourneys and she will freely give out that work.
2. Steve McSwain- Champion- Word play, Schemer, rapping monster. The knock on Steve was will he ever be focused. Well we see-he wins championships. He bodied Aye Verb by popular opinion but what is more impressive is his list of bodies. Debate as you may but his resume is impressive and if there is one thing we know he is memorable: the spin, college football, the anticipation of what he will do. People remember. He is one of the most asked about battlers.
3. 5'9- One of the best pound for pound battlers period. No matter what style 5'9 is confronted with he excels. He has an uncanny ability to become powerful or water. Think Bruce Lee in the battle rap arena. His offense is deadly but his defense and ability to predict and combat opponents is lethal. He has been on every stage in Memphis and left chaos in his wake. Consistently, becoming one of or the outright best in each league. His performances are always quotable and memorable.
4. Jose Irvin- Champion- Word play, schemer, and real life comic hero. At the end of the day, whether you debate his style -his body of work is evident. He has walked through some of the best, holds a title, has never choked or stumbled and shows a ridiculous ability to stay relevant and adapt to his opponents. Proven winner and champion gives the nod to him over others. He may be a cyborg because to be under the pressure- the flu, Danny Myers, sick, deaths in family and still compete at that high of a level. The fans respect it.
5. Nasa- May be the most decorated IMBL battler period. Holding the 2014 Rookie of the year, 2014 and 2017 Iron Man of the Year, being a part of the 2015 and 2017 crew of the year while holding the record for longest winning streak in IMBL history at (11). He has been kicked out, made enemies, been labeled the heel of IMBL. Constant villain and antagonist but the one thing you have to know is that NASA in the ring is a monster and something most duck and want no parts of. He is a pitbull of aggression and schemes. He holds a crazy clear win record. He has literally done everything but win the championship.
6. St. Courts - Not many in the world that I respect when they say they will spark. St. Courts is one of the few. His realness and directness speaks volumes. You believe his bars are more that it is possible. St. Courts is either your brother or your enemy. It is clear and distinct that there are no grey areas. When he spit the whole round with a razor in his mouth vs a top tier Showoff-it sealed the deal. He has battled the best and consistently shown well. People consistently try to call him out or bait him to battle because they know the footage will be good.
7. TP THE GREAT- Tito Porter- At the end of the day, this may be the legend of all legends. He is like a myth. People know he exists but haven't seen enough to make sure that it is real. So they try to dismiss it by saying there is not enough of a resume. I struggled with it as well; however, TP maybe the smartest IMBL battler because he dictates his terms and only books the biggest moments. He destroys people on stage and consistently pushes the view count. Battlers constantly try to battle him because 1) They know the man can rap, 2) TP does views and that is what battle rappers thrive on, 3) He may be as infamous as local famous-people just know him and his brand. He spits in a way that the people identify and rally behind. Fans just love the guy- flat out and anticipate his next battles.
Battlers I considered: All 40 from all 6 years of rankings especially: Almenjoi, Bo The Great, Yella Mane, ATM, Stizo, Guru, Henny, TKFM
EXCLUSIONS:
Murk- I consider more of a bigger stage artist and has a clear legend status from all her big appearances. Came back and gave locals shots and has one of the highest viewed battles period.
Jason Harris- Boooooo- I just felt like hating on the freestyle king and definite Memphis Legend for rapping and battles so I intentionally put him last so if he did read this it would be a waste of his time after people tell him he was mentioned or he googles his name. Petty- I know. I embrace it. (Memphis inside jokes-blessings brother)
Yo, so that's the list. Like It, Love It, Debate It? Preciate you reading! Shout-out to AC DUTCH you legendary owner status.
As always Live, Love, and Dream- Urban Thoughts