Monday, March 28, 2011

Freestyle Rap Battles

By Daniel Akinson


Freestyle rap fights, if done on an elite degree, can be some of the most interesting directions to spend an afternoon. Though perhaps not as popular as they were a few years ago, freestyle rap battles remain an great part of hip culture, and a great way for up and coming MCs to make respect while sharpening their lyrical skills. Here's some of the best places online that you might get difficult hitting battle raps...

My16Bars. This website features a whole slew of talented MC's who are lyrically driven. many online forums are not moderated well- leaving the door open for sub par trash talking- but My16Bars maintains a high level of quality and features desrving rappers with their own feature page and articles.

Jump Off TV. These guys have done a spectacular job of promoting some of the best freestyle battle rappers out there today. Watching the dynamic duo of Ilmaculate and TheSaurus crush the competion in the past two years has provided hours of entertainment. You find tons of additional battles on their website, or search via YouTube.

For anyone interested in checking out specific battle rappers, I highly suggest (in addition to those already mentioned) Eyedea, DZK, Brother Ali, Wordsworth, Jin, Ras Kass and Kanye West (just kidding). If you get a chance, the bonus Eminem rap battles on 8 Mile (the real freestyle battles, not the movie ones) are worth checking out as well.

For a more in depth consider of what makes a dope rapper I highly suggest Kool Moe Dee's There's a God on the Mic: The 50 Greatest MCs of All TIme. He truly breaks down each rapper by dozens of skill stages, such as songwriting, combat skills, freestyle, showmanship and industriousness affect. It's a great work of rap written by one of greats.

BET has hosted various freestyle rap battles, though its most common is 106 & Park, which features a weekly battle rap at the end of the show. This is where Jin, one of the most respected battle rappers of the decade, got his great break after gaining week after week (though admittedly, his contender wasn't that solid some weeks).

Freestyle rap conflicts get lost some of their popularity reached from the film 8 Mile, but still remain prominent in the underground hip hop view.




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