FUSE TV - Combatant Profile: Aye Verb's Fatherly Advice

On February 25th, 2012, in the third round of a battle against Hitman Holla, Aye Verb ended the show with one line.

Hitman had been honing in on footage of Aye Verb allegedly being chased by GSI, another battle rapper, in a parking lot. The title of the video reads “AYE VERB URL [Ultimate Rap League] BATTLE RAPPER GETS BEAT UP BY GSI” and the video shows two guys chasing another one. Their identities are hard to decipher. 

During the battle with Holla, Verb never denies that it’s him in the video. In fact, he admits it is, and he had just broken his foot and was wearing a cast at the time of the incident. Sounds like a cop out, right? I mean, the guy still got chased. Should be easy money for an opponent. 

You can tell Holla is feeling himself. He and his team throw gang signs throughout the battle, and at the end of every round Holla does the same signature bars to rile up the crowd. He’s an entertainer with an arrogant swagger and a knack for flare. Verb just stands there, occasionally pacing back and forth. 

As the battle goes on, it seems like Holla has the upper hand. He tells Verb the guys who chased him are over at the bar while churning out clever punchlines, but something seems off. It feels like the crowd is cheering Holla on without having any loyalty for him. They’re there for the show, not the performer. The matador has thrilled the crowd without killing the bull. Where’s the climax?