Top 5 Freestyles in Hip Hop

Freestyling is a form of rapping, where rhymes are kicked ‘off the top of the dome’, just rhymed as they are thought of, on the spot. Nothing is written. It is a real test of an emcees skill to fit lines into their flow seconds after they are thought of, but when pulled off properly can sound really good.

In this article though, a different type of freestyle is referred to. When an emcee has written a piece to rhyme for promo on a radio show, or in a cypher, it is also deemed a freestyle , as it isnt a song. I know a few people who dispute this and refuse to call these videos freestyles as they aren’t off the top, and are actually written, but putting their opinion aside for the moment, we are going to look at my personal top 5 favourite ‘freestyles’ in hip hop.

5 – 50 Cent – Till I Collapse Freestyle

We all know 50 cent by this stage. He started out in Queens, New York and hustled crack along with mixtapes. He was eventually signed to Columbia records but was dropped when he was allegedly shot 9 times in the street. He recovered from near death and was picked up by Eminem’s Shady Records, following that was a meteoric rise to fame during which time he became a household name all across the globe.

50 cent isnt known for his intricate lyricism. He is more well known for a simplistic flow that listeners can sing along to, on chart hits. Before he was signed he wrote bars that were more full of street knowledge and wisdom and came across very differently. As soon as he was signed, by Eminem’s Shady Records, he busted this freestyle over Eminem’s ‘Till I collapse’ instrumental, and you can hear how he really uses the beat to his advantage building the suspense in his words up until It hits with a crazy flow. This is number 5 because when I heard it as a kid I was blown away and I still really enjoy hearing it.

4 Wax – New Crack Freestyle

Wax is an emcee who was born in Maryland USA, but now lives in Los Angeles, California. He is one of two twins, his brother being Herbal T who also raps. Wax is multi talented playing many instruments and harnessing his ability to sing on various records too. I have been following his career since I first heard this freestyle, years ago.

As you can see he has a killer flow along with some really good punchlines and content. The humour in his rhymes comes across well and causes him to stand out from the rest, and it looks like he just made this video for a laugh while driving about. Good thing he did, because I really enjoyed it.

3 – Kxng Crooked (FKA Crooked I) – Live on the Wake Up Show Unplugged

Kxng Crooked is a hip hop veteran from Long Beach, California. He was signed to Death Row Records with 2pac and Dr.Dre back in the day. I first heard of him through his Hip Hop Weekly series, which was an online series in which he dropped a new freestyle , for free, every week for an entire year. It got him a lot of support and he became more well known throughout the world from it. He was then signed to Shady Records along with Joe Budden, Royce da 5’9 and Joell Ortiz as part of the super-group Slaughterhouse. In my opinion he is killing everything he touches and out-raps the former trio on every song. He is CEO of both his record labels, Dynasty Entertainment and C.O.B Digital. C.O.B standing for Circle of Bosses , a collection of emcees he has gotten together forming a sort of organisation of bosses that spans the entire world, and he is the General.

On this freestyle, crooked kills it. Simple as that. The punchlines, metaphors, multi syllables, and flow are all on point. The live instruments add to the sound of illness too. I played this on repeat for a good while after I first heard it. ‘ see my momma named me Dominic, that’s synonymous with ominous/ I’m in this game to show you what drama is’ would be one of my favourite lines as its so technical.

2 – Eminem & Royce Da 5’9 (Bad Meets Evil) – 12 Minute Freestyle

Everyone knows Eminem. His album ‘Curtain Call: The Hits’ just became the longest charting rap album of all time. His album ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’ is the highest selling rap album of all time. He has won an Oscar for his song ‘Lose Yourself’ from the movie ‘8 mile’s soundtrack, a film that is known world wide. I’ve been to a few of his concerts and there’s never less than the venue can hold, thousands of fans pack the place singing every lyric. Hes probably the most well known rap artist of all time too.

Royce da 5’9 is Eminem’s partner in crime, one half of their group ‘Bad Meets Evil’. What you may not know is that the two were rapping together since before either of them were signed. Way before the super-stardom and hits like ‘My Name Is’ and all, they were doing freestyles like this one. They fell out then for years. Beefing with each other, but eventually they made up and that’s when they teamed up again for hits like ‘Lighters’ and ‘Fast Lane’ and when Eminem signed Royce to his label as part of Slaughterhouse with Kxng Crooked.

I love this freestyle for the sheer hunger in the emcees voices. These are two emcees that are looking to get known and respected with these rhymes, and you can tell they are giving it their all. The rhymes are pretty fucked up too which is pretty ill. ‘Bitch I don’t sell crack, I smoke it’. Its one of those freestyles that are pure fire, and has an underground feel to it, not much people know about it either.

1– Token – Sway in the Morning Freestyle

Token is an up and coming emcee from Salem Massachusetts , he is quickly becoming known as one of the illest , and he is still only 18. He rose to notoriety with different freestyles and competition entries you can find on Youtube. He is praised for his lyricism and wordplay which surpasses a lot of ill emcees in the game already.

This freestyle is just so intricate lyrically that I had to include it. The first time I heard it I was too overwhelmed by the sheer length of it and all the rhyme schemes that I didn’t fully appreciate it until at least the 5th listen.

Honourable mention :

Big L and Jay Z – 7 Minute Freestyle

I had to include this one, Big L was a New York hip hop pioneer who was tragically slain in a drive by shooting on February 15th, 1999. He was one of the illest emcees I have ever heard. His punchlines were out of control and his multi-syllable style was years ahead of his time. His songs are really ill too, notably ‘The Heist’ and ‘Put It On’ which are some of my favourites, but his freestyles were in another league.

Jay – Z is a well known emcee from New York, who has rose to stardom over the past decade and has released such classic albums as ‘The Blueprint’ and ‘Reasonable Doubt’ and has recently released the album ‘4:44’ . He is currently married to Beyonce Knowles and he is known for properly freestyling his lyrics, off the top of his head. He is known to rarely pen lyrics, mostly only while ghost writing for Dr.Dre.

This is definitely one of my favourite freestyles in hip hop history. It is a relic of underground history, Big – L kills it with his rhymes such as ‘I beat kids with lead pipes/ I leave trails of dead mics’ and Jay -Z comes with crazy fast flows and holds his own with L , although i personally think L out-rapped him.