This has been a great year for Goodz the Animal. Not only has he made his mark as a formidable emcee in the battle rap culture, but he has also made headway in commercial rap by teaming up with the likes of Harlem’s Dave East.
People are clearly rocking with your man.
And when we say people… we mean big boys that make serious power moves (all puns intended) namely Curtis “50Cent” Jackson.
Recently, after Goodz dropped the video for his new single, “Ghost” (a nod to the infamous lead character on Jackson’s hit show Power), he got a ton of free promotion from the “Ready to Die” rapper.
Goodz and Dave East were in the studio not too long ago, and the product of that studio session seems to be this new single “Real” that the battle rapper dropped off on Friday. The two NYC lyricists have back to back verses giving listeners bars that we’ve come to expect from the street rappers.
“Before I let my mind, I let my pen lose it// work it out through a song like gym music,” Goodz raps on the song. This new track is Goodz first single from his upcoming EP No Weirdos dropping on Black Friday.
“I ain’t Frank White I won’t claim the king of NY n—a// I still talk to Nip in my sleep ain’t think you would die n—a,” Dave East raps on his verse. Dave just wrapped up a project of his own, his debut album, Survival. The album drops on November 8th.
When we saw Goodz in the studio with Dave East, it was following Goodz battle on SMACK/URL against Cassidy. The two artists roasted Cassidy for his poor performance although Cassidy claims that he won the battle. In the video, reposted by 15 minutes of fame, Dave East calls Cassidy delusional for thinking he won 5,000 battles in his life.
The two have had history. They were both loosely affiliated with the Ruff Ryder camp, but also have had beef. Cassidy claimed that he never lost to anyone, much less the kid he once “mentored.” That was until…. SMACK/ URL hosted a battle this Spring called “Resolution,” where the lead battle on the card was this grudge match between these two rhyme spitters.
Fans have been saying that. Battle rap media and analysts rappers have been saying it. But now some of Cassidy’s fellow commercial rappers have weight in…Â Dave East linked up with Goodz in a studio to talk real rap about the now infamous battle. Battle rap media giant, HipHopIsReal captured it on film.
Dave says to Cassidy, while kicking it with a group of friends:
“Ayo Cass, I believed in you bro. I was a fan at one time. So I ain’t one of the n*ggas that ain’t gonna say, ‘I wasn’t a fan.”
But before he could say that “Goodz f…” everyone starts hysterically laughing, presumably at the his loss.
He finishes with a word to the wise, “You have to grow with the time.” And later broke down the real problem with Cassidy, “He is delusional.”
Everyone is excited about the upcoming battle against Philly’s own Cassidy and the Bronx born Goodz on URL in a few weeks. Â With the card, Resolution, everyone is curious to see if Cassidy can compete with one of the modern eras most formidable opponents.
While the question is out there… Cass has put in enough work to walk him right up to the top stage, with one of their top gunners.
Homie has been smoking dudes on the mic for over 20 years. Anyone who is anyone in Philly’s rap scene is familiar with the lyrical dexterity of Cass, and no one can front on how dope he is as an emcee. Â Check out a video from Back2BasicsRealRapsTV, of Cassidy explain how he got on.
Also check him out as a buck, sick with the flows showing folk just why many believe that he “been” battle rap’s The G.O.A.T.
Well some people believe that. Clearly, Gilly aka The King Of Philly, didn’t agree (and you know when Gilly speaks… folk listen).
But none of these freestyles, his alleged 5001 victories in battle nor his street life scars- are what people reference when they talk about him as one of the originators of this current incarnation of battle rap. They look to the battle with former Roc-A-fella rhyme spitter Freeway, a contest that legend of Cass rest squarely on.
Back in the day, congregated in a studio, one of the most epic battles amongst commercial rappers not only took place but was captured on video.
Though the footage is grainy, the bars are preserved and presented by two of Philly’s greatest Hip-Hop voices.
In the footage you hear a young Freeway, with his high pitched and sliding scare vocals, spitting some of his most hard-hitting bars. Not to be outmatched, Cassidy brings the charm, clever word play and yes machismo to the field of combat. The overall consensus is that Cass won. His win was based more on the fact that Freeway seems to have ran out of rhymes in the footage, than just the idea that he saturated the atmosphere with superior rhymes. Both emcees where ripe with flows and bars. No one can deny that from the gate when Freeways starts his first round with, “You ain’t f*ing with Free for two reasons: my two kids, my two mouths to fee…” that Cass was not just dealing with any old emcee. This rhyme-fest showcase why the ferocious Philly spit-kicker was so attractive to at the time, the number one crew in rap. Â However, the rules of the game differed about 15 years ago. Of course your pen had to be nice, but you also had to write like your life depended on it (and have a stash for a “just in case” scenario).
Check out for yourself.
Interesting enough, Cassidy battled (and beat) West Coast rapper, Dizaster a few years ago. And while Diz is one of this generation of battlers faves, lyrically, that battle could not hold up against Cassidy vs. Freeway. Bar-for-Bar both Philly emcees hold a mountain-like weight in the culture that can’t be moved or destroyed.
But on the Resolution card, Goodz will surely try. Â With only 23 battles under his belt, few can say that they have beat him on stage. Sure you have those two disqualifications… and a few one offs where he joked the entire rounds… but no league owner or fan can say that Goodz is not worth the hefty purse that he requires to hold that glass of Henny and style on these n*ggaz. In fact, even Tay Roc felt the “Goodz Effect” last year when the two battled in Houston. This was the first time that “The Face of URL” and crowd favorite had ever been booed. Cass simply can’t sleep on Goodz. He is known to make people believers.
The sold out Resolution is set for April 27th in Atlanta. Other battles are Tay Roc vs. K-Shine, Nu Jerzey Twork vs. John John Da Don, Rum Nitty vs. T-Top, Shotgun Sure vs. Chef Trez and Yung Ill vs. Brizz Rawsteen. The card will be available on Watchbattlelive.com.
Platinum-selling, number one charting Philadelphia legend Cassidy makes his long-awaited return to battle rap next month on Saturday 27 April on the big stage in Atlanta, this time debuting on the SMACK/URL stage vs. Bronx legend Goodz.
This will be Cassidy’s first battle since his controversial encounter with Los Angeles- based battler Dizaster four years ago at the FilmOn.TV’s “Ether” event in LA, with consensus giving that battle to Cassidy 2-1 in an overall disappointing battle plagued by technical issues that failed to live up to the lofty hype surrounding such a potential classic showdown.
With one of the battles of the decade now only five weeks away, the 27 April event “Resolution” will also feature a stack of other top quality battles making it the battle rap event of the year thus far. The long-awaited rematch battle of SMACK/URLTV.tv’s top gunner Tay Roc vs. the red hot, in form K-Shine has battle rap fans in a frenzy and promises to deliver one of the best battles in years. The indisputable number one new guy in battle rap, Nu Jerzey Twork, has been setting SMACK/URLTV on fire in recent years and faces a formidable opponent in the experienced John John Da Don, who is coming off a great 12 months both on stage and with his Atlanta-based BulllPen Battle League. Big stage enforcer Shotgun Suge takes on the rapidly developing Chef Trez, which will be a great test for the Chef as he has an opportunity to go head to head with one of the most commanding big stage performers in the culture in Suge. Back to back puncher Rum Nitty takes on CaveGang’s T-Top, in a battle that will be interesting to see if the small room (king of the Volumes series) expert Rum Nitty can continue to perform to such a high level in the main room as he has also previously done in the past.
Goodz over the last 15 years has battled the likes of URL’s Tay Roc, T-Top, Aye Verb (hosted by Jadakiss), X-Factor, Hollow Da Don, Rone, Hitman Holla, K-Shine, Jae Millz, Conceited, Head I.C.E, Tech 9, Rich Dolarz as well as Cassidy (off-camera) more so at the beginning of his career. Goodz is currently in top form, coming off a very strong performance against Tay Roc in Houston at NOME 8.
Cassidy came up in the late 90’s and early 2000s as a feared, tried and well-tested battle rapper throughout Philly and beyond who honed his craft heavily (including famously battling Freeway of State Property) before being signed by Swizz Beats/Ruff Ryders. Cassidy would go on to release three classic albums in the mid-2000s, collaborating with the likes of Styles P, Talib Kweli, Havoc, Nipsey Hussle, Nas, Fat Joe, The Game, Alicia Keys, Murda Mook, Tay Roc and Loaded Lux amongst many, many more.
This will be the first time that big room battle rap has reached Atlanta and “Resolution” is shaping up to be a hip-hop event that cannot be missed. Head to Club Mansion for one of the biggest battle events ever held outside New York on battle raps leading platform, SMACK/ URLTV and cop the Pay Per View if you can’t be in the building. Sure to be a night for the history books.
