UPDATE: Ambrosia For Heads identified fraud in this poll. A new, 24-hour ballot has been created for this battle using new voting tools. Voting ends Tuesday (April 17) at the new battle poll.

“Finding the GOAT Group,” the fourth installment of Ambrosia For Heads’s annual battle series features Hip-Hop’s greatest collectives vying for the #1 spot. Sixty-two groups have been pre-selected by a panel of experts, and one slot will be reserved for a wild-card entry, including the possibility for write-in candidates, to ensure no deserving band of MCs and DJs is neglected. The 2018 contest consists of seven rounds, NCAA basketball-tournament style, leading to a Top 32, then the Sweet 16 and so on, until one winner is determined. For each battle, two groups are pitted against one another with a ballot to decide which one advances to the next round. Though there will be an enormous amount of debate in comments, on social media, in barbershops and text messages, which we encourage, only votes cast in the official ballot or those using the official hashtags on social media count.

Both the Clipse and The LOX have just three studio albums under their respective belts. However, these groups have far-reaching discographies that bleed into mixtapes, crew features, and expanded side projects. These friends and collaborators face-off in an Interstate 95 battle for the ages. Which of these packs of self-proclaimed industry underdogs will win the rumble to get to Round 2? Your vote may be what decides it.

Clipse

The brotherly duo of Pusha T and No Malice built their reputation serving hard rhymes. Officially united in the ‘90s, the duo suffered more industry bureaucratic setbacks than most over the next 20 years. Despite delays, the Virginia Beach-based fraternity made an immediate impact on the Hip-Hop landscape through 2002’s Lord Willin’ and its “Grindin’” show-piece. King Push and Mal’ spent the next eight years bagging up some of Pharrell and Chad’s most captivating tracks, then punctuating them with ruthless rhymes. Outside of three celebrated LPs (and a bootleg), this duo also lived a dazzling double-life half of the Re-Up Gang on a series of grade-A mixtapes. From recollections of street exploits to detailed accounts of spending sprees and romantic escapades, the Clipse legally deal cocaine-chic imagery and enforce it through wicked wordplay.

The LOX

For 25 years, Jadakiss, Sheek Louch, and Styles P have concocted concrete rhymes with the streets in mind. Emerging as part of the Bad Boy family, the Yonkers, New York trio of Ruff Ryders now have a partnership with Roc Nation. Through all of those maneuvers, the D-Block collective remained true to its core foundation, while working fitting in across the Rap landscape. Within their catalog, the trio has been able to adapt to the times, making songs that embrace their hunger-pain pasts and provide wisdom on how to secure the bag. Despite taking a 16-year-break between LPs, this brotherhood of bar-spitters knows how to preserve their brand and product for freshness. The Warlocks have the prowess of punchlines, authenticity, and chemistry to leave Hip-Hop Heads spellbound.

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So who is the better Hip-Hop group? Make sure you vote above.