Freestyle rap is an improvisational form of rapping, performed with few or no previously composed lyrics, which is said to reflect a direct mapping of the mental state and performing situation of the artist. Improvisation (also called extemporization) is the practice of acting singing talking and reacting of making and creating in the moment and in response to the stimulus of Rapping (also known as emceeing, MCing, spitting, or just rhyming) is the Rhythmic spoken delivery of Rhymes wordplay and Lyrics (in singular form Lyric) are a set of words that accompany music either by speaking or singing It is non-scripted, non-rehearsed, uncut, and the rawest form of hip-hop. Artists will often refer to places and objects in their immediate setting. Freestyle rapping forces an individual to think on the spot, describe their surroundings, and, to a certain degree, rap uncensored from what is inside. It is similar in this sense to improvisational music or acting and draws comparisons to improvisational jazz in particular. Improvisation (also called extemporization) is the practice of acting singing talking and reacting of making and creating in the moment and in response to the stimulus of Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States

Freestyles are performed a cappella, over beatboxing and over instrumental versions of recorded hip hop songs. A cappella (Italian or Latin "From the chapel/choir" Music is Vocal music or Singing without instrumental Accompaniment Impromptu, non-narrative raps in this style are often called freestyles even if entirely pre-written and memorized. Note that a degree of improvisation will commonly remain in the latter two cases, since the performer usually must match the syncopation of his rhymes to the rhythm provided in real time. ^[1][2]

History

Freestyle rapping is generally believed to have originated in the East Coast hip hop scene in the late 1970s. East Coast hip hop is the original style of Hip hop music that originated in New York City, USA, during the early-1970s The earliest MCs would spit freestyle lyrics at parties to pump up the crowd; from this, freestyle battles began to emerge. Perhaps the earliest and most famous freestyle battle was in December 1982 when Kool Moe Dee challenged Busy Bee Starski. Mohandas Dewese (born 8 August 1962) better known as Kool Moe Dee, was an American old-school MC prominent in the late 1970s throughout Busy Bee Starski (also known as Busy Bee) born 1950s in the Bronx New York is an Old school hip hop MC. ^[3] Busy Bee was known for his chants of "What's your zodiac sign?" and other crowdpleasers that had been originated a few years before by other rappers.

Freestyle battles sometimes bring mainstream attention to previously unknown rappers. This type of rapping also proves useful when an argument arises between two rappers. A diss can include attacks on credibility, threats of violence, or simply bragging that one is better than the other. Disses can also be recorded over the rival rapper's beat to add further disrespect. Allegations of sleeping with the another rapper's significant other have become increasingly popular in disses (such as 2Pac claiming to have slept with Biggie's wife, or Jay-Z claiming to have slept with Nas' baby's mother). Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16 1971 &mdash September 13 1996 also known by his Stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21 1972 – March 9 1997 popularly known as Biggie Smalls (after a Gangster in the 1975 film Let's Do It Again Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4 1969 better known as Jay-Z, is an American Rapper and former CEO of Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Nasir Jones, nɑːˈsiər (born September 14 1973 better known by his Stage name Nas, nɑːz formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper Many times the audience wants to hear an immediate response from the two people involved in the conflict. This makes way for so-called freestyle records. One artist takes a beat that is already out in the mainstream, and raps over it so that they can quickly put something out to insult the other rapper involved.

Methodology

Due to the improvised nature of freestyle, rules for meter and rhythm are usually more relaxed than in conventional rap. Meter or metre is a concept related to an underlying division of time characteristic of western music Rhythm (from Greek ῥυθμός - rhythmos, "any measured flow or movement symmetry" is the variation of the length and accentuation of Many artists base their set on the situation and mental state, but have a ready supply of prepared lyrics and rhyme patterns they can use as filler or even around which they can build their set. Often, freestyling is done in a group setting (called a cypher) or as part of a freestyle battle. In these cases, freestyle verses are often prepared in the rapper's head as the other rappers in the cypher or the opponent in the battle take their turn. Freestyling is also often used by many rappers when beginning to write a song, in order to get a feel for the beat and to brainstorm lyrical ideas.

Well known and highly accomplished free-styler Supernatural appeared on the DVD "Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme" and said that reading both a standard and a rhyming dictionary helped him improve his freestyle ability and his vocabulary.

Battles

A freestyle battle is a contest in which two or more rappers compete or battle each other using freestyle rap. Rapping (also known as emceeing, MCing, spitting, or just rhyming) is the Rhythmic spoken delivery of Rhymes wordplay and Each competitor's goal is to 'diss' their opponent through clever lyrics. An insult (also called putdown) is an expression statement or behavior that is considered degrading As hip-hop evolved in the early-80's, MCs gained their fame through live battles with other MCs. Freestyle battles can take place anywhere: street corners, on stage at a concert, or in school.

A live audience is critical to a freestyle battle. Each MC must use skill and lyrical ability to not only 'break down' his or her opponent, but to convince the audience that they are the better rapper. Appointed judges have been used in formal contests, but even when no winner is announced, the rapper who receives the best audience response is viewed as the victor. In addition, it is considered an act of dishonour to recite written and memorized raps in a battle, because it shows the rapper to be incapable of 'spitting' spur-of-the-moment lyrics.

The cipher is the crowd which forms around the battles, consisting of spectators and onlookers. This group serves partly to encourage competition and partly to enhance the communal aspect of rap battles. The cipher is known for “making or breaking reputations in the hip hop community; if you are able to step into the cipher and tell your story, demonstrating your uniqueness, you might be more accepted"^[4]. These groups also serve as a way for messages about hip hop styles and knowledge to be spread, through word-of-mouth and encouraging trends in other battles^[5].

Freestyle battling is a prominent part of rap or hip hop culture. Hip hop is a cultural movement which developed in New York City in the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latinos.

Recent history

Freestyles have been mostly an underground phenomenon since the early nineties, partly due to rap lyrics becoming considerably more complex in terms of rhyme scheme and meter. A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyming Lines in a Poem or Song. Furthermore, many rappers often deliver standalone written verses on radio shows that are referred to or labelled on records or on filesharing programs as freestyles, which has somewhat distorted the meaning of the term. See Shared resource for the conventional meaning of file sharing File sharing refers to the providing and receiving of digital files over a There is often confusion as to whether or not "freestyle verses" are in fact freestyled, with many rappers' written lyrics being simple enough to seem freestyled and many of the best freestylers' improvised lyrics being complex and confident enough to seem written.

In the early 21st century, freestyling (particularly freestyle battling) experienced a resurgence in popularity of sorts as successful freestyle battle competition TV shows were shown by both BET and MTV. The 21st century is the current century of the Christian Era or Common Era in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. MTV ( Music Television) is an American Cable television network based in New York City. In addition, Eminem's movie 8 Mile brought the excitement of the freestyle battle to mainstream movie audiences. 8 Mile is a 2002 American Drama film, directed by Curtis Hanson and starring Eminem, Kim Basinger, Freestyle Friday is a watered-down battle segment on BET's popular show 106 & Park. Two rappers compete in a freestyle battle before the studio audience and three celebrity judges (the DJ sometimes acts as the 3rd judge). Each competitor alternates freestyling for 30 seconds in each of the two rounds (originally only 1 round when the segment first began). The rappers are not allowed to use profanities or sexually suggestive lyrics, punishable by disqualification. After the battle, the judges decide the winner, per majority vote.

Traditionally, a battle usually takes place before live audiences. Recently, however, the Internet has been used as a forum to hold online battles. Proponents of this developing artform that some call "text" say that the Internet provides a safe environment for artists to practice their skills. Without being hindered by beats, an online writer (or 'netcee') may use the full range of their imagination and vocabulary in a battle. When the online writer is writing everything that comes into their head, this is often called a "keystyle".

In Cuba, freestyle battles often follow organized concerts and juxtapose composed songs with ‘flowing’ lyrics that are relevant to the present situation^[6]. Freestyling can allow audience members to integrate into the performance stage. This provides a forum for up-and-coming underground artists to engage in a musical discussion with already prominent underground Cuban rappers. Freestyle battles often turn political when artists incorporate perspectives on social disparities and issues plaguing the Cuban population^[7].

References

• 8 Mile. Dir. Curtis Hanson. DVD. March 18, 2003

• Alan Light; et al. October 1999. The Vibe History of Hip Hop.
• All Rapped Up. Dir. Steven Gregory, Eric Holmberg. Perf. Eric Holmber, Garland Hunt. Videocassette. 1991.
• Blow, Kurtis. Kurtis Blow Presents: The History of Rap, Vol. 1: The Genesis (liner notes). Kurtis Blow Presents: The History Of Rap, Vol. 1: The Genesis.

• Brian, Cross. It's Not About a Salary . London; New York: Verso, 1993 [i. e. 1994].

• FREESTYLE: The Art of Rhyme. Dir. Kevin Fitzgerald. DVD. 2004.
• Hiphop-battles. com Audio MC rap battle arena
• Vibe Online. "Off the Dome". http://www.vibe.com/vibe/archive/oct95/docs/dome.html. 30 Sep, 1995.

See also

• Freestyle Friday

External links

• TSOHH's Freestyle Rap Battle Guide
• Learn to Freestyle Rap Battle