Rap Emcee Drills and Freestyles

October 6, 2008 5:06 PM

Best live rap freestyles or cyphers with multiple rappers? NOT BATTLES

I'm looking for the best live show rap freestyles (not battles) featuring multiple rappers. One of the best is Mr. Lif's 12:44 long "Freestyle Session" (featuring Akbar and Akrobatik). Stuff like Supernat's performances on the Wake Up Show is great, but I'm looking for the best of groups of rappers freestyling live.

Passing the mic back and forth at a live show, doing themes, or even kicking the occasional written verse on stage - I just want to hear some incredible rap freestyles performed live.

posted by cashman to media & arts (4 comments total)

Tempo Round from the 2005 Freestyle Olympics.
posted by sociology at 6:34 PM on October 6, 2008

Unfortunately that's a battle, sociology.
posted by cashman at 1:12 PM on October 7, 2008

Certainly not the best, but worth looking at, is the last track on disc 2 of Solesides Greatest Bumps. [It's Gift of Gab, Lateef and Lyrics Born--Gift of Gab's freestyle is something to behold]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solesides_Greatest_Bumps
posted by Franklin76 at 2:40 PM on October 7, 2008

Not sure if this counts as "live" (it wasn't on stage but during a radio show) but tracks 14-15 of Hieroglyphics' Third Eye Vision (the end of 'Pep Love' and the beginning of 'Off the Record') definitely impressed me. Not sure as well if this meets the criteria of "multiple rappers" since they're all in the group but I'll just throw it out there.

I bought Third Eye Vision on Amazon mp3 for $9, DRM-free.

Tribe has lots of good freeform stuff but I don't know if I'd consider any of it freestyle.

Again, not really "live" but the Beastie Boys and Q-Tip got high in the studio and recorded Get It Together. "Phone is ringing...ohmygawd."
posted by ostranenie at 11:26 PM on October 7, 2008