Rum Nitty and Nu Jerzey Twork go soft on The Nicest

The new episode of The Nicest is out, and the matchup is a familiar one for anybody who follows battle rap: Rum Nitty across from Nu Jerzey Twork.

Barstool Sports

@barstoolsports

Rum Nitty and Nu Jersey TWork came in to ‘The Nicest’ ready to put in that work. @NewAmsterdam

This isn't a first date. Nitty and Twork already have history on the biggest stage the culture has. Ultimate Rap League put them against each other at SMACK Volume 3, and the 2 later ran it back in a rematch. People still argue over who took that one. One reviewer gave it to Nitty 2-1 but called it super debatable, praising Twork's wordplay and punchlines and saying Nitty landed a few more haymakers at the end. When 2 writers that evenly matched have already gone at each other's throats twice, you expect the 3rd meeting to be ugly.

It wasn't. The Nicest runs on a different premise, and the vibe in the room was closer to a reunion than a war. The captions pulled from the battle point that way too. One opens with an apology, 'I didn't mean to grab you up,' and then moves into a jab about how many pull ups somebody can do.

Viva La Stool

@VivaLaStool

RUM NITTY and NU JERZEY TWORK went toe to toe showing each other the upmost respect. @NewAmsterdam

That's the funny part of watching 2 guys this good try to be nice. Battle rap's whole muscle memory is turning a sweet setup into a gut punch, so every compliment comes with the feeling that a punchline is about to land. Sometimes it does. Sometimes the guy really does just mean it.

Twork's verse is the one people are going to clip. He goes sentimental on Nitty, with a line about how 'You sat by my hospital bed,' and then pivots to wishing him a hit 'off the Mega Millions.' Foes to friends, apparently, with a lottery ticket thrown in.

Barstool Sports

@barstoolsports

From foes to friends, Nu Jersey TWork was really waxing poetic for Rum Nitty. @NewAmsterdam

For battle rap heads, that's the draw. You've seen these 2 try to bury each other, so watching them spend a round being warm is its own kind of entertainment, and it gives you a look at the respect underneath a rivalry that's been close enough to argue about for years. Barstool keeps pulling real names from the circuit onto The Nicest, and pairing 2 pens with this much history was a smart way to show the format off. The full episode is out now, and whether a nice Nitty-Twork matchup leaves people wanting a mean one again is the next debate.