Thread by @jake_j_jung

Ya Boy Kongming ep 6 features a rap battle with about 192 bars ((2x16x3)x2 [overtime]). I've translated 200+ eps of anime, and I spent far longer on this than any other. It was a great challenge and creative exercise. Enjoy! #AmTranslating

Anyway, I did my best to match the rhyming and delivery while keeping the spirit of the meaning intact. As an example, here are the bars Kabetaijin opens the rap battle with.
ラップの素人がＭCバト[ル]
全力で潰す 俺のスタイ[ル]

There were plenty of more complex rhyme schemes too, such as this one:
誰よりも信念が有る[なら]
舞台から降りてはいけま[せん]
言葉遊びがお望み[なら]ば
胸を貸します１００パー[セン]

Kongming even recites Poem 14 (去者日以疏) of China’s Nineteen Old Poems during his final turn. I primarily relied on/based my translation on the JP translation featured in the episode, but I did consult a couple of other JP translations of the original Chinese, too!

I previously had little experience translating rap, and I’d like to thank @zoid9000, an in-house translator at Sentai, for all his help! His tips and advice were invaluable, and the credit for ~10 bars (e.g., these ones) goes solely to him!

Other great resources were rhymezone.com (which helpfully lists “near rhymes” as well)
&
howmanysyllables.com/syllable_count… (to check how many syllables per bar I had, which is more important than the number of words)

I also listened to lots of rap for inspiration, including Tupac, Jay-Z, Eminem, Lil Wayne, and others. Special shout out to Eazy-E's Boyz-n-the-Hood for its great classic rhyming and Eminem's Lose Yourself for its more modern rhyming style.

Lastly, I’ll leave you with one more rap by each Kongming and Kabetaijin.
Kongming first:
戦に明け暮れ 培った知略 [ク]
理解している 人間の持つ疑惑 [ク]
仕組んだ計略が 見事に起爆 [ク]

And now, one from Kabetaijin. Yeah, the dude really laid down a bar rhyming "perestroika."

ボット出の テメェに 何が分かんだ [アンダ]
始まりがあれば 終わりがあんだ [アンダ]
三連覇の デストロイヤー [ロイヤ]
だから 作って壊す ペレストロイカ [ロイカ]