Freestyling - The form of on the spot verbal improvisation
to the sound of a beat or lack of one.
Along with the major changes that have occurred in the genre
of Hip Hop since its emergence in the late 70’s, freestyling has been a change
many in hip hop refuse to accept.
In the digital era of Hip Hop every rapper from Drake, Wiz
Khalifa, to Big Sean all have countless songs via internet regarded as
“freestyles” some of which are filmed and presented as music videos, ultimately
raising the question popular in the commentary section of YouTube &
WorldStarHipHop, How is it a freestyle? I understand the difficulty in
comprehension and to answer the question, it’s not…well at least not
traditionally.
You see back in the day in my opinion the lyrics in Hip Hop
were not as complex as they are today but still were creatively good, making it
a little bit easier to create rhymes off the top of the head. Many rappers who
are talented writers lack the skill of matching an off the top freestyle with a
written…im one of those rappers that lack that skill as well. Years ago when I started
rapping I never saw importance in freestyling. Its always just been a form of
entertainment where people just want to see if you have the ability of doing it.
Similar to basketball where people just want to see if a player has the ability
to dunk. Although the best dunkers are not necessarily the best players, and in
Hip Hop the best freestylers are typically never renowned as the best
songwriters.
I remember being a kid in English class and having to do
“Free-Write” activities where we would be timed by the teachers and told to write
whatever came to our mind. If you were like me those “Free-Writtens” had no
specific format just like today’s Modern Day Freestyle.
I have no problem with rappers making songs they entitle as
freestyles and in fact admire the ones who are able to create one off the dome.
With the decline of sales in the genre, putting out songs, videos, or going on
radio with a pre written rhyme (whether delivered by memory or like Drake on
Hot97 from off of a Blackberry) only serves as promotion for an artist who
seeks to remain relevant in an industry where ones career can be shorter than
the stature of Bushwick Bill
Alano
I think alot of the old school rappers freestyle,while many new school rappers write their rhymes and lie and say its a freestyle.A real freestyle is hard to master.
ReplyDeleteI've always admired people who could compose on-the-spot, unpremeditated free-styles. I'll always respect the person who has the ability to produce a solid rhyme without the advantage of extra time. Granted, time affords an artist the chance to craft a more polished work, but there's something to be said about an artist who can spontaneously produce great lyrics. An artist of that mind demonstrates a type of intelligence, talent, or creativity that can't (easily) be imitated by other artists.
ReplyDeleteNothing against taking one's time to write. I also believe some of the greatest work has been (and can be) produced by artists who take time to construct and revise their lyrics. At the end of the day, if the work is great, that's what really matters.
ReplyDeleteGreat blogsite Alano. Hmmm, the freestyle vs. the written. As the above mentioned, the freestyle demonstrates a type of intelligence - which i/m/o is based on trust. Oddly enough, some the of best freestylers I know can't write a rhyme to save their lives. Notwithstanding, it is a skill that can be developed, as trust is something that can be developed. Trust in what some call your "first mind" or the initial thought that is communicated from the divine. It is not necessary for commercial success or the creation of great music, but is a skill that is very much respected by both artists and listeners. This skill set added to the artist's tool belt will undoubtedly increase that artist's ability to captivate, entertain, edutain, and move the crowd.
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