In an interview by Angie Martinez on Hot 97 in New York, Jay-Z proposed a pay-per-view challenge against Nas consisting of each of them doing a show followed by 3 freestyles each. Jay-Z had this to say,

"…we end it off - he get 3 freestyles as we call 'em but you know they gonna be prepared... I prepared 3…"

This is my issue this time around. Freestyles. How is there even a different interpretation of what freestyle is? Freestyling is spittin' off the dome on the spot period; there should be no debate about that.

Too clarify my ramblings, there has been a tremor in the force. People have been calling prewritten verses 'freestyles' because they aren't associated with a song. This is a total misrepresentation of the truth.

How is it that it is acceptable to call a prewritten verse a freestyle? A prepared verse isn't a freestyle it's a verse; a written. Any emcee with any type of honor or pride in their craft should not try and pass off a written verse as a freestyle. Now in the case of a mixtape for example, but really anywhere, if you are going to drop a prepared verse that's fine but just don't call it something it's not. And a freestyle it most certainly is not.

Freestyle is an important part of hip hop in my opinion. It's a valuable part as well especially to the emcee. Freestyling is an excellent tool to find your flow, get comfortable with it, define your style, and strive for that perfection. Freestyling is a class in itself and teaches how to find that rhythm. You can't forget about the brain training you get through freestyling. What about the spontaneity, the creative expression, and the raw nature of this art form we call rap??? Hell it even looks good when they all bob up and down like that in a cipher.

Speaking of cipher. Honestly, if anyone feels that I'm off base here and overreacting, over dramatizing, or giving this issue a greater importance than it should have then take that prewritten ish to a cipher and see what happens. What… what?!? Heads will know and heads will call you on it.

I was sitting around with an emcee one day chatting after a recording session. That night at the club there was a freestyle contest going on. I let it be known that I was definitely going to check that out. This new jack emcee, let's call him MC NoClue, says that there's no reason to freestyle - nothing good comes out of it and you can't make anything but simplistic rhymes in a freestyle. I almost threw him out. It's a disgrace to trivialize it so. Now I know this rant sounds like something that belongs in a Temple of Hip Hop newsletter but it's pretty disgusting.

I regularly attend an underground club that has an open mic for freestyling every week and it's a beautiful thing. If you have never seen or heard or taken part in a real freestyle session you don't know what you are missing. It's a site to see. Not only to watch the emcees but watch the crowd too. It's amazingly awe striking. If you think this is overemphasized then you underrate Hip Hop and the skills it takes.

Today's emcees are turning rap into a dying art; yeah I know - Temple of Hip Hop again. Let's be real, in the beginnings of rap talking about "perpetrators" was commonplace, even today it's referred to as "being real" or "keeping it real". So even from the beginning to now there's has been that honor element and it's spoken of strongly today yet false freestyles and ghostwriters are common acceptable and widespread practices. How are you not perpetrating a fraud and keeping it real if you passing off something as something it isn't?

Are emcees so image conscious now that even the spontaneous has to be planned out? Has hip hop gotten so corporate that even at the foundation it has to be structured so? Where's the raw edge to it? Where's the life in it? This isn't the purest cut of hip hop there is, so in essence it isn't real dope.

"…I prepared 3, I got like 50

^ thats very true... some songs lose all meaning (like dr. dre's "the message") when you find out that someone else wrote it....

and writing a freestyle is impossible; freestyles are off the top of your head.. it shows what u can really do from your raw skill not your writing ability

Nice article.....
My problem is that Jay-Z talks about these image conscious artists and then has Pharrell guest star on his last album and has a song with Eminem behind the boards......

True...Its Not The Same When You Find Out Your Favorite Song Was Ghostwritten...

And Jay Ghostwrites For Alot Of People...

That's interesting to hear Jay say that, it's good to hear but in a way it's kinda fucked up that he gotta wait till he retires to drop some hip-hop knowlege, This really would been dope if he said this right in the little of his Hard Knock Life fame when he sold like 6 mil. But he's still relevent right now so I gues it serves it's pourpose

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Bang On The Table Productions

man thats the talk in the streets.

i argue about this almost everyday.. with these weak ass up and comers.

best believe.. i mastered my freestyle.. so if you come into a battle.. with your shit prepared... i'mm gonna call you on it.. and still eat you.


and the only reason jay got pahrell in his shit... is for sales. i can't knock jay.. he threw some jewels into the black album.. i understand.. pushing units is business.so if you wanna make money.. you have to go commercial.and having kats like pharell is a neccesity.

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Audio

<center>G. Buttersworth™</center>


G.I. JOE

'whoever writes your rhymes might as well hold your microphone, thats how i feel if it aint your own" Sheek,that shit is true.
Finding out Puffy didn't write "I'll be missing you" takes the feeling out of it. Sauce Money wrote that so in esscence Sauce will be missing Big and not Puff. Dr.Dre, Queen Latifah, Puff, Lil Kim, Foxxy Brown, and a list of others have all had ghostwriters. An emcee can't be considered an emcee if he/she didn't write her shit. Jay has been preaching that for a while now, i got a mixtape about a year old of him saying "if i read freestyle on a mixtape, i'mma know when it isn't, and for god's sake stop flowing on rap city the basement with a 'freestyle' thats from a verse on the album that you are there to promote, and how is it going to be a freestyle with everybody in your crew finishing your lines for you" and we all know Nas would've wrote his shit

Shouldn't Only Those Who've Mastered the Art Be Able to Explain the Art?

I stopped reading after the freestyle shit came up... Jay thinks he's God.. when in reality he's not as dope as he thinks he is,. Point Blank!

it doesn't matter if he thinks he's god or not, it's the truth.

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I'M ILLER THAN YOU
"Im bout to make it famous, so you can take you J-O-B and shove up your anus" -Techn9ne

"I knew god hated me, created me, and threw me on a planet thats afraid of me"-Ill Bill

"Hit bongs bigger than indoor pools
On treez like ewoks screamin "Endor Rules"-Fo'tryll

"Ur only alive till ur dead"-Royce 5'9"

www.soundclick.com/fo'trill

^^Well the last time Jay was on The Bassment he did just that. He spit verses from PSA off the Black Album on that Stand Up beat. So if he said that he assbackwords then...

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Bang On The Table Productions

Lmao at the whole freestyling thing .. freestyle is supposed to be off the top of ypur head, there is no other way. And Butters .. you soooooooooooo would not take me ina freestyle battle, if you think different - hop onto yahoo chat son, we'll go at it.

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W o r d P e r f e c t

^very true you cant write a freestyle is has 2 come straight from the dome as jay put it, ya would look really stupid breakin out a piece of paper out in the middle of a freestyle session.