Hip Hop returns to the art of freestyling

Once upon a time not so long-ago freestyles could make or break a rapper’s career. It was an unspoken requirement to freestyle during every radio show or interview, at the beginning of performance, and even as a new release. Upcoming artist could build their careers off great freestyles, without being a hit or mainstream artist, for example; Pusha T, Joe Budden, Jada Kiss etc… Today’s generation know of these artists, because of the controversy surrounding their careers, but for years these artists dominated the underground using the authentic rap style, in battle rap and cyphers. The technical structure behind the art of freestyling helped separate hip-hop from mainstream media, this component made the culture unique. Demanding every artist to develop some form of a creative technique, which eliminated the idea that anyone could be a "rapper." Freestyling added value to the culture and those who dominated were respected by all musicians, because not everyone could easily deliver.

As the music evolved from “Crunk” to “Mumble rap ‘within a ten-year time frame, good freestyles drastically declined, almost unrecognizable to industry. Although some artist continued to use the authentic device to display lyrical talent, others have taken a less serious approach, or simply use a pre-written and/or recorded song and titled it “Freestyle.” Lacking substance in the content without a familiar or catchy beat causes the audience to lose interest in the freestyle, which explains the flop in the tradition.

As of lately, hip-hop artist is gradually emerging back to their original roots. Artist such as Trippie Red whose subjected to the label “mumble rap” are showing experience in all areas of rap, with songs such as “Missing My Idols,” off his debut album Life’s a Trip released on August 10^th. Mainstream artist like Drake and J. Cole are reclaiming their stature and lyrical abilities by releasing rare freestyles (Fire in the Booth, Album of the Year), reminding hip-hop fans how they earned their accolades. Furthermore, 6lack, an Atlanta based rapper/singer was featured on Sway in the morning, and completed dominated over Travis Scott’s “Coffee Bean,” demonstrating that Atlanta is more than just Trap Music. It’s safe to say that hip-hop is returning to the art of free styling to as a mechanism to promote new music.    

East Atlanta Love Letter

 The art of free styling has been introduced to us since the beginning of rap history. In fact, the terminology "rap" was used as a phrase to test the speed of the ones ability to construct a complete conversation or speaking quickly of a subject, hence the phrase "wrap it up." The old cats would say "let me rap to you right quick." Hip-Hop turned that same "right quick" conversation into a 2-4-minute song. Free styling can come in any form of art, whether you're dancing or painting. The beauty of freestyling is that there are no restrictions. So, in the case of a hip-hop, nothing is off limits, you can miss a rhyme, get off topic, miss a beat and nowadays even sing and it'll still be considered a freestyle. However, being able to maintain a flow with words that are coherent and with one another is what makes great freestyler. Having the ability to display your creativity with confidence is what makes a great artist.