Are we ready to admit that most rappers can't "freestyle"?

[Westbama Heartthrob]

I know I'm breaking kayfabe but we're all adults here, lol

An off the dome freestyle is literally impossible for the majority of people. And when rappers actually go off the dome, it's gonna sound like some dr. Seuss, mother Goose shyt

You either rap an old written verse to a new beat, recite lyrics you already came up with in your head, or just ad lib simple shyt that works for the beat

Ain't nobody coming up with their best double entendres and flips spur of the moment. It's some level of premeditation going on, but yall be buying into the myth these rappers invented. Problem only is that most rappers can't pre-write something on the level of past greats. But even the usuall suspects of best rappers like nas, kendrick, pac, and big aren't as known for their freestyles like a Jadakiss, fabolous, or lupe

So it's not like it even stops you from being in the goat conversation. Yet if a rapper can't "freestyle" it's seen as a sign of the genre's decline as a whole

 

[Art Barr]

I know I'm breaking kayfabe but we're all adults here, lol

An off the dome freestyle is literally impossible for the majority of people. And when rappers actually go off the dome, it's gonna sound like some dr. Seuss, mother Goose shyt

You either rap an old written verse to a new beat, recite lyrics you already came up with in your head, or just ad lib simple shyt that works for the beat

Ain't nobody coming up with their best double entendres and flips spur of the moment. It's some level of premeditation going on, but yall be buying into the myth these rappers invented. Problem only is that most rappers can't pre-write something on the level of past greats. But even the usuall suspects of best rappers like nas, kendrick, pac, and big aren't as known for their freestyles like a Jadakiss, fabolous, or lupe

So it's not like it even stops you from being in the goat conversation. Yet if a rapper can't "freestyle" it's seen as a sign of the genre's decline as a whole

I am the only one qualified to answer you here.

Sohh generally most rappers live an eight mile lie.
plus are trash in every skill and metric. As well as can't serve nuffin off the head.
Yet y'all in mass exodus as fans. All believed you were gonna be rappers like eight mile. To live this eight mile lie most generally constructed. While never actually being skilled emcees to begin with.


Art Barr

 

[FunkDoc1112]

Freestyling off the dome is one of those incredibly specialized skills, like in basketball guys who are really good at one-on-one and shyt.

I've been in the local NY scene a lot over the past year and have a met a lot of talented true off the dome freestyle cats...the way they're able to do insane bars off the top is riodiculously impressive. I go to this thing where nikkas have to rap over a beat they've never heard before and have to rap about a series of topics as they get shown on a screen...I saw this dude flip a crazy ass bar about A Quiet Place on the spot, where he started a bar and then left the other half blank, like Jesus Christ how did you pull that off in the moment

All the nikkas from this video btw. The Kool G Rap looking guy with the GA hat was the one who did the Quiet Place flip lol:



At Legendary Cyphers there's also a nikka who always pulls up with his dog. One time the dog went in a barking fit so he incoproprated the barks into his rhymes

 

[FunkDoc1112]

But overall you're not really saying anything new, it's been known for decades that dudes use writtens. You could get away with it more easily in the days before the internet. But there was a documentary produced by the same guys who did the Beef DVDs where KRS One broke down all the tricks. Have a bunch of bars you have ready for different contexts, use a lot of interchangeable verbs so you can switch them up slightly, have some verbal crutches ready to fill in some space, that type of shyt.

 

[KingsOfKings]

At Legendary Cyphers there's also a nikka who always pulls up with his dog. One time the dog went in a barking fit so he incoproprated the barks into his rhymes

 

[TripleAgent]

It's becoming a lost art because you barely have to be able to rap at all now

 

[Westbama Heartthrob]

But overall you're not really saying anything new, it's been known for decades that dudes use writtens. You could get away with it more easily in the days before the internet. But there was a documentary produced by the same guys who did the Beef DVDs where KRS One broke down all the tricks. Have a bunch of bars you have ready for different contexts, use a lot of interchangeable verbs so you can switch them up slightly, have some verbal crutches ready to fill in some space, that type of shyt.

Wasn't the intention to break new ground. Just branching off from the Pooh sheisty thread to reel things back in

I will say, lowkey it's more interesting to hear about the tricks they used to always have bars ready than believing they're just that good. You wouldn't happened to remember the name of that documentary, would you?

Early Hip hop is a fascinating era to me. Im not the type to say "hip hop is dead", but shyt like the Grand Upright Music, Ltd v. Warner Bros. Records Inc., ruling, radio and telecommunications act of 1996, and rise of the internet does make it make sense why people say that. Def a big difference once the more grassroots and battle centered parts of the culture couldn't keep pace with the changing times

shyt being lost to time is the worst though. Cause not everything gonna make it in a vault. Surprisingly even shyt from my era is lost, so I can feel where yall coming from

 

[FunkDoc1112]

Wasn't the intention to break new ground. Just branching off from the Pooh sheisty thread to reel things back in

I will say, lowkey it's more interesting to hear about the tricks they used to always have bars ready than believing they're just that good. You wouldn't happened to remember the name of that documentary, would you?

Early Hip hop is a fascinating era to me. Im not the type to say "hip hop is dead", but shyt like the Grand Upright Music, Ltd v. Warner Bros. Records Inc., ruling, radio and telecommunications act of 1996, and rise of the internet does make it make sense why people say that. Def a big difference once the more grassroots and battle centered parts of the culture couldn't keep pace with the changing times

shyt being lost to time is the worst though. Cause not everything gonna make it in a vault. Surprisingly even shyt from my era is lost, so I can feel where yall coming from

 

[Westbama Heartthrob]

Repped

 

[Da_Eggman]

Bleek legit is so bad that you start to feel sorry for him

 

[Art Barr]

But overall you're not really saying anything new, it's been known for decades that dudes use writtens. You could get away with it more easily in the days before the internet. But there was a documentary produced by the same guys who did the Beef DVDs where KRS One broke down all the tricks. Have a bunch of bars you have ready for different contexts, use a lot of interchangeable verbs so you can switch them up slightly, have some verbal crutches ready to fill in some space, that type of shyt.

Krs was never a great freestyle emcee to even be trying to talk about the fallacy of tricks.
As there is no trick.

You either have the skill or you don't.
Krs never had the skill in that rralm to talk. Krs needs to diss bambaata with writtens. Before we take anything krs says as gospel moving forward.

Art Barr

 

[MajesticLion]

It's the same principle as in basic education that's bled into everything else. Fake it til you make it/failing upwards/no child left behind, whatever. So pretending to be able to freestyle is/was "easier" than actually improving your skills, vocab and pen game...or so the morons chasing mass appeal told themselves.


Just look at thread titles around here, it's all the same infection masquerading as several somethings else.

 

[Long Live The Kane]

There’s people that still do it…Sauce Walka came out of that Houston scene where they were raised on mixtape freestyles and a lot of his actual released music is off the dome, like a lot of the OGs from down there…Lupe can do it on command ..don’t think Jada and Fab were ever really coming off the dome like that…they from the generation where the whole “come to the radio station and freestyle over random beats” thing had been done for so long that they came prepared with dozens of pre written they could spit at any moment…there was an expectation of polish, structure and flawlessness that it’s impossible off the dome

But free association off the dome rapping is probably my favorite lyrical style…it’s why ‘02-‘06ish mixtape Wayne is up there on my favorite version of any rapper ever GOAT list…after he stopped writing and before he started doing the punch in every line thing…there’s this abstract but still lucid quality that you can’t really recreate any other way…I used to known as a freestyler back in the day, and it’s nothing better than hearing a muhfukka blackout.. I can spot it instantly

 

[Crumple]

I know I'm breaking kayfabe but we're all adults here, lol

An off the dome freestyle is literally impossible for the majority of people. And when rappers actually go off the dome, it's gonna sound like some dr. Seuss, mother Goose shyt

You either rap an old written verse to a new beat, recite lyrics you already came up with in your head, or just ad lib simple shyt that works for the beat

Ain't nobody coming up with their best double entendres and flips spur of the moment. It's some level of premeditation going on, but yall be buying into the myth these rappers invented. Problem only is that most rappers can't pre-write something on the level of past greats. But even the usuall suspects of best rappers like nas, kendrick, pac, and big aren't as known for their freestyles like a Jadakiss, fabolous, or lupe

So it's not like it even stops you from being in the goat conversation. Yet if a rapper can't "freestyle" it's seen as a sign of the genre's decline as a whole

I read what you wrote.

Okay. But freestyling is not impossible for most anyone. And ppl have said very proud rhymes off the top.

Here's a video of me freestyling for 10 minutes. I'm far from great, but it was fun.

Freestyling always has its moments.

 

[Long Live The Kane]

I read what you wrote.

Okay. But freestyling is not impossible for most anyone. And ppl have said very proud rhymes off the top.

Here's a video of me freestyling for 10 minutes. I'm far from great, but it was fun.

Freestyling always has its moments.