Road To Total Slaughter: Episode 3 Recap

The Road To Total Slaughter is just about wrapped up fellow hip hop heads, how will you manage without it?  No really though, welcome to the official recap of episode 3 courtesy of yours truly. I'm not entirely sure what makes it the "official" recap, but saying it just made it sound that much cooler. Now I know you're dying to know if Arsonal had anything else to say about Joe's downright awful ruling of his and Daylyt's battle the last time out, so let's see what went down in episode 3.

With what seemed like a less drama filled episode at least in the beginning, this one starts out with the usual confidence of this week's contestants, Big T and Aye Verb, going back and forth telling each other that they are indeed not ready to battle one another. Big T goes on to say that his confidence comes from a different perspective, part of it knowing that rappers are not really about the life they rap about (who knew?). Big T goes on to discuss his getting shot, followed by driving himself to the hospital after getting shot. Needless to say, Big T is not too worried about what Verb, or really any rapper has to say in their raps. That's really about it for this one, don't worry folks, no spoilers for this battle, although I will say who I thought would win, did end up winning.

Now the next battle I will always question, only due to the fact that one of the battlers was a late entry, but another good one nonetheless. That battle was Marv Won vs. T-Rex. Much speculation in the house was that Marv Won had the upper hand because of his experience battling Eminem as an extra scene as part of one of the 8 Mile extra battles. Battling Eminem is certainly a great thing to have on your resume, but T-Rex is certainly no slouch either, as he proved when he quite literally kicked Cortez to the battle rap casting couch in his first battle. I will say that this battle probably wasn't quite as close as the Big T and Aye Verb match up.

After the battles, obviously 4 battlers are left in the Road to Total Slaughter tournament. The 2 losers of these battles (of whom I won't say lost) are left with a salty taste in their mouths, and it is definitely made known that their performances weren't at their highest levels. This discussion between all of the battlers is had in the car (I'm assuming on the way back to the house), where everyone decides that it just isn't right that the losers had to go out the way that they did. So one thing leads to another, and before you know it every battler, whether still in the tournament or not, is back at the house free styling to one another, some going straight off the head, some using material from earlier battles. This is actually quite a sight to see as everyone in the house gets some laughs off and it is clear that some stress had been relived during this process.

Say what you want about the results, at the end of this episode it is made very clear why every one of these battlers was chosen to be a part of The Road To Total Slaughter. True skill is shown by everyone who jumped in, and the best part about it was that you could tell no matter what the results of the tournament were, no matter how serious the competition got or will get, the battlers were having fun with it. After all, if you aren't having fun with it, why are you doing it anyways?  At least that's how I view it. Anyways, another late post courtesy of that salty guy who wanted to see The Road To Total Slaughter when it aired on TV but didn't have Time Warner Cable. No, I will never get over this, don't ask me. Check out episode 3 below.

 

(*Disclaimer: I do not own this video or the rights to it*)

      

Road To Total Slaughter: Episode 2 Recap

Welcome back to another recap of The Road To Total Slaughter. For those of you who don't have Time Warner cable, or any sort of connection at all, know that I'm here for you. But seeing as you'd have to have a connection to see this anyways, maybe I'm not as much help as I'd like to think I was. But that's not the point, the point here is to recap the second episode of The Road To Total Slaughter! Many questions were left unanswered in the last episode, like is it possible for Daylyt to piss anyone else off?  Did more egos collide?  DO ANY MORE PEOPLE CARE ABOUT BATTLE RAP YET? Hopefully so, but we'll get into that right now.

Episode 2 begins with the battle coaches, Murda Mook and Loaded Lux, bringing out the big board, showing the contestants the bracket of the tournament match ups. The winner of this tournament gets the chance to make it to the Total Slaughter stage in New York. Today's match ups include Math Hoffa vs. Dizaster and Arsonal vs. Daylyt. Right off the bat, Dizaster makes it known that he's not as prepared as he believes the other contestants to be, but sending a direct message to Math, he sweats it little to none at all and shows all the confidence in the world going against Math unprepared.

Math Hoffa on the other hand gets pulled aside by legendary DJ Kay Slay, who really does sort of a check in with Math to see how he is feeling after getting banned from URL (Ultimate Rap League) for punching fellow battle rapper Serious Jones in the face during their battle. You can tell by the way Math is moving and talking about it that he's still hurt by it, and Kay Slay tells Hoffa to come forward and be a man about it and to apologize to Serious Jones for his action. Kay Slay continues on to say at the end of the day, Hoffa is still a man and he is responsible for his actions.

But before you know it, the first battle kicks off in rather spectacular fashion. Unlike any other battle rap league, Total Slaughter's tournament is set to 1 round for each battler, who get 1 minute and 30 seconds each to spit their verses, whereas in other leagues the norm is 3 rounds to about the same time on the clock. Now I won't spoil the match for people who want to watch, all I will say is in the beginning it is evident that there could be some bad blood between the two battlers as Dizaster hits the coin out of the air during the coin flip to decide who goes first. The tactics used by every battler are different, but very effective and may be visible throughout the series if you pay attention to them.

Now the second battle is personally one I was looking to be one of the best of the entire tournament, no matter what is still to come. That battle is Arsonal vs. Daylyt. I'll try to put it without spoiler alerts, but that may be hard. But both of these guys have bars for days (as Arsonal says, you can't spell bars without ars, which is true in a way I suppose), and both bring tons of energy to the stage in only a way the 2 of them could. Both bring a very unique flow and a sort of aura to the stage that makes them different from the rest.

But here's where the spoilers may take place. Before the battle, Arsonal talks about how he isn't sure how the judging would rule in his favor, because him and Joe Budden had a brief beef (say that 5x fast) where the 2 went back and forth. Only a song each for both emcees, Budden putting out a song called "Spring Training," mentioning Arsonal multiple times by name on the song. Arsonal says he was flattered by it in a way, I mean how often do you have Joe Budden diss you on his song, but being the true competitive emcee that he is, Arsonal fired back with his own song "Spring Cleaning," where Arsonal says he was "antagonizing and hurting that mans feelings." Because of this, Arsonal feels the battle might have been shifted in Daylyt's favor. Needless to say, Daylyt wins this battle, but by a split hair it seems.

Sorry for the spoiler, but I have to give my input. I believe Arsonal won this battle, it was an extremely close match-up, and Daylyt even says so in the interview after the battle. He basically says "there was a slip up or 2 by Ars, and although they were small, they worked out to my advantage." In my eyes, Arsonal brought not only better lines with a more effective crowd reaction, but he brought the energy as well, although his energy is always there. His in your face style is his trademark, but I believe confidence and how you come off rhyming is definitely a key factor in how successful you are with your delivery, and in this battle Arsonal's energy overpowered Daylyt's.

But there it is, I normally don't like to be that guy to spoil things, but it was kind of hard not too in this situation. I have a right to do it now anyways, because whoever has Time Warner Cable practically has no excuse, at least to me. Yes I may still be salty about not being able to see it on the regular Wednesday nights like the lucky people, but that's not the point. What's in store for next week?  It's hard to tell right now, more battles and attitudes brewing, seems to me it's only a matter of time before they boil over. Will Arsonal confront Joe about his feelings on if their beef affected the outcome of his battle?  We'll find out next week I suppose (or at least I will, you guys will find out before then, rub it in why don't you). Anyways, I should go before I start rambling. If you haven't already seen episode 2, check it out below, and stay tuned for episode 3 and a review next week.

           

          

Road To Total Slaughter: Episode 1 Recap

In the Road To Total Slaughter presented by Eminem, Slaughterhouse and Watchloud.com, you finally have an opportunity to watch the inner workings of battle rap. That is unless of course you don't get Fuse TV like me, in which case you're very salty about not being able to watch all of this exciting drama and rap skill take place. But wait, there is this fantastic place we call the internet where you can watch practically anything you want at any time (as long as its posted)!  So for those less fortunate to not be blessed with a Time Warner Cable connection, we'll do this little review of what happens on the show, my thoughts on what happens on the show, and a post of the actual Road To Total Slaughter episode itself. Its just too bad this is only going down for 4 weeks. Anyways, lets get right into it.

So right off the bat there is clear tension with everyone entering in the house. As soon as everyone walks in, they give an introduction to why they're here and why they deserve to be. Everybody meets each other slowly getting settled in, finding their sleeping quarters and whatnot, when the 7 contestants notice that the last contestant is not in the house. Knowing who Daylyt is and what he's known for, they're not surprised to notice him finally stumbling in wearing only a pair of boxers and boots, being very loud and obnoxious while eating all the food that has been put out for the contestants. This does not go over well with the contestants, and Marv Won and Cortez voice their opinions very clearly with the controversial battle rapper.

After everyone settles down following the Daylyt incident, they all make their way to what looks like a living room, with chairs and a chess board set up. Murda Mook states that the chess board is used to clear ones mind when tension starts to set in when living in a house full of testosterone and egos clashing. Cortez also proceeds to challenge Loaded Lux to a chess match as they playfully banter back and forth eventually leading to a Lux victory. After this, everyone seems to get a moment to themselves as Dizaster walks into a conversation being had by Aye Verb and Marv Won. Dizaster goes on to tell Aye Verb that the only fans he had in their battle were his haters, and one of the lines he came up with in the battle was "the most simple shit he'd ever heard."

So yeah, do you feel the love yet?  After this settles down Mook and Lux gather everyone in the house to the living room telling them that they will be having a special guest giving them an introduction to the circuit. It is none other than DJ Kay Slay who shows up and tells them very briefly about the competition and how it will work in seemingly less than 5 or 6 sentences. Makes me wonder if they paid him for what he said or if he will be included in the show later?  If not, very weird that it happened nonetheless, as it seemed he gave his 5 or 6 sentences and just left.

But, as they say the show must go on!  The next morning Slaughterhouse shows up unexpectedly and gathers everyone into the living  room the discuss a sort of "wild card" match up between a new battler they brought in by the name of T-Rex, and a battler of his choosing from within the house. The loser of this match is out of the tournament if they lose, and has to sleep on the couch. I really don't know if its for the night or if its the entire time they're there, but regardless all the battlers see this as a low blow. Bringing in someone unexpectedly and giving them stakes to win or lose at?  It surely didn't seem to go over well with the contestants. This definitely opened up their eyes and they knew to be prepared at all times after this happened.

So there you have it, the episode 1 of 4 recap. With this episode setting the tone in what seems to be a very tension filled house, we'll see how many surprises not only Slaughterhouse, but the battlers bring as well. A fist fight maybe?  Some more insane antics from Daylyt that the battlers seem not to appreciate?  Will we see more unexpected guests?  How about more egos clashing?  We know the latter will happen at least. Stay tuned for episode 2 Wednesday at midnight if you're lucky enough to get Fuse TV. If you do, just know that I envy you, you lucky bastards. If not, then stay tuned for episode 2 online next Monday, and a recap right here shortly thereafter.

 
(*Disclaimer: I do not own this video or the rights to it*)