In the subjective world of unjudged rap battles, there’s no official win/loss record to show who’s really at the top of the game. YouTube views, however, are a very tangible metric that speak to a rapper’s popularity and relevance.
For years, Newark, N.J. rapper Arsonal had been the #1 most-viewed English-speaking battle MC, but that changed on Friday (August 5). According to Versetracker, a website that archives rap battles and tabulates the statistics behind them, the new king is DNA.
DNA (@DNA_GTFOH) has surpassed Arsonal (@ARSONALDAREBEL) as the highest viewed English speaking battle rapper: https://t.co/OFqDg3ZiVY
— VerseTracker.com (@VerseTracker) August 5, 2016
The Queens, N.Y. veteran has generated almost 48.3 million views across 91 battles, for an average count of 527,684.
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Those numbers come partly from his willingness to take on seemingly anyone, anywhere, at any time, but also from his ability to maintain a positive working relationship with all of the biggest leagues in the English-language scene. Since his on-camera debut for Grind Time in 2009, he’s become a regular fixture on URL, King Of The Dot and Don’t Flop, and has produced bona fide classics for those leagues and more.
One caveat: DNA is only the #1 English-language battler. He’s #8 in the world, behind seven Filipino rappers, including Loonie, who at #1 has 101 million views in 16 battles.
Congratulations On Me Becoming The Most Viewed Battler In America ! S/O 2 @ARSONALDAREBEL For Being #1 For 7 Years pic.twitter.com/EphL2t2x50
— D.N.A™ (@DNA_GTFOH) August 6, 2016
Watch the two most-viewed American battlers go at it below.
