It had been five months since Arsonal Da Rebel and Cassidy went toe-to-toe during a URL battle rap show, and the event still hadn’t been shared online. While Arsonal was sure that his rhymes against the “Hotel” hitmaker would one day surface, he didn’t press the issue until he heard that Cassidy released a diss track against him days after the New Year celebrations.

Arsonal told The Breakfast Club that he wasn’t too worried about the episode’s release until he caught wind of Cassidy’s latest scathing track. He said he called up the powers that be and requested for his and Cassidy’s battle to be released, and within a day, the lyrical tit-for-tat hit the streets. Overnight, Cassidy found himself the butt of jokes on social media because of his performance, with many people teasing the emcee for not making much sense throughout what was supposed to be a lyrical attack.

During his chat with The Breakfast Club, Arsonal explained that prior to the show, he took over Cassidy’s dressing room because the venue tried to give him a small area. Arsonal didn’t acre because Cassidy was running late, and it may have caused a little bit of tension that spilled over onstage. “Cassidy is more of a promotional tactic,” Arsonal said about the “I’m a Hustla” rapper being “the face of battle rap.” 

“The leagues know they’re gonna bank off of Cassidy ’cause he’s a delusional character that everybody’s like enjoying to watch,” Arsonal said. “They enjoy watching him get beat up like that. ‘Cause before me, he battled my man Goodz and he tore him up. It’s like, they know the fans is gon’ watch it. They gon’ pay for it. They gon’ come to the event. So why not use ’em?” Watch Arsonal talk about Cassidy and the art of battle rapping below.

When battle rap was beginning to reclaim its space in hip-hop's mainstream, there were very few studio rappers that were willing to step into the ring. Although the art of battle rap became tril in the success of any signed rapper, a few OGs stepped into the battle ring, ultimately causing many dents in their armor.

Among them is Cassidy who's reputation as a rapper, both as a recording artist and a battle MC, has declined severely in the past 10 years. His recent battle against Arsonal didn't help his case either. The two went head to head in Philadelphia and while Arsonal came in swinging, filled with disrespect, Cassidy's bars left many, including his opponent, confused as to what he was talking about. Things had already got heated even before the battle started. Arsonal yelled "suck my dick" and even got a bit handsy with Cass.

Even though Arsonal was already taunting Cass by the time the battle began, the "I'm A Hustler" rapper's biggest Ls were self-imposed. His lines weren't working the crowd as expected, due to poor execution and generally lazy writing. With Philadelphia being Cassidy's stomping grounds and all, what was even worse is that he began getting booed. At one point, you can hear someone in the background yell "NO!" after one of his punchlines.

Peep the reactions below.