This is the kind of ish that I love about hip-hop: just people relaxing, having fun, and showing their skills. Wale, Green, Just, Sky, and Supernat have a little freestyle session backstage at Rock The Bells (NYC, I think). Supernat killed it, obviously, but Just kinda ripped it there too. Is there anything that dude can’t do? LOL @ Wale at the end, greatness.
Ha, ironic that I mention I don’t really like a capella verses like this and I end up posting 2 back to back. Had to do it though. The homies Skyzoo and Donny Goines spit a little something for y’all in Manhattan for part 9 of Donny’s “Bars” series. I can’t wait to peep those projects Sky’s working on…
Kanye’s protege, Big Sean, spits a nice little verse a capella in the Def Jam offices. Normally I hate these little a capella ‘freestyles,’ but I like the rhyme scheme on this one. Props on using “al dente” in a rap too…might be the first time I’ve heard that. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come from Sean’s style, because all the past lyrics I’ve heard from him sound waaaaaay too Kanye-ish. He’s young so I hope he develops his own thing, rather than trying to rhyme just like ‘Ye.
Murs stops by G4 TV‘s Freestyle 101 and drops an ill video game inspired verse from off the dome. Too many people these days think a “freestyle” is just a random verse. I suppose the definition has changed enough that it can be, but I still maintain the true essence of it is to actually go off the top. More MC’s need to remember how to do that. My man Eddie would love the nerdiness of this video, but unfortunately he’s scared to death of the 8th Wonder of the World, aka Murs’ hair.
Lupe’s MTV interview gets interrupted by his new artist, who reminds me of half the callers we get on Sound Session. I was hoping a little cypher might pop off there.
Or in this case, on the tour bus. For the latest edition of Ruby Hornet‘s “Freestyle In The Park” series, the homies Rakaa and Evidence kick a few (actual) freestyles on their tour bus. You don’t see people going off the dome much anymore, so it’s always fun when MC’s do that. My only question is…where’s the Babu verse?! Didn’t we hear some of his mic skills on the outro to Soundbombing II?
One of the dopest MC’s in the game, Crooked I, came through Sound Session last night while he was up here in Seattle over the holiday weekend. We talked about his groundbreaking “Hip-Hop Weekly” series that dominated the blogosphere over the past year, his upcoming B.O.S.S. album and Block Obama mixtape, his “Dream Big” single with Akon, and more. Plus, he even blessed the mic by ripping a few beats: Jaylib’s “The Red” (in part 2) and the end of A-Trak & Lupe Fiasco’s “Running Man” (part 3). Be sure to checkHyphenTV to watch these clips in high quality (Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3). You can also download the audio by itself below, and of course the whole show right here.
Remember to call or email your local stations and request “Dream Big.” It definitely has a chance to break through and get Crooked the mainstream success he deserves, but since he’s doing it independently, he needs our support. C.O.B.!