Freestyle rap, also simply known as Freestyle, is a style of

hip hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...

where an artist normally improvises an unwritten verse from the head, with or without instrumental beats, in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure. Kevin Fitzgerald (director), '' Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme'', Bowery, 2000.Gwendolyn D. Pough, 2004, ''Check It While I Wreck It'', UPNE, p.224Murray Forman, Mark Anthony Neil, 2004, ''That's The Joint!'', Routledge, p.196Raquel Z. Rivera, 2003, ''New York Ricans From The Hip-Hop Zone'', Palgrave Macmillan, p. 88 It is similar to other improvisational music, such as

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, where a lead instrumentalist acts as an improviser with a supporting band providing a beat. Freestyle originally was simply verse that is free of style, written rhymes that do not follow a specific subject matter, or predetermined cadence. The newer style with the improvisation grew popular starting in the early 1990s. It is now mainly associated with

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

Original definition

In the book ''

How to Rap ''How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC'' is a book on hip hop music and rapping by Paul Edwards. It is compiled from interviews with 104 notable rappers who provide insights into how they write and perform their lyrics.Edwards, Paul, 2 ...

'',

Big Daddy Kane Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American Rapping, rapper, producer and actor who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influe ...

and Myka 9 note that originally a freestyle was a spit on no particular subject – Big Daddy Kane said, "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... it's basically a rhyme just bragging about yourself." Myka 9 adds, "back in the day, freestyle was bust nga rhyme about any random thing, and it was a written rhyme or something memorized".

Divine Styler Mikal Safeyullah (born Mark Richardson; 1968), better known by his stage name Divine Styler, is an alternative hip hop artist. History He first emerged as part of Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate. His first LP, '' Word Power'', was hailed by critics an ...

says: "in the school I come from, freestyling was a non-conceptual written rhyme... and now they call freestyling off the top of the head, so the era I come from, it's a lot different".

Kool Moe Dee Mohandas Dewese (born August 8, 1962), better known by his stage name Kool Moe Dee, is an American rapper, songwriter and actor. Considered one of the forerunners of the new jack swing sound in hip hop, he gained fame in the 1980s as a member of ...

also refers to this earlier definition in his book, '' There's A God On The Mic'':

There are two types of freestyle. There's an old-school freestyle that's basically rhymes that you've written that may not have anything to do with any subject or that goes all over the place. Then there's freestyle where you come off the top of the head.

old school hip-hop Old-school hip hop (also spelled old skool) (also known as disco-rap) is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and the original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any hip hop t ...

, Kool Moe Dee claimed that improvisational rapping was instead called "coming off the top of the head", and

stated, "off-the-top-of-the-head apping we just called that 'off the dome'when you don't write it and ousay whatever comes to mind". Referring to this earlier definition (a written rhyme on non-specific subject matter), Big Daddy Kane stated, "that's really what a freestyle is" and Kool Moe Dee refers to it as "true" freestyle, and "the real old-school freestyle". Kool Moe Dee suggests that

Kool G Rap Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap), is an American rapper. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Cr ...

's track "Men At Work" is an "excellent example" of true freestyle, along with

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim (), is an American rapper. He is one half of Golden age hip-hop, golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, with whom he released four albums: ''Paid in Full ...

's "Lyrics of Fury".

Newer definition

Since the early 1990s onwards, with the popularization of improvisational rapping from groups and artists such as Freestyle Fellowship through to fresh fest competitions, "freestyle" has come to be the widely used term for rap lyrics that are improvised on the spot. This type of freestyle is the focus of Kevin Fitzgerald's documentary, '' Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme'', where the term is used throughout by numerous artists to mean improvisational rapping. Kool Moe Dee suggests the change in how the term is used happened somewhere in the mid to late 1980s, saying, "until 1986, all freestyles were written", and "before the 1990s, it was about how hard you could come with a written rhyme with no particular subject matter and no real purpose other than showing your lyrical prowess." Myka 9 explains that Freestyle Fellowship helped redefine the term"that's what they say I helped doI helped get the world to freestyle, me and the Freestyle Fellowship, by inventing the Freestyle Fellowship and by redefining what freestyle is... We have redefined what freestyle is by saying that it's improvisational rap like a

solo". Although this kind of freestyling is very well respected today, Kool Moe Dee states that this was not the case previously:

A lot of the old-school artists didn't even respect what's being called freestyle now... any emcee coming off the top of the head wasn't really respected. The sentiment was emcees only did that if they couldn't write. The coming off the top of the head rhymer had a built-in excuse to not be critiqued as hard.

Methodology of improvised freestyle

Many rappers learn to rap through improvised freestyling, and by making freestyling into a conversation or a rhyming game which they play frequently as a way to practice, as described in the book ''

''. Reasons for freestyling include entertainment, as a therapeutic activity, to discover different ways of rapping, promoting oneself, increasing versatility, or as a spiritual activity. Improvised freestyling can also be used in live performances, to do things such as giving something extra to the crowd and to cover up mistakes. To prove that a freestyle is being made up on the spot (as opposed to something pre-written or memorized), rappers will often refer to places and objects in their immediate setting, or will take suggestions on what to rhyme about. Freestyles are performed

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

, over

beatboxing Beatboxing (also, and sometimes, called beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (usually a Roland TR-808, TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.Freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' FreeStyle'', ...

''), or over instrumental versions of songs. Freestyling is often done in a group setting called a "cypher" (or "cipher") or as part of a "freestyle battle". Due to the improvised nature of freestyle,

meter The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

and

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...

are usually more relaxed than in conventional rapping. Many artists base their freestyle on their current situation or mental state, but have a ready supply of prepared lyrics and rhyme patterns they can use as filler. Freestyling can also be used as a songwriting method for albums or mixtapes.

Types of freestyles

freestyle battle Freestyle rap, also simply known as Freestyle, is a style of hip hop music where an artist normally improvises an unwritten verse from the head, with or without instrumental beats, in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure ...

is a contest in which two or more rappers or MCs compete or "battle" each other using improvised lyrics. It is a prominent part of contemporary

Hip Hop culture Hip-hop culture is an art movement that emerged in New York City, in the borough of The Bronx; Primarily within the black community. Hip Hop as an art form and culture has been heavily influenced by both male and female artists. It is charac ...

and originated in the

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

community. In a freestyle battle, each competitor's goal is to " diss" their opponent through clever lyrics and wordplay, with heavy emphasis being placed upon the rapper's improvisational ability. Many battles also include metaphorically violent imagery, complementing the "battling" atmosphere. It is considered dishonorable or shameful to recite pre-written or memorized raps during a freestyle battle, because it shows the rapper to be incapable of "spitting" spur-of-the-moment lyrics. A live audience is key, as a large part of "winning" a battle is how an audience responds to each rapper. Appointed judges may be used in formal contests, but in most cases, the rapper who receives the largest audience response is viewed as the victor. In modern times, with the rise of leagues such as King of the Dot and Ultimate Rap League, most battles are written, with some freestyling incorporated into the verses. This allows for more intricate rhymes and insults. As hip-hop evolved in the early 1980s, many rappers gained their fame through freestyle battles. Battles can take place anywhere: informally on street corners, on stage at a concert, at a school, or at events specifically meant for battling (such as Scribble Jam or the Blaze Battle). A ''cypher'' or ''cipher'' is an informal gathering of

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

beatboxer Beatboxing (also, and sometimes, called beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (usually a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.

s, and/or

breakdancer Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City. Breakdancing consists mainly of ...

s in a circle, in order to jam musically together. The term has also in recent years come to mean the crowd that forms around freestyle battles, consisting of spectators and onlookers. This group serves partly to encourage competition and partly to enhance the communal aspect of rap battles. The cypher is known for "making or breaking reputations in the Hip Hop community; if you are able to step into the cypher and tell your story, demonstrating your uniqueness, you might be more accepted". 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.

Longest freestyle

On May 6, 2020, American rapper and slam poet

George Watsky George Virden Watsky (born September 15, 1986) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, poet, author, and illustrator. Watsky broke out as a rapper with his viral video "Pale kid raps fast" in 2011, which featured his tradem ...

, best known for his rapid delivery, set the world record for longest freestyle at 33 hours, 33 minutes and 19 seconds. He held this record for 3 years until Japanese rapper PONEY beat it in April 2023 at 48 hours.

Original definition

Newer definition

Methodology of improvised freestyle

Types of freestyles

Longest freestyle

See also

References

Further reading