This is VladTV Battle Rap Journalist Michael Hughes reporting on the sudden changes to Smack/URL's Summer Madness 4 card.

While fans have responded extremely well to the 2014 lineup for Smack/URL's Summer Madness 4 card, it looks like things have been shaken up a bit last minute.  Newark, New Jersey, rapper Arsonal was previously scheduled to battle Ill Will, who is one of the best to come out of Pontiac, Michigan, but that battle has just been cancelled.  Arsonal announced on Twitter today, September 10th, that he has officially pulled out of battling Will.  He believes that Ill Will is not on his level and stated that a battle with him will do nothing for his career.

While Arsonal is a true veteran of the sport, having battled in virtually every league against a wide variety of opponents, these are pretty bold statements considering that Ill Will has managed to build up a solid resume of his own over a short period of time.  Despite losing to DNA at N.O.M.E. 4, Ill Will is the reigning champion of BET's 106 & Park Smack/URL UFF tournament over the past two seasons and he has some overall great performances under his belt outside of the tournament.  Arsonal's most recent matches consist of battles vs. the likes of Big T on Total Slaughter, Daylyt on UW, QP a.k.a Qleen Paper on Black Ice Cartel, Yung Ill on Go-Rilla Warfare, Swave Sevah on KOTD, and Charron on Don't Flop, among others. 

We've reached out to various individuals close to the situation and according to sources, Arsonal made demands for a significant increase in his payment for the battle, but Smack/URL refused to pay him the added fees because they felt as though he was being paid enough already.  Ars was in fact given a payment in advance for the battle, which he has already returned to the URL staff.  There is no bad blood between Arsonal and Smack/URL, and he made that very clear in his tweet addressing the cancellation.

It's understandable that fans may be upset at the fact that this battle has been dropped from the roster, but fear not, for we've also been informed that Smack/URL acted swiftly and has already found a replacement for Ill Will.  Both Ill Will and his new opponent are already in the process of crafting bars for one another and will be fully prepared to go to lyrical war with one another on September 28th.

However, we cannot reveal the identity of the new opponent that Smack/URL has lined up for Ill Will at this time, for they will be surprising fans with the new opponent's identity on the day of the battles.  I have been in contact with the URL staff, and can assure you that Smack, Beasley, Chico, and Norbes are all very happy with the replacement and they are confident that the fans will be as well, once they make the announcement at SM4.  

Regardless of the roster change, Smack/URL's Summer Madness 4 is looking like it will still turn out to be a classic night in Battle Rap history.  Be sure to come out on September 28th to find out who Ill Will's new opponent will be, and see how all of the battles will turn out.  See Arsonal's tweet addressing the cancellation, along with Ill Will's response above.