Are Rappers Lying About Freestyling?

Ladies and gentlemen, we have got to get to the bottom of this ongoing dilemma. Are rappers lying about freestyling? 

A Different Era

Now I grew up in the 90’s and early 2000’s when freestyle battles reached its peak in popularity with shows like 106 n park which featured a rap battle league where rappers would compete for record deals.

There was also a show called Rap City The Basement which would feature a freestyle from popular rappers at the time.

This is also the time where movies like 8 mile came out which depicted Eminem’s meteoric rise in the Detroit battle rap scene.

To me and my fellow rappers coming freestyling meant that you were coming up with your lyrics on the spot and in the moment which was also called “off the top” or “off the dome”.

It was common to hear people fumble their words from time to time, or pause for a moment as they thought of their next line.

But over the years there’s been a plethora of shows like Sway in the morning and Funk Flex to name a few which give rappers opportunities to freestyle during their visit to the show. And these rappers often deliver super polished performances consisting of complex cadences, dense rhyme schemes, and witty wordplay.

EVOLUTION OR LIES?

Now you tell me, have rappers freestyle skills evolved so much to where you can no longer tell the difference between a freestyle and a written verse? Or are these rappers simply lying about freestyling and they’re really just rapping verses they’ve already written?

This is precisely the ongoing argument surrounding freestyling that’s still being debated til this day.

In my opinion, most of these rappers are clearly rapping verses that they’ve written. There’s a level of depth, wittiness, and intricacy to their raps that can only be achieved from writing.

But the question still remains…are they lying?

Well, I’m not so sure they are lying.

Now, I know that seems like an obvious contradiction. How could they be saying they’re freestyling while rapping written verses and not be lying.

Well, earlier I shared with you my definition of what I perceived freestyling to be from the era that I grew up in. But let’s go back further than that.

BIG DADDY KANE

Let’s see what the legendary rapper Big Daddy Kane who blew up in the 80’s had to say about this. 

“See that term freestyle is like a new term, because, you know, in the 80s, when we said we wrote a freestyle rap, that meant that it was a rhyme that you wrote that was free of style, meaning it’s not a subject matter. It’s not a story about a woman, it’s not a story about poverty. It’s basically a rhyme just bragging about yourself. So it’s basically free of style. That’s really what a freestyle is, you know, off the top of the head we just call that off the dome, when you don’t write it and just say whatever come to mind, you know. I mean, really, a freestyle is a rhyme that you write, you know, basically just free of style. I mean, when we went up top of the head. That would be something that we do, just playing around like, you know, in the corner, just playing to see who messed up first. To me, you know, this here rap thing is an art form, you know. And with art, you paint a picture, you know what I’m saying, and I mean, when you look at the list of the Greatest lyricists that did they thing they wrote their rhymes.

WHAT DOES A FREESTYLE MEAN?

So I have to ask the question again, are these rappers who are spittin’ written verses freestyling? According to Big Daddy Kane they are freestyling.

And I’ve also seen plenty of rappers who say they’re freestyling, spit both written lyrics and go off the dome. So what do we call that? Is that a Freestyle that’s also at times off the dome? Or is that a written verse that at times is a freestyle? 

Or could we create two categories for freestyles? Off the dome freestyles and written freestyles? And then when someone asks another person to freestyle they could ask if they want to hear something off the dome or written.

Look, I’m not the authority on this topic and like Yah told Sway “You don’t have the answers”.

But maybe you do. Let’s continue the discussion in the comments section below and see if we can get to the bottom of this.

My name is Cole Mize with Cole Mize Studios.com where I strive to help you be a better rapper now. And if you’re trying to perfect your rap skills make sure you get my FREE Rap Essentials bundle which includes…

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