Ever since the release of Overwatch in 2016, an age-old rivalry has been going on between the old-time classic Team Fortress 2 and the new game in town Overwatch, which have both been heavily compared, even to the point of many people calling Overwatch a rip-off of Team Fortress 2. JT Music settles this in the best way they know how: through rap battles. In this series of rap battles, which are scattered across multiple albums, different characters from these two games are pitted against each other to see who’s best.

“Tracer vs. Scout Rap Battle”

The first of these rap battles is between Tracer, Overwatch’s time-traveling heroine and unspoken mascot, and the Scout, a fast-running, hard-hitting, batter from Boston. Both these characters are known for their main trait: speed, and the music reflects that. The intro starts out a bit heavy, with a few high notes mixed in, it gives off the “things are about to go down” vibe, and once you hear the announcer’s voice, you almost feel like you’re at an actual rap battle. But once the first lines are spoken, that upbeat rhythm kicks in, and the battle is on. The two opening lines “Cheers love! Calvary’s here!” and “Do you even know who you’re talking to?” are actually references to spoken quotes by Tracer, and the Scout, respectively, and they’re cleverly incorporated into the rap battle as if they’re talking to each other, rather than just shoehorned into the lyrics. This is only the beginning, as there are many more references thrown around in the song. For Tracer, you got “I’m out of sight in just a blink”, a reference to her teleportation ability; “This world could use more heroes,” which is a reference to a spoken quote; and “I think you need a time out,” which is also a spoken quote. For Scout, “Look I’m flying!” references his ability to jump in midair, and “You’re getting freakin dominated” and “I’m battin a thousand” are directly taken from spoken quotes. Although these references are a nice touch to both players of Team Fortress 2 and Overwatch there is some missed opportunity for more direct attacks to each other, which should is essential to the “battle” part of a rap battle. The structure of the rap battle is also interesting, as the dialogue alternates quickly between the two, giving each other quick and witty responses, as if they were interrupting each other. As mentioned before, the music is fast paced and hard hitting to capture the speed of the two heroes, it’s like you can imagine them speeding around and battling each other, but there are a few lower, heavier points during which most of the “attacks” are made, such as “You’ll never get your face on a baseball card,” or “You’re not the kinda gal to bring home to mom.” These lower parts always transition smoothly back into the fast-paced beat. The chorus is also really great in this song, it’s sort of like a mix between the low, heavy parts and the upbeat moments of the song. As for the vocals, they’re spot on, almost exactly how they sound from their source game. Scout is voiced by JT Music co founder Christian Ames, and Tracer is voiced by none other than Andrea Storm Kaden, Tracer’s in game voice actor. Overall, this is a great song but had some missed opportunities for more interesting lyrics.

“Mercy vs. Medic Rap Battle”

The second of these rap battles is between two important—but highly neglected—

Healers. The Medic, the resident doctor of Team Fortress—minus the license— and Mercy, the guardian angel of every team she plays on. This rap battle is structured much differently than its predecessor, Tracer vs. Scout. Unlike the latter, which switches quickly in between each character, as if they’re interrupting each other, each character gets their own verse, and then switches off to the other, which gives them more time to make their statement (This structure would be continue to be used for every Overwatch vs. TF2 rap battle after this one). Another step-up this song has from the last one is an interesting music decision: the tone of the music changes for each character, while keeping the same melody. Mercy’s music is soft and steady, whereas the Medic’s music changes to become sharper and heavier. This is a great addition as it represents each character’s personality. One point of interest though is the chorus, the chorus’ music is strikingly different from the rest of the song. It’s much slower and lighter, and has the characters sing about the life of a support class, and the struggles they have. Although this is very fitting for these two characters, it might be off-putting to some, and it may feel out of place compared to the rest of the song. The vocals are on-point in this one, with the Medic being voiced by Christian Ames and Mercy being done by Andrea Storm Kaden. As with the last rap battle, there are many references throughout the song such as “Healing is not as rewarding as the hurting,” and “Let me give you some doctor assisted homicide!” which are paraphrased quotes from the Medic, and “Heroes never die,” and “On a scale of one to ten, where’s your pain at?” which are paraphrased quotes from Mercy. Some other clever lyrical decisions are with Medic’s german origins. When Mercy says, “On a scale of one to ten, where’s your pain at?” Medic responds with “Nien!” which sounds like the number “9” but is actually “No” in German. There are also much more “direct” attacks to each other than in the previous, such as Medic saying, ”Have you ever seen combat, or are you always this passive?” and Mercy saying,”I could give you guidance, after all I heard about how you lost your license.” In the end though, none of them can be the winner, because as a healer, nothing they really do adds up to much, which leads to them teaming up at the end of the battle. In conclusion, another high quality rap battle by JT Music, and a bit of a step-up from the last one, structure and lyrics-wise.

“Sniper vs. Widowmaker Rap Battle”

Sniper classes are some of the most hated classes in shooter games, and who best to represent them with the best sniper from each game. In this rap battle the high-class australian bloke known as the Sniper goes up against the ruthless, teched-up assassin Widowmaker. From the beginning, those with a good ear will notice that the beat is reminiscent of a sniper rifle, which is a fitting touch for this rap battle. Once the first lyrics kick in, the sniper rifle fades away, most likely to stop it from interfering with the rap. There is a bit of a music change between the two characters, but it’s very slight. The sniper’s beat contains a bit of acoustic guitar, which reflects his life in the Australian outback. The widowmaker’s guitar is much more reduced, to give it a more modern feel, and there is a bit of electric guitar in the background, which is a more “techy” than a traditional guitar, just like how Widowmaker uses more tech than the Sniper. During the chorus, the beat rises up and the sniper rifle sounds kick back in. The chorus has /both of them talk about the life of a sniper, such as saying,”If there’s a code to headshots you could say I’ve cracked it,” and “Too bad that my class in everybody’s blacklist.” This is similar to the chorus of Mercy vs. Medic, as both characters find common ground even though they are enemies. There is even a small dialogue part where Sniper says, “I feel your pain… I still hate you though.” Just as the rest, references are on point here. Such as Sniper saying, “You’re nothing but a show pony let me see you prance!” which is a reference to one of his quotes, and Widowmaker saying, “At the time of the kill I’ve never felt more alive” which is a quote spoken by Widowmaker. But this rap battle seems to be the most ruthless with its direct attacks, such as Widowmaker saying, “Call your parents and tell them you love them,” “Quick scoping is the only way you can last,” and “How often have you had to drink piss in your life?” The Sniper retaliates by claiming that Widowmaker is, “All tech and no talent,” and that “I don’t need equipment I use instinct,” and “You’re making this so easy, I’m gettin’ worse.” The voices are again, almost exact, and Christian Ames and Andrea Storm Kaden are the two people voicing the characters. Sniper’s deep voice in particular makes his lines sound more impactful, and it’s reminiscent to how he deepens his voice while zooming in with his scope. Overall, this rap battle captures these two perfectly, and is a very good song.