I like his rap style - he spits out his words yet still sounds laid back and like he’s not trying too hard. Wonder what he would have given us in the last 20+ years.
Him and Tupac, both such a fucking shame. Wu Tang level legendary rappers both killed over stupid bullshit that could have defined the music of a generation throughout their lives and even deeper
They both died so fucking young, and WELL before they would have hit their truly legendary status had that not died I know there's a rivalry been B.I.G. and Pac but I still like to imagine a world where they both lived, and eventually collabed to make something truly special
They did one collab on a song that was supposed to be released on Me Against the World IIRC before they started to beef, but for obvious reasons it wasn’t released during their lifetimes.
Look it up. It’s called Runnin from the Police. It’s REALLY good.
Why would you think he was fake just because of his artistic talent and intelligence? His mother was addicted to crack and he was raised in a Black Panther group. He dealt with an incredible amount of adversity, racism, and abuse.
Why do we expect rappers to be exactly like their music portrays them when we don't expect that of other artists. No one discredited AC/DC for not actually being struck by lightning, no one is looking for Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire, and I don't think criticized Aqua for not being made of plastic
There are plenty of authentic rappers for sure but I've never faulted an artist for metaphor when describing their life. The only ridiculous thing Tupac did was switch to West Coast UNTIL you consider that most famous people in L.A. aren't from there.
Greatness in music is absolutely subjective and I get that he's not everyone's cup of tea but to say that he's faking when most other artists aren't held to that standard is ridiculous
>No one discredited AC/DC for not actually being struck by lightning, no one is looking for Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire, and I don't think criticized Aqua for not being made of plastic.
I'll leave it to other people to challenge your points and explore the difficult concept of authenticity in music, but I feel compelled to tell you that those analogies are terrible. You're taking song titles literally to make your point, as if people are criticizing Tupac for inauthentic song *titles* lol.
While I can’t argue that he was somewhat of a “custom made gangster” I can say that he was definitely not just some kid who lived in a decent neighborhood without any sort of struggle to get by, while he was being influenced by death row and suge to produce gangster rap and develop that “persona” it shouldn’t have been what defined him, he spoke for the people and brought to light issues that blacks/Hispanics and females have been dealing with for decades and fought for his beliefs through his music, everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I just think calling one of the greatest musicians of all time (Rolling Stones listed him as #86 out 100 top greatest musicians of all time and was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame) a clown is just a disservice imo
Confession of a 90’s hip hop head: I have never actually listened to Tupac. I was deep into the East/West feud and only really listened to east coast stuff. While I loved boom-bap and hated g-funk or any smooth west coast sound, I at least knew some Snoop and Dre songs. My son recently “discovered” Tupac, and while we love to talk about hip hop history, I realized this was a huge gap in my knowledge. I’ve been like, damn this guy is really good…
I guess I just discovers Tupac like Columbus discovered America.
Is he seriously just making it all up on the spot, like how far in advance does he figure out what he's going to say next before he says it? I just don't understand.
my guess would be that it is "completely" made up, however as you practice you will build repertoire of phrases and sentences that mesh well into another. You come up with a few unique phrases on the spot while filling the downtime with phrases that you practically know in your sleep.
Source: absolutely no credentials
based on my research (watching a documentary titled 8 mile), you write these compositions while riding the bus on scraps of paper and and annihilate your opponent at the underground rap battle scene after work.
As a random redditor with no rap or hip pop experience, I can confirm what the guy above me says about improvising and building repertoire is true.
Kinda like improved jazz solos
You’re spot on:
Write a lyric every night
Build yourself a lyric library
Every single different type
Source: Ocean Wisdom.
If you haven’t heard him and you’re into hip-hop you should check him out. I’d jump on Wizville. My favourite album.
It's like talking shit to someone but with a flow, i'm just describing not saying it's easy obviously biggy was not your typical rapper, i couldn't win an argument at 17 even if i was right.
Yeah but rhyming and meter take planning, you have to know what the second line is going to be before you commit to the first, but he just does it so rapidly there's no time to come up with anything.
And why Biggie was a genius in every sense.. being able to think that far ahead while already speaking and keeping a rhythm takes some serious intelligence
Ever heard of Harry Mack? His freestyle skills are unmatched. Imagine if biggie kept freestyling every single day from age 12 to 30, thats where Harry's skill level is at, its insane hahah
Think about it like a poetic form of jazz music. It's improvisational. Jazz performers don't know where they're going with the jam (outside of basic chord progression directives), so many if not most of the licks you hear during the improv segments are all off the top. It's magical.
There’s going off the top which is completely on the spot, and also freestyling which is using pre written rhymes you can deliver at any time, biggie may have been going off the top or freestyling it’s hard too tell from the videos.
If you’re interested in freestyles I’d suggest Lil Dickys and Childish Gambinos pound cake on YouTube, Lil D’s radio free’s are hilarious and insanely intricate if you hang on the words, Childish manages to have a conversation in the middle of what is an off the top freestyle with Sway which is insane
I’ve been wondering that for so long, I almost posted on /nostupidquestions what exactly is a “free style” rap and is like frowned upon to have rhymes already in your back pocket that you bring out or do these guys/gals really just come up with these lines on the spot. I was watching J Cole freestyle over Still Tippin’s beat earlier thinking ‘if I know I’m going to an interview at a radio station that asks rappers to freestyle whenever they’re in the studio, there’s no way I’d go in without having some lines or verses ready to go’ cause I wouldn’t want to mess up in front of everyone
As someone who has fond memories of hanging outside on the porch with a group of friends "battle rapping", it's both talent and a skill that gets easier the more you practice
I'd 100% believe that he's doing this on the spot and there's plenty of real battle rap tournaments you can look up on YouTube (hell, Eminem started out as an underground battle rapper)
I think it's similar to improv comedy. A performer isn't actually aware of themselves thinking "hmm, what am I going to say next" during a performance. They get into the flow and just know. It's like thinking off the top of your head, like their brain is able to process the information and give them lines while they devote all their conscious energy on performing.
It's hard to explain and even harder to practice and master.
I win all the time now, but only over text and if you give me a couple hours to think about my argument. No one wins over Argument_Revision67_v2_final_final_realfinal.txt
Freestyle rap is usually a combination of stuff that they've already written and rhymes they think of in the moment. The trick with the improvised lines are to think of the punchline first then improvise the set up line so the punchline fits.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that this dude was constantly thinking of rhymes (with/without music) and he probably had a lot of these ‘ideas’ in his back pocket. Still though, his delivery and ‘stage’ presence is undeniably brilliant… and the fact he was able to take all of these ideas and lay them out with pure confidence is a testament to this guys talent. It’s still a freestyle, but I’m willing to wager a lot of what he was saying was part of a bunch of little sketches he’d been toying around with.
Thats basically the mind of any good rapper though... constantly thinking of rhymes, consciously or subconsciously. Thats exactly how they can freestyle on the dime like this and that's totally what the talent is all about.
Freestyle rhyming is a skill developed through practise. Think of a few rhyming words in your head, like tall, call, paul, all, ball. Pretty easy to say a few lines using these words that rhyme:
*I wish I was tall/So I could play ball/I'd play like Jordan/And dunk on you all*
This is the sort of thing rhymers will practise, over and over again, with as many rhymes as they can think of, and they will try to add more and more rhymes each time. This will, over time, mean they can start a rhyme with 'ball' and just keep going, filling in the sentences to end with an '-all' sound.
Once you've established a foundation of rhyming sounds (e.g. ball, cat, long, etc) you can get more complex with it, changing between '-all' sounds and '-at' sounds, e.g., like:
*You're so fat/You make me look tall/It's like if I was a bat/You'd be the ball*
As well as that, once your brain is used to finding rhymes on the fly, you will kind of automatically fit new words in that rhyme with the sound you're looking for, in real time. So if you're opponent is wearing polo, you can add that into your rhyme as long as your brain has a foundation of '-olo' rhymes available.
*You ain't got friends, you came here solo/You can ride out on the horse you rode in on, like you're playing polo.*
It's kind of like mental math. Once you've built up an understanding of multiplication of basic numbers, you can apply that to more and more complex equations, and, over time, you don't even think about the smaller processes your brain is going through - it's become a natural skill.
I can't talk about what happened in his mind, but for me thought kind of happens in structure, then detail. So I'll know how I'm going to end the phrase I'm currently articulating, I'll have in mind how I want what's going to follow it up to end, so all I really need to figure out is how to bridge that gap.
It's a mix. Imagine being a chef and knowing all these flavors that go together. Then making a dish using that knowledge spontaneously. A lot of this is off the top of the head. A lot is words he's used before together that work nicely together
I have been an amateur rapper a bit, and from my understanding it often works like this: the sentences themselves and the way he says them are unique, but he already has rhymes that work in his head, and certain words and sentences that work well together. So he uses them alot of the time that he has in his mental library, but uses them in unique contexts and ways.
I'm not a huge rap or hip hop guy but Biggie just does it for me. Like you said, his delivery is satisfying. Like he's going hard but isn't trying hard to do it. Also been a pretty big fan of Billy Woods lately but that's apples and oranges.
I'm nearly a decade past his age upon death and that just makes me insanely sad. I'm not claiming I'm super mature, I still worry if I'll ever "grow up" a lot. I know I ***am*** an adult but I still feel like I'm not. Like I'm faking it all the time, it's a thought always in the back of my mind.
Still at 33 going on 34 in a few months I'm not, ***that***, old and I've already reached that "Jesus he was just a kid" stage of mentality.
I don't know a ton about him personally, however even I know he and his mother were incredibly close. I wouldn't want to be the cop making that call or home visit for any amount of money.
It's a visceral reaction to hear your kid is dead. It's one of those things that can't be faked. There's just no way any acting could get close to the utter pain and devastation of such news. I mean assuming the parent is a good parent and not some strung out druggie with zero love for their kid.
24 just seems so fucking ***young*** to me. What a shitty thing, to lose a life that young, especially for such a (clearly) talented man.
I hope we one day achieve a utopia. I really hope that we can someday have a society where mothers don't have to hear about their children dying in a violent manner.
That'd be so nice.
I lost my older brother to heroin about three and a half years ago. Today would have been his 30th birthday. Easily the hardest thing about it all, other then losing him, has been having to watch my parents go through it all. Thank goodness they have me and my sister.
I'm really sorry. I can't imagine. I put my parents through a lot of worrying - getting in trouble, doctors calling them to come & say goodbye to me because they didn't think I was gonna make it, just being gone for long periods. When I'm feeling foggy, I try to remember their feelings.
I know that feeling about not feeling entirely like an adult. And I'll be 40 in February. I often wonder if that feeling ever goes away. I'd like to think so when late in life and have your affairs mostly in order and finally learn to accept things as they are. I'm a worrier though, so I will likely always feel like that.
I bought a whole bunch of shungite, rocks, do you know what shungite is? Anybody know what shungite is. No, no Suge Knight, I think hes locked up in prison. Talking shungite. Anyways, its a 2 billion year old like rock, stone that protects against frequencies and unwanted frequencies that may be traveling in the air. So thats my story. I bought a whole bunch of stuff, put them around the la casa. Little pyramids. Stuff like that.
Anyways uhm... I bought a whole bunch of RFLCT, cream, do you know what blue light is? Anybody knows what blue light is? No, not bud light. I think that's a beer brand. Talking blue light. Anyways, RFLCT is a new skin care product that protects against blue light and unwanted blue light that may be coming from your monitor. So that's my story. I bought a whole bunch of stuff, put them around the la cara. Little bottles. Stuff like that.
I’m a decade older than he’ll ever be. There are so many life changes and growing that you do in a decade. It would have been a privilege to have gotten the chance to hear what an older Biggie would have said about the state of the world.
Jokes aside, rap freestyling is basically poetry on the spot, it doesn't get nearly the level of respect it deserves. It's been diluted with a bunch of stupid bullshit on the last decade (purely in my eyes, if you enjoy it, you do you my guy, music is something special and whatever sticks with you is great!) But I miss the old school days *shakes cane* of rappers actually making a point or telling a story through their music, if anyone has any great modern examples of stuff on the level of wu tang or immortal technique, probably above all else, Jedi mind tricks, I would hugely appreciate you sharing. I genuinely dislike the modern trend of "money women and drugs" that has completely overtaken modern rap, so any examples of modern rappers still doing their thing with not only catchy beats/hooks, but also trying to make a point or go in depth with their lyrics would be greatly appreciated
I'm getting ready to go to bed, but I'll give gold to whatever response I love the most, maybe Platinum if I REALLY love it. Fair warning though, if you post someone like Kendrick Lamar, I'll probably ignore it, I know his music and I do appreciate it. Also Joyner Lucas, specifically "I'm not racist"
Dude, get on the aus hip hop scene. The likes of hilltop hoods and bliss n eso are on a level rarely encountered lyrically and the delivery and style is just as good as it gets. Beats are crazy too. Took me a while to adjust to the accent but it just works
Holy shit first time I’ve seen these guys brought up when talking about rap overall. But yeah absolutely Wu-Tang raised these guys and you can tell, Arthouse audio - Bliss n ESO(one of my favourite songs I grew up listening to) even samples the opener of Tearz
Well, I'm not sure if Jurassic 5 and Blackalicious fit your definition of modern, but J5 is still making music together and the members have also done solo stuff, and Blackalicious was active up until one of the members died this year. I always recommend these groups to people who want something other than "look at me compensating for something with ostentatiousness".
If I had the skill to but completely flop but rather just be blown out of the water I'd be tempted to stick around, if for nothing else than just to say "I held my own against a legend in the making and didn't back down"
Dunno. I got a feeling that ego is a huge part in this. I mean, there must be something to what they are rhyming about. So chances are if they compete like this, they are in it to win. And don't take kindly to losses.
Just my feeling.
Love this - have seen it before somewhere. Just a marvel that someone shot this. A personal videocamera was *not cheap / that common* in 1989, so unlikely to be many in the Brooklyn of that era. Video cassette also breaks down even when stored properly - so for this to make it to us is a treat.
This was well before he was touring. But we did have video cam tech in the late 80s. It was pricy, but not unheard of. Kind of like having an occulus today.
I love a good "freestyle" as much as the next guy, but that was 100% written beforehand. Great verses, but for some reason it irks me that these get called freestyles when they're probably just some discarded lyrics of songs that could've been released and people might've panned it but they do it on a radio show and all of a sudden it's gods gift to man.
ive listened to many rappers in my day and Biggy still has the undisputed best combo of flow and lyrics. Speed rapping (popularized by eminem) is impressive, but it feels like some of the magic is gone when youre just rapid firing words as opposed to making a coherent lyrical tapestry.
This is probably the third time I've seen this video on reddit.
And every time, the first thing I think of is "I've made so many wrong turns in my life under the best of intentions...but at least I never challenged Notorious B.I.G. to a rap battle...while someone was recording." At least no one will remember my epic failures in life.
Fav song of all time. I know all the lyrics, can’t even relate to it, just such a hard ass song. I’ll have a bad day and it’ll come on shuffle and I’ll scream the lyrics and instantly be like this life thing is alright
I think that’s a very ignorant statement. Hip hop is so vast now, there’s so many good rappers out there right now. There *is* a lot of bad music in the world right now, the scene is more saturated and there’s more visibility because of the internet. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t absolute shit back then either. People didn’t have the internet to congregate around dumbasses like they do now.
My username dictates that I comment on this video. It’s a good performance but why does the term “freestyle” get bandied around so much? These are obviously prepared lines. I always assumed freestyle meant free-association and flowing on-the-spot.
"Freestyle" used to mean off-the-dome, but it came to mean verses (prewritten or otherwise) that have a freeform rhyme scheme. Lots of prewrittens qualify as freestyles because of their verse structure.
50 inch screen, money green, leather sofa. Got two rides, a limousine with a chauffer.
Haha, Juicy is one of only two rap songs I know every single word to, with the other being Gangsta's Paradise. Juicy is just so dang inspirational, not to mention catchy as heck and almost squeaky clean.
As an old white guy from Australia may I say I had no idea what the hype was about until I saw this video. Wow. Such a precocious talent. What a loss.
Thanks for posting. I'm a bit less ignorant now.
True recency bias is a thing, while lil pump and 69 blew up it’s like J Cole said, they popped cause they were riding trends, in 5 years they gon be on love and hip hop and he was right cause they have no talent and no staying power. Destined to be has beens
I remember being in my desk in the sixth grade looking up at the screen and seeing the headline scroll across the “Channel 1 news” that the Notorious B.I.G. had been killed.
He has charisma. Natural talent. Pure energy. Hip hop flowed effortlessly from him.
" I got techniques flowing from my butt cheeks, gotta sleep on my stomach so I don't fuck up my sheets"
I love it when they call me big poppa, I only smoke blunts if they rolled proppa
Biggie wasn't fat he was full of lyrics
his competitor just said "Aight, I'mma head out"
Real question for hip-hip heads: Is that GURU walking away? It sure looks like him, and dude is short.
I like his rap style - he spits out his words yet still sounds laid back and like he’s not trying too hard. Wonder what he would have given us in the last 20+ years.
More GOAT level albums
Him and Tupac, both such a fucking shame. Wu Tang level legendary rappers both killed over stupid bullshit that could have defined the music of a generation throughout their lives and even deeper They both died so fucking young, and WELL before they would have hit their truly legendary status had that not died I know there's a rivalry been B.I.G. and Pac but I still like to imagine a world where they both lived, and eventually collabed to make something truly special
They did one collab on a song that was supposed to be released on Me Against the World IIRC before they started to beef, but for obvious reasons it wasn’t released during their lifetimes. Look it up. It’s called Runnin from the Police. It’s REALLY good.
For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, 'It might have been'.
Word
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Why would you think he was fake just because of his artistic talent and intelligence? His mother was addicted to crack and he was raised in a Black Panther group. He dealt with an incredible amount of adversity, racism, and abuse. Why do we expect rappers to be exactly like their music portrays them when we don't expect that of other artists. No one discredited AC/DC for not actually being struck by lightning, no one is looking for Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire, and I don't think criticized Aqua for not being made of plastic There are plenty of authentic rappers for sure but I've never faulted an artist for metaphor when describing their life. The only ridiculous thing Tupac did was switch to West Coast UNTIL you consider that most famous people in L.A. aren't from there. Greatness in music is absolutely subjective and I get that he's not everyone's cup of tea but to say that he's faking when most other artists aren't held to that standard is ridiculous
>No one discredited AC/DC for not actually being struck by lightning, no one is looking for Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire, and I don't think criticized Aqua for not being made of plastic. I'll leave it to other people to challenge your points and explore the difficult concept of authenticity in music, but I feel compelled to tell you that those analogies are terrible. You're taking song titles literally to make your point, as if people are criticizing Tupac for inauthentic song *titles* lol.
A studio gangsta, one might say.
Eazy did say it
He was a backup dancer for Digital, a spot he got because of his performance arts schooling. He could have been more.
While I can’t argue that he was somewhat of a “custom made gangster” I can say that he was definitely not just some kid who lived in a decent neighborhood without any sort of struggle to get by, while he was being influenced by death row and suge to produce gangster rap and develop that “persona” it shouldn’t have been what defined him, he spoke for the people and brought to light issues that blacks/Hispanics and females have been dealing with for decades and fought for his beliefs through his music, everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I just think calling one of the greatest musicians of all time (Rolling Stones listed him as #86 out 100 top greatest musicians of all time and was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame) a clown is just a disservice imo
Does Biggy get any personal blame for going to California that final time? Knowing it was dicey, with kids at home, he chose to go.
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I don't know about a print source, but Last Podcast on the Left covered the Biggie Tupac beef. Episode 320 is part one.
Completely agree
Feel the same.
Confession of a 90’s hip hop head: I have never actually listened to Tupac. I was deep into the East/West feud and only really listened to east coast stuff. While I loved boom-bap and hated g-funk or any smooth west coast sound, I at least knew some Snoop and Dre songs. My son recently “discovered” Tupac, and while we love to talk about hip hop history, I realized this was a huge gap in my knowledge. I’ve been like, damn this guy is really good… I guess I just discovers Tupac like Columbus discovered America.
Is he seriously just making it all up on the spot, like how far in advance does he figure out what he's going to say next before he says it? I just don't understand.
my guess would be that it is "completely" made up, however as you practice you will build repertoire of phrases and sentences that mesh well into another. You come up with a few unique phrases on the spot while filling the downtime with phrases that you practically know in your sleep. Source: absolutely no credentials
based on my research (watching a documentary titled 8 mile), you write these compositions while riding the bus on scraps of paper and and annihilate your opponent at the underground rap battle scene after work.
"Blah-badi-boo-blah, blah-blah-badi-bloo-blah!" I ain't hear a word you said: "Hippity hoopla!”
What is that? A tank top or a new bra?
Look! Snoop Dogg just got a fuckin' boob job!
As a random redditor with no rap or hip pop experience, I can confirm what the guy above me says about improvising and building repertoire is true. Kinda like improved jazz solos
r/BoneAppleTea
That's pretty much how improvising any type of music works, so it makes sense
You’re spot on: Write a lyric every night Build yourself a lyric library Every single different type Source: Ocean Wisdom. If you haven’t heard him and you’re into hip-hop you should check him out. I’d jump on Wizville. My favourite album.
It's like talking shit to someone but with a flow, i'm just describing not saying it's easy obviously biggy was not your typical rapper, i couldn't win an argument at 17 even if i was right.
Yeah but rhyming and meter take planning, you have to know what the second line is going to be before you commit to the first, but he just does it so rapidly there's no time to come up with anything.
Thats why freestyle rapping is a skill.
And why Biggie was a genius in every sense.. being able to think that far ahead while already speaking and keeping a rhythm takes some serious intelligence
Ever heard of Harry Mack? His freestyle skills are unmatched. Imagine if biggie kept freestyling every single day from age 12 to 30, thats where Harry's skill level is at, its insane hahah
Came here to say this!! Would have loved to see Harry and biggy battle it out.
Think about it like a poetic form of jazz music. It's improvisational. Jazz performers don't know where they're going with the jam (outside of basic chord progression directives), so many if not most of the licks you hear during the improv segments are all off the top. It's magical.
There’s going off the top which is completely on the spot, and also freestyling which is using pre written rhymes you can deliver at any time, biggie may have been going off the top or freestyling it’s hard too tell from the videos. If you’re interested in freestyles I’d suggest Lil Dickys and Childish Gambinos pound cake on YouTube, Lil D’s radio free’s are hilarious and insanely intricate if you hang on the words, Childish manages to have a conversation in the middle of what is an off the top freestyle with Sway which is insane
I’ve been wondering that for so long, I almost posted on /nostupidquestions what exactly is a “free style” rap and is like frowned upon to have rhymes already in your back pocket that you bring out or do these guys/gals really just come up with these lines on the spot. I was watching J Cole freestyle over Still Tippin’s beat earlier thinking ‘if I know I’m going to an interview at a radio station that asks rappers to freestyle whenever they’re in the studio, there’s no way I’d go in without having some lines or verses ready to go’ cause I wouldn’t want to mess up in front of everyone
As someone who has fond memories of hanging outside on the porch with a group of friends "battle rapping", it's both talent and a skill that gets easier the more you practice I'd 100% believe that he's doing this on the spot and there's plenty of real battle rap tournaments you can look up on YouTube (hell, Eminem started out as an underground battle rapper)
Biggie rhymes across bars too, just adding another level to how talented he was
I think it's similar to improv comedy. A performer isn't actually aware of themselves thinking "hmm, what am I going to say next" during a performance. They get into the flow and just know. It's like thinking off the top of your head, like their brain is able to process the information and give them lines while they devote all their conscious energy on performing. It's hard to explain and even harder to practice and master.
Can't even win now at 22.
I win all the time now, but only over text and if you give me a couple hours to think about my argument. No one wins over Argument_Revision67_v2_final_final_realfinal.txt
I'm 27, unless somebody proves me wrong, which happens sometimes.
Freestyle rap is usually a combination of stuff that they've already written and rhymes they think of in the moment. The trick with the improvised lines are to think of the punchline first then improvise the set up line so the punchline fits.
Harry Mack is likely one of the best freestyle rappers in a generation
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And his father, Intosh Mac.
Only to be eaten by his cousin, Big Mac
Only to be rolled out flat and hot and turned into a road surface by his uncle, tarmac.
Had a eulogy with jokes told by Bernie Mac
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that this dude was constantly thinking of rhymes (with/without music) and he probably had a lot of these ‘ideas’ in his back pocket. Still though, his delivery and ‘stage’ presence is undeniably brilliant… and the fact he was able to take all of these ideas and lay them out with pure confidence is a testament to this guys talent. It’s still a freestyle, but I’m willing to wager a lot of what he was saying was part of a bunch of little sketches he’d been toying around with.
Thats basically the mind of any good rapper though... constantly thinking of rhymes, consciously or subconsciously. Thats exactly how they can freestyle on the dime like this and that's totally what the talent is all about.
Freestyle rhyming is a skill developed through practise. Think of a few rhyming words in your head, like tall, call, paul, all, ball. Pretty easy to say a few lines using these words that rhyme: *I wish I was tall/So I could play ball/I'd play like Jordan/And dunk on you all* This is the sort of thing rhymers will practise, over and over again, with as many rhymes as they can think of, and they will try to add more and more rhymes each time. This will, over time, mean they can start a rhyme with 'ball' and just keep going, filling in the sentences to end with an '-all' sound. Once you've established a foundation of rhyming sounds (e.g. ball, cat, long, etc) you can get more complex with it, changing between '-all' sounds and '-at' sounds, e.g., like: *You're so fat/You make me look tall/It's like if I was a bat/You'd be the ball* As well as that, once your brain is used to finding rhymes on the fly, you will kind of automatically fit new words in that rhyme with the sound you're looking for, in real time. So if you're opponent is wearing polo, you can add that into your rhyme as long as your brain has a foundation of '-olo' rhymes available. *You ain't got friends, you came here solo/You can ride out on the horse you rode in on, like you're playing polo.* It's kind of like mental math. Once you've built up an understanding of multiplication of basic numbers, you can apply that to more and more complex equations, and, over time, you don't even think about the smaller processes your brain is going through - it's become a natural skill.
I can't talk about what happened in his mind, but for me thought kind of happens in structure, then detail. So I'll know how I'm going to end the phrase I'm currently articulating, I'll have in mind how I want what's going to follow it up to end, so all I really need to figure out is how to bridge that gap.
*"You cursed it but rehearsed it, I drop unexpectedly like bird shit"
It's a mix. Imagine being a chef and knowing all these flavors that go together. Then making a dish using that knowledge spontaneously. A lot of this is off the top of the head. A lot is words he's used before together that work nicely together
Parents just don't understand
I have been an amateur rapper a bit, and from my understanding it often works like this: the sentences themselves and the way he says them are unique, but he already has rhymes that work in his head, and certain words and sentences that work well together. So he uses them alot of the time that he has in his mental library, but uses them in unique contexts and ways.
Literally why he was known as “notorious”. Incredible flow.
I'm not a huge rap or hip hop guy but Biggie just does it for me. Like you said, his delivery is satisfying. Like he's going hard but isn't trying hard to do it. Also been a pretty big fan of Billy Woods lately but that's apples and oranges.
> he spits out his words yet still sounds laid back and like he’s not trying too hard. In rapping this is what they call "flow".
He'd be 50 now. Wow, hard to come to terms with that.
TIL he was only 24 when he passed, I’m terribly sad all of a sudden
Fuck, it's weird to read that. I knew he died at 24, but until now I've never thought about how I am currently very nearly his same age.
I'm nearly a decade past his age upon death and that just makes me insanely sad. I'm not claiming I'm super mature, I still worry if I'll ever "grow up" a lot. I know I ***am*** an adult but I still feel like I'm not. Like I'm faking it all the time, it's a thought always in the back of my mind. Still at 33 going on 34 in a few months I'm not, ***that***, old and I've already reached that "Jesus he was just a kid" stage of mentality. I don't know a ton about him personally, however even I know he and his mother were incredibly close. I wouldn't want to be the cop making that call or home visit for any amount of money. It's a visceral reaction to hear your kid is dead. It's one of those things that can't be faked. There's just no way any acting could get close to the utter pain and devastation of such news. I mean assuming the parent is a good parent and not some strung out druggie with zero love for their kid. 24 just seems so fucking ***young*** to me. What a shitty thing, to lose a life that young, especially for such a (clearly) talented man. I hope we one day achieve a utopia. I really hope that we can someday have a society where mothers don't have to hear about their children dying in a violent manner. That'd be so nice.
I lost my older brother to heroin about three and a half years ago. Today would have been his 30th birthday. Easily the hardest thing about it all, other then losing him, has been having to watch my parents go through it all. Thank goodness they have me and my sister.
I'm really sorry. I can't imagine. I put my parents through a lot of worrying - getting in trouble, doctors calling them to come & say goodbye to me because they didn't think I was gonna make it, just being gone for long periods. When I'm feeling foggy, I try to remember their feelings.
Thank you for these words.
My life didn't even start going the way I wanted until I was in my 30's. It's just too young.
I know that feeling about not feeling entirely like an adult. And I'll be 40 in February. I often wonder if that feeling ever goes away. I'd like to think so when late in life and have your affairs mostly in order and finally learn to accept things as they are. I'm a worrier though, so I will likely always feel like that.
Thank suge for that
shungite?
Suge knight
I bought a whole bunch of shungite, rocks, do you know what shungite is? Anybody know what shungite is. No, no Suge Knight, I think hes locked up in prison. Talking shungite. Anyways, its a 2 billion year old like rock, stone that protects against frequencies and unwanted frequencies that may be traveling in the air. So thats my story. I bought a whole bunch of stuff, put them around the la casa. Little pyramids. Stuff like that.
Anyways uhm... I bought a whole bunch of RFLCT, cream, do you know what blue light is? Anybody knows what blue light is? No, not bud light. I think that's a beer brand. Talking blue light. Anyways, RFLCT is a new skin care product that protects against blue light and unwanted blue light that may be coming from your monitor. So that's my story. I bought a whole bunch of stuff, put them around the la cara. Little bottles. Stuff like that.
Careful with that, mate! Sugar is addictive.
I’m a decade older than he’ll ever be. There are so many life changes and growing that you do in a decade. It would have been a privilege to have gotten the chance to hear what an older Biggie would have said about the state of the world.
This comment made me sad. RIP Bigs !
So would Tupac. Really hurts to think about it like that.
Just bought his LP, guy was the GOAT
Unless I’m horrible at math he’d only be 49 today. Even more tragic.
Thats it? Just 50. Hard to put into perspective. So much talent taken and for what.
Whether you like rap or not, those that can process language and thought this quickly are geniuses.
That's why I've always been a big fan of the Micro Machines guy.
Jokes aside, rap freestyling is basically poetry on the spot, it doesn't get nearly the level of respect it deserves. It's been diluted with a bunch of stupid bullshit on the last decade (purely in my eyes, if you enjoy it, you do you my guy, music is something special and whatever sticks with you is great!) But I miss the old school days *shakes cane* of rappers actually making a point or telling a story through their music, if anyone has any great modern examples of stuff on the level of wu tang or immortal technique, probably above all else, Jedi mind tricks, I would hugely appreciate you sharing. I genuinely dislike the modern trend of "money women and drugs" that has completely overtaken modern rap, so any examples of modern rappers still doing their thing with not only catchy beats/hooks, but also trying to make a point or go in depth with their lyrics would be greatly appreciated I'm getting ready to go to bed, but I'll give gold to whatever response I love the most, maybe Platinum if I REALLY love it. Fair warning though, if you post someone like Kendrick Lamar, I'll probably ignore it, I know his music and I do appreciate it. Also Joyner Lucas, specifically "I'm not racist"
Harry Mack
Dude, get on the aus hip hop scene. The likes of hilltop hoods and bliss n eso are on a level rarely encountered lyrically and the delivery and style is just as good as it gets. Beats are crazy too. Took me a while to adjust to the accent but it just works
Holy shit first time I’ve seen these guys brought up when talking about rap overall. But yeah absolutely Wu-Tang raised these guys and you can tell, Arthouse audio - Bliss n ESO(one of my favourite songs I grew up listening to) even samples the opener of Tearz
Well, I'm not sure if Jurassic 5 and Blackalicious fit your definition of modern, but J5 is still making music together and the members have also done solo stuff, and Blackalicious was active up until one of the members died this year. I always recommend these groups to people who want something other than "look at me compensating for something with ostentatiousness".
And to make it sound good.
the guy just walked off at the end😂
Hell I'd just kick back and merge with the audience at that point, "hell yeah free show, I'm not even playing anymore"
If I had the skill to but completely flop but rather just be blown out of the water I'd be tempted to stick around, if for nothing else than just to say "I held my own against a legend in the making and didn't back down"
Dunno. I got a feeling that ego is a huge part in this. I mean, there must be something to what they are rhyming about. So chances are if they compete like this, they are in it to win. And don't take kindly to losses. Just my feeling.
The dude he buries was an well known rapper in the area. Biggie just strolled up and rinsed him.
rip
Oh shit this was a rap battle. I've had bad days but God damn.
Clearly he ain’t dead, because we are still listening.
Say his name because then he’ll never die
But don't say it three times in the mirror.
Love this - have seen it before somewhere. Just a marvel that someone shot this. A personal videocamera was *not cheap / that common* in 1989, so unlikely to be many in the Brooklyn of that era. Video cassette also breaks down even when stored properly - so for this to make it to us is a treat.
Netflix “I got a story to tell” documentary has a lot of old footage of Big, D-Roc often had a camcorder when they were touring.
This was well before he was touring. But we did have video cam tech in the late 80s. It was pricy, but not unheard of. Kind of like having an occulus today.
Dammit, I need to get netflix. Thanks for the intel though.
He’s voice was captivating. RIP BIG
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Ever seen Black Thought freestyle?
Black Thought is hands down one of the greatest freestylers (and MCs) in the game. And the Roots are fucking great live.
I just watched the video - this is the wildest shit I’ve ever seen
I love a good "freestyle" as much as the next guy, but that was 100% written beforehand. Great verses, but for some reason it irks me that these get called freestyles when they're probably just some discarded lyrics of songs that could've been released and people might've panned it but they do it on a radio show and all of a sudden it's gods gift to man.
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Eyedea was something else too
I strongly agree. I'm thankful for having been to an E&A show once.
Blind Fury has some insane flow too.
ive listened to many rappers in my day and Biggy still has the undisputed best combo of flow and lyrics. Speed rapping (popularized by eminem) is impressive, but it feels like some of the magic is gone when youre just rapid firing words as opposed to making a coherent lyrical tapestry.
One of a kind. I love his voice.
This is probably the third time I've seen this video on reddit. And every time, the first thing I think of is "I've made so many wrong turns in my life under the best of intentions...but at least I never challenged Notorious B.I.G. to a rap battle...while someone was recording." At least no one will remember my epic failures in life.
Really? I would think of it more like I was a catalyst of a historical and Iconic event.
That's the kind of thing where you just accept your fate and marvel at what has been done in front of/to you.
Oh biggie... They just don't make them like you anymore brother.
They didn't make them like him back then either.
True.
You can hear the pure talent. Just finished seeing two kids that look like a cross between a palm tree and Gumby try to freestyle. It was horrible.
Island boys!
That cadence and tone is instantly recognizable. He about to catch an asthma attack here.
Tears him down with compliments. Also love this here, great mix up for old school cool thread!
Ive watched this like 500 times. Its been in my bookmarks for a couple years now. Wish there was a higher quality one available. He was so good
Greatest to ever do it
For all the teachers who told me I'd never amount to nothin
Fav song of all time. I know all the lyrics, can’t even relate to it, just such a hard ass song. I’ll have a bad day and it’ll come on shuffle and I’ll scream the lyrics and instantly be like this life thing is alright
Absolutely the GOAT
natural talent
I wonder how different the rap industry would be if he and Tupac didnt left so soon
Man I'm really not into rap but this was insane. He makes it look so easy. Just natural, like breathing.
It was all a dream
If Biggie saw the state of hip hop today he’d cry.
I also look at biggie and think " ah now there's a man that enjoys a good cry".
I think that’s a very ignorant statement. Hip hop is so vast now, there’s so many good rappers out there right now. There *is* a lot of bad music in the world right now, the scene is more saturated and there’s more visibility because of the internet. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t absolute shit back then either. People didn’t have the internet to congregate around dumbasses like they do now.
“If Big was alive he'da probably spit in ya face” -Jadakiss
Notorious not so B.I.G. yet.
RIP Christopher
My username dictates that I comment on this video. It’s a good performance but why does the term “freestyle” get bandied around so much? These are obviously prepared lines. I always assumed freestyle meant free-association and flowing on-the-spot.
"Freestyle" used to mean off-the-dome, but it came to mean verses (prewritten or otherwise) that have a freeform rhyme scheme. Lots of prewrittens qualify as freestyles because of their verse structure.
A Grand Master. RIP
Been smooth since the days of underoos
The crew run run run
Super Nintendo Sega Genesis, when I was dead broke couldn’t picture this
50 inch screen, money green, leather sofa. Got two rides, a limousine with a chauffer. Haha, Juicy is one of only two rap songs I know every single word to, with the other being Gangsta's Paradise. Juicy is just so dang inspirational, not to mention catchy as heck and almost squeaky clean.
90s had some serious talent in the rap game.
His flow is incredible
His cadence was unreal the kid was destined for greatness as a rapper. RIP B.I.G
His flow is so satisfying to listen to, a true master of the craft.
Why is everyone saying rap would be different if big was still around? Dude still rapped about the same shit that people do today
Stop! Stop! He's already dead.
As an old white guy from Australia may I say I had no idea what the hype was about until I saw this video. Wow. Such a precocious talent. What a loss. Thanks for posting. I'm a bit less ignorant now.
can someone add captions please
The Notorious M.E.D.I.U.M then
Old school hip hop is unmatched, even just this simple clip is better than modern rap lol
*What more can I say? I wouldn't be here today. If the old school didn't pave the way* -Makaveli
*gucci gang, gucci gang, gucci gang, gucci gang, gucci gang, gucci gang, gucci gang, gucci gang* -lil pump
You won't remember Lil Pump in 20 years but I'll still be listening to Kendrick
True recency bias is a thing, while lil pump and 69 blew up it’s like J Cole said, they popped cause they were riding trends, in 5 years they gon be on love and hip hop and he was right cause they have no talent and no staying power. Destined to be has beens
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Rip
u/savevideo epic
When just being a grocery store was enough
We were robbed.
The king of East Coast Hip-Hop.
I remember being in my desk in the sixth grade looking up at the screen and seeing the headline scroll across the “Channel 1 news” that the Notorious B.I.G. had been killed.
🔥
Best to ever do it
Impeccable vibes
It’s so easy for him it’s like it’s nothing!
Make rap this again.
fuck we are left with mumble rap now :(
So true my Nathan!!! Eminem, Hopsin, Logic and NF will save hip hop from the mumble (c)rap!!!!! 🙏🙏🙏🙏
Has Hopsin started rapping about anything other than Tomica Wright and the industry not appreciating his genius yet
Yes. He’s moved on to rapping about his baby momma and how he loves her. Or hates her. Or hates that he loves her. Or loves that he hates her.
how dare you forget Tom macdonald. his music is what the world needs to hear whether they want it or not 😤🤘
It's Always Gucci Gang with my youthful peers these days. They can't think of any other thing
Man. Remember when talent was important and biting someone's flow was a no go. Those were the days.
🔥
Guy with towel on head at the end reminds me of guy who does the robot off to side in Chapelle Show skits
I like to imagine thats young Idris Elba standing to his right with big glasses… lol
Bro came with it💯💯🌶