The History of Freestyle Rap

So you want to be a freestyle rapper. We are going to take a look at the history of freestyle rap, so that you have a good understanding of what you are getting into.

A lot of people think that rap and even freestyle rap is something new. Actually it’s not. It’s beginnings go back a lot farther than many people. The roots of freestyle rap can actually be traced to various tribes in Africa and South America many many years ago.

Most recently freestyle rap came from the East Coast hip hop scene in the 1970s. In the 70’s MCs would go to the mic to freestyle lyrics at parties in order to keep the crowd lively. Competition between MCs started eventually rap freestyle competition as we know them today emerged. The aim was simple and has remained unchanged; do whatever you can to outrap your competition with your lyrics.

Freestyles were often used as a way to disrespect or undermine a rival. With the viewing of the movie 8 Mile, the world was brought into the world of freestyle rap as demonstrated by Eminem.

In the 8 Mile movie, formal organized freestyle battles were shown. These competitions involve two rappers in each round going head to head where each gets between 30 seconds and a minute on the microphone to do their best. The winner goes through to the next round, the loser is out. This continues until there is only one rapper left who is declared the winner. These competitions usually happen in hip-hop clubs or on the radio.

This gives you a little history into the freestyle-rapping genre. Before you get started into something new, it is always good to understand where it all started. So as you go forward in your freestyle rap career, remember how it all started.