sunezBy TEDDY STYLES
So what happened to the “Lost Art Of Freestyling”? I guess the hefty “Paystyles” lyrics over drums, created in the past 20 years, seems to have pushed “coming off the top” to the bottom of the emcee priority list. Once upon a time to garner any type of respect your freestyle was equally as important as your microphone and written skills, and you were judged harshly if you tried to sneak in a written line or two from your memory bank. It’s a reason why great lyricists such as Nas kept them “free” from the constraints and structure of the recording and arranging process. Time spent in the “cipher” and building the spontaneous rhyme skill now became “hooks” and punch lines. Off the cuff now became intricate metaphors and bars now within the framework of a dope beat and vocal booth. The Art Of Freestyling is what roadwork is to a boxer preparing for a fight with a big purse at stake. Combined with that fact that freestyling brings emcees together like a good sac of kush, with all involved feeding off of each other sparking lyrical creativity and finding new rhyme styles and delivery concepts. Thank God for an “Underground” scene where the freestyle rhyme is almost religious-like but more in terms of the “battle” but The Art Of Freestyling, like a college class, should be mandatory study for all Emcees/Rappers who have a dream to be at the “top of their class” when it comes to putting the rhymes to the beats when putting out material for mass consumption. Whether you are an Emcee or a Rapper, Hip Hop is being the best you possibly can be while staying true to yourself and the artform.
Willie Waze could have easily named himself “So Many Waze.” To start out, the beat Willie chose to show his freestyle dexterity on is the type of beat to show your flaws because of it’s undeniable neck fracturing pulsation. Willie digs deep as the intro of the track is lit and becomes one with the rhythm for an explosive beginning. I immediately forgot this was a freestyle and in my mind thought this is a “Dope Ass Song.” Right away I was able to sit back and relax because Willie Waze obviously is a “Pure Spitter” because there are no “gaps” in the flow and he snatches thoughts out the universe and relays them into the microphone in perfect synch with himself and the beat. The best part about this freestyle is I can really hear the frustration of the “grind” in his voice, the hunger one has when he knows he has the talent to break through an over saturated market full of novices. To keep dope rhyme schemes, punch lines and cadences up in a freestyle capacity is never easy and only the few such as Willie Waze will have the title of “polished” mentioned in his style. Overall his best attribute is his voice and delivery, and when the window of opportunity opens Willie will show and prove his flow and groove and can easily compete with any Mainstream or Independent artist breathing lyrical complexities into a microphone.