Decoding The New Day vs. Usos Battle Rap

Tuesday night on SmackDown Live, the New Day and the Usos competed in a 2-on-2 rap battle that might go down as the greatest segment of all-time. It probably wasn’t for everyone, but as someone who has watched battle rap for years and has interviewed dozens (and dozens) of battle rappers, I throughly enjoyed the segment and appreciated the many references.

For those of you that didn’t quite understand what happened. Allow me to put it in subtitles for you.

*Wale’s tongue rolling after New Day enter the ring is a shoutout to the Ultimate Rap League, the first major battle rap league. The host, Smack, does the same tongue roll prior to just about every battle. It’s also the sound effect constantly heard on URL YouTube videos.

*The Usos back-and-fourth style is the traditional 2-on-2 style of battle rapping. The fact that they did this, while New Day went one by one, was huge bonus points. It made them feel more like a team rather than individuals in the battle. It’s also much tougher to pull off because the timing has to be just right.

*”Hold it down” gets said at least 20 times during a battle. It’s annoying, but the Usos doing it made things feel authentic.

*Wale saying “Don Demarco” after the “Xavier Woods/Rated-R” line was another shout out to URL. It’s a sound effect/drop played in the middle of a battle to give props to a great line. It’s become overused over the years.

*The Usos repeating the line, while unnecessary, is also a common battle rap occurrence. Battle rappers often “run it back” after a hot line.

*The Usos had a catchphrase to end their rounds. Not every battle rapper has a round ending catchphrase. But the majority do.

*For those who only know battle rap from 8 Mile, you may not know that comedy plays a big role in battle rap. Not every rapper is serious 100 percent of the time. Mixing in some comedy is a great way to get the crowd on your side.

*”He gon get this work” is a reference to Loaded Lux’s infamous line against Calicoe. It’s quite possibly the most quoted battle rap ad-lib of all-time.

*Using the host for material happens a lot in battle rap. URL’s Smack and King of the Dot’s Organik are often subject to set-ups, schemes, and punchlines, especially if they have a known relationship with one of the battlers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDi4qJx3XdE

*”Slow it down” is a reference to Conceited. You may known him from that meme of that guy wearing a tan vest and plaid shirt, pursing his lips and shaking his head. That guy is Conceited. His “slow it down, I just dissed you” lines are legendary in the battle rap world.

*Shoving in the middle of a battle and then being held back by your group is nothing new in battle rap. Shoves happen more often than you may think, rappers crews are constantly jawing at each other, and some battles are stopped until things calm down. In extreme situations, punches are thrown and a full on brawl happens.

If this were a judged battle, I’d award it to the Usos 2-1. They easily took the first two rounds as Big E and Kofi had a bunch of throwaway bars. The Usos had better flow and better substance. Xavier really picked up his team in the third round, while the Usos didn’t have a third due to the shoving contest. Charlie Clips should try this tactic.

Let’s rap on twitter. @jeremylambert88