Chrome 23 Premiere

2.28.22

Queens Get The Money 2.27.22

Last night, history was made as Remy Ma launched her latest project, all-female hip-hop league, Chrome 23. The event was live streamed for free on Hot 97’s YouTube channel, and held at a location in New York City for an invite-only guest list. Four battles went down, with female artists across the country, and Remy says, it will certainly not be the last.

Battle rap is different than the hip-hop scene you hear on the radio. No music, just bars. They dig deep, hit you where it’s personal, and focus on their word play. Remy Ma hand picked each of these battles to be a part of her opening card, believing that they have the potential to be the new faces of battle rap, female or not.

The live stream started at 3PM EST and went until 11PM. The first two hours consisted of the “pre-show” where Remy got to interview each pair from the night, together. First up, Yoshi G from Atlanta vs Pristavia from Brooklyn. The matchup was interesting to Remy and fans, because one is classified as a “thot rapper” and the other, a Christian rapper. Their face-off was not too hott or heated, to which Remy kept saying they are way too nice, even when she questioned if they deserved to be on the first Chrome 23 card, after only being in the game for a short period of time. Of course, Remy chose them to be there, but did let us know that they are not yet vets to this game, so we could not wait to see how things played out for them.

Next up, was Casey Jay from Mississippi and O’fficial from New Orleans. Speaking of being too nice, these two artists are actually extremely close friends, and run in the same battle-rap group. Remy thought they were both heavy hitters and the fans would love to see what they would bring to the ring, together. Many questioned how personal or dirty they would get, going after friends in the ring. However, they certainly did not hold back.

40 Barrs from Boston and QB Black Diamond from Connecticut, are two that have actual beef in real life. It appeared that they had potentially once been friends (maybe even more than that) but several years ago had got into a physical altercation, and there has been issues between the two ever since. Remy mentioned that when she initially called each of the girls, they were both hesitant to take the battle. However, they pulled it together, just barely, to get the job done. The interview did not go well. Each of them screaming at each other back and forth, Remy could barely get any questions out. Difficult to listen to, for sure, but definitely leads for an exciting rap battle.

Finally, Ms Hustle from Harlem and Couture from Providence. This was an exciting matchup for many. With Ms Hustle representing New York, she had the building on her side. Throughout the face-off, it was not real beef between the girls, but they were each ready to win. This one definitely seemed like it had the potential for fight of the night.

Each battle consisted of three rounds, three minutes each. Fans would be able to vote on Hot 97’s website, after each round, to determine winners for each battle. Rap battle artists like to go for “30s” meaning they scored 10/10 each round, aka winning every round, unanimously. On top of just winning your card, there were bonuses to be won. “Battle of the night” to be given to the best back and forth performance. “Body of the night” to be given to whomever completely destroyed their opponent. Finally, “Best 3 Rounds of the Night” for whom ever undoubtedly got that 30.

Remy Ma had cut the check for each of these ladies for taking their fights. Proving this was a fantastic opportunity for females in battle rap who may not be given their opportunity so often, or maybe have been paid way less due to lack of favorability going against the well-known male acts. If you were to take home one of the three bonus awards, that would be additional prize money, and everyone wanted to win.

In the Yoshi G vs Pristavia match up, Pristavia took home the win. It was a clear win from fans voting at home, and the commentators felt the same. However, according to some of the audience, the “industry” that was in the building (hip-hop artists and singers), they were more on the preference of Yoshi G. Both girls had great performances, so in many instances, in comes down to how you are viewing, rating, scoring the performance, and of course, a bit of preference.

The two close friends Casey Jay and O’fficial, did not hold back with their bars. Unfortunately, Casey Jay was in a boot from an injury, and could not move around as much in her performance, as she is known to do. Fans gave O’fficial the win by a landslide, but their battle group definitely is the true winner here, putting themselves on after a great battle at Chrome 23.

40 Barrs and QB Black Diamond, the battle we have all been waiting for. 40 Barrs showed up in a see-through jumpsuit, QB in a hoodie and shades. They both came with the utmost disrespect for one another, but the winner was most clear here. 40 Barrs won the battle, as well as Body of the Night, and Best 3 Rounds. At one point, QB got a bit shaky, knowing the crowd was not feeling her to the level they were feeling 40. Things got a bit heated, but 40 definitely held it down for Boston, and was undeniably the winner of all that she took home that night.

The most debatable battle of the night was Ms Hustle vs Couture. I think everyone expected Ms Hustle to win, and after every round, I thought she would win. But when Couture would rebuttal each time, everything changed. Couture ended up winning the fan vote for this battle, but the duo received the win for Battle of the Night, which it was indeed. Both ladies put on incredible performances, all three rounds, and was definitely the way to end the night.

There were many celebrities in the building that night, from Fat Joe and Papoose, to Dave East, Maino and Lil Mama, to a huge group of the battle rap community. This was an amazing night for females in rap battle, females in hip-hop in general, but females in general as well. Remy says there will be a lot more to come, so I am excited to continue to watch these events, and see the females in rap battle grow in interest, popularity, and skills.