Lloyd Banks has earned the right to be championed as the punchline king, a title he seems to embrace. Between his early work with G-Unit --including the star-making "Victory" freestyle-- and the classic Hunger For More, Banks' gruff brand of clever lyricism makes him a rare breed of emcee. One whose presence on a Funk Flex or LA Leakers would be elevated to an instant spectacle. As such, his fans are quick to pay homage when given the chance. It's gotten to the point where Banks is openly inviting smoke from any willing competitor.

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It started when one of his followers inquired about the possibility of a URL battle, provided the bag was enticing enough. Banks replied with the Drizzy special, which is to say, a diabolical emoji. Roughly translated to a) wait and see or b) bring it on. After one skeptic mused that Banks' publicized career will leave the door open for too many personal shots, Banks came through to shut it down with the quickness.

"Nobody on the [Earth] cooking the kid," he writes, a confident declaration of strength. In other words, Banks is accepting all challengers, whether Battle Rapper or overzealous claimant. The Punchline King is growing tired of sitting the throne, his dreams turning to open-field warfare once again. 

Anything with Drake's name attached to it is sure to be a huge success, or is at least sure to attract loads of attention. The Canadian rapper's latest venture is a multiyear partnership with live-streaming platform, Caffeine. The deal was officially announced on Tuesday, along with details about the first project that Drizzy and the app will be pursuing. 

The world's largest battle rap outlet, URL (Ultimate Rap League), will be brought onboard to kick-start a new initiative to make Caffeine a hub for battle rap viewing. In collaboration with these new partners, Caffeine will live stream and co-produce the Rap Battles.

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In a statement, Drake explained how he's been a fan of URL, which has been promoted by Troy "Smack White" Mitchell out of Queens, New York for years. "I’ve always loved URL and admired what Smack and his team have been able to create, it just wasn’t easily accessible," Drake said . "It’s exciting to be in a position where I’m able to bring Caffeine to the table and help provide URL with the tools they need to elevate the viewing experience and make it more accessible to fans." Smack White, who also co-founded of URL, echoed this sentiment, calling Caffeine "the perfect strategic partner."

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.