Darell Jones, most famously known as, “Arsonal Da Rebel,” will officially retire from battle rapping in August 2017. Since announcing the news of his retirement from battle rap, fans across the globe have left comments on his social media asking him to continue battling. “Last year I said to all my fans I was going to retire this year. After August, I’m only putting out my music and focusing on that,” said Arsonal.
In the years leading up to his big announcement, Arsonal has been hard at work in the studio making new music and working on his next studio album. Although he was primarily battling, he previously released two studio albums, You Seen It Coming and Vibes.”I released the albums to show my fans that this is more of a transition than anything else. I;m retiring from battle rap and putting my music in the spotlight,” he said.
The world-renowned battle rapper has garnered lots of attention since going public about his transition. Shortly after his announcement, he was invited to Funk Master Flex’s Hot 97 FM radio show, where he showed the world what the transition will be like in a freestyle. His freestyle went viral, averaging over three million views. Arsonal said, “It was iconic. Flex is someone who was around since Biggie and Pac days, so for me to go up there and do my thing was surreal.”
With his latest released single, “Hit,” produced by The Sharke, the rapper has gotten off to a very good transition. Within the first two weeks of the single’s release, it’s already received over 10,000 plays across its distributed platforms. “Music and performing [have] been a part of my life for a long time, and if anything I think my fans have realized that over time and they love the music I put out,” said Arsonal.
He first began his career in 2002 at the early age of 16. His career as a lyricist began when he was featured live on the BET “106 & Park” “Freestyle Friday” series. He was eventually entered into the show’s Hall of Fame after winning six weeks straight. It was his appearance on BET that opened the door to his rap career and his superstar collaborations. “Snoop Dogg was my favorite artist growing up, me working with Snoop was one of the biggest accomplishments of my career. Then to have him bring me to the first ever BET Awards live cypher, that’s surreal.” Arsonal added, “I was the first battle rapper to perform on the BET Awards because I opened the show. BET never did that before, but to then be invited to Snoop’s home and MTV’s “Wild N’ Out” with him was a blessing.”
Since then, Arsonal has battled across the nation and around the globe. Winning 55 consecutive battles, Arsonal ignited the rap scene and rose to superstardom claiming his title as the No. 1 battle rapper in the nation according to Verse Tracker. Today, Arsonal averages over 60 million views putting him at the No. 1 spot for total views in the battle league. Through his work, he’s gotten the attention of many other all-stars such as Drake, Bone Crusher, Jazze Pha, Juelz Santana, Waka Flocka and Nick Cannon.
While he has accomplished a lot in the battle world, he is now focused on accomplishing even more with his music. Fans can continue to follow Arsonal while he transitions by visiting www.arsonaldarebel.com.
