Been telling people this for yearrrrrrs…
Freestyle Etymology
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from the makers of Ill Doctrine
Been telling people this for yearrrrrrs…
Previous post: “The Black Church Is Dead, Long Live The Black Church?”
Next post: Lies, Damned Lies and Poll Results
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
These days freestyle is a code word for “phoning it in” (see much of Jay Z’s material)
….trust i stay wit my trusty 3 to 4 ’32′ in head for on the spot antics….HOWEVER….I often find that ‘off the top’ freestyling is ALSO something that can be looked at as an art form.
When I battle…I come off the top….nothing written. That takes a little bit of finesse. To be fair though…when you’ve been writing for damn near 20 years….you know what rhymes with what so it’s not so “freestyle” per say as it is….”memory” i guess.
Either way…YOU GOTTA LOVE HIP HOP! Great Post J!
IT’S CULTURE CRAZY,
NOVA
http://www.novatribe.com
Well that is the first I’ve heard of that. Houseaneva, I dont think its a requirement that you know how to “freestyle” or rhyme “off the dome” to be a great emcee. Songs are by their very nature constructed. It is however, a requirement if you battle–you can NOT get into the battle with written shit–that has got to be “off the dome”.
Then again is it unusual that the meaning has morphed over the years–that in and off it self is hip hop–take something and flip it for our purposes.