Welcome to the Sweet Sixteen. After three weeks of tournament play, the VIBE Presents The Best Rapper Ever brackets are buzzing heavy right now as the original field of 128 rappers has been reduced to just 16 worthy competitors. This week’s matchups are set with an opportunity to advance to the bracket finals next week at stake.
In what has to amount to the biggest upset of last week, No. 10 DMX advanced in Bracket I over No. 2 LL Cool J, besting the legendary MC 54 percent to 46 percent. The victory sets up a big dog matchup this week as DMX is now set to face No. 3 Snoop Dogg, who easily defeated No. 6 Too $hort by gaining 89 percent of the vote to $hort’s 11 percent. No. 1 Eminem also got an easy W in his matchup against No. 9 Redman, collecting 81 percent of the votes to Red’s 19 percent. Em will advance to the next round to square off with No. 4 Big Daddy Kane who ended No. 12 Mase’s Cinderella run with 65 percent of the votes to Mase’s 35 percent.
No. 9 Ludacris took a giant L against No. 1 2Pac in Bracket II, winning just 20 percent of the votes to ’Pac’s 80 percent, while No. 4 Scarface dusted No. 5 Lauryn Hill just as easily with 63 percent of the total votes. However, for the second straight week, No. 2 Lil Wayne came close to defeat, only managing to top No. 7 Rev Run by a slim margin—54 percent to 46 percent. He’ll do battle this week with No. 3 KRS-One, who knocked off No. 6 Kool G Rap 77 percent to 23 percent.
Though few surprises came out of Bracket III, No. 1 Biggie besting No. 8 Eazy-E by a margin of 85 percent to 15 percent did set Big up for an interesting matchup against No. 5 Big Punisher this week (Pun toppled No. 4 Chuck D 65 percent to 35 percent). And No. 7 T.I. lost 56 percent to 44 percent to No. 2 Ice Cube, who will now get busy against No. 3 Nas after he completely shut down No. 6 Q-Tip 89 percent to 11 percent.
And, finally, No. 7 Kanye West has officially left the building. He collected just 23 percent of the votes in an underwhelming loss to No. 2 Jay-Z, who will now advance to do battle with No. 3 Andre 3000. The OutKast rapper won 66 percent to 34 percent over Busta Rhymes. The winner of that showdown gets either No. 1 Rakim or No. 5 Ghostface Killah next week. Rakim bested No. 9 Method Man, 62 percent to 38 percent, while Ghost bodied Slick Rick, 55 percent to 45 percent. Voting on Round Four has officially kicked off and runs until midnight next Sunday, June 14, 2009. Make sure your voice is heard and stay tuned for more updates on VIBE Presents The Best Rapper Ever.
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