J.Cole "Birthday Blizzard '26" (EP Stream)

Birthday Blizzard ‘26 is a four-track surprise EP of freestyles released by J. Cole in celebration of his 41st birthday and in anticipation of his seventh and "final" album, The Fall-Off. The EP is hosted by Queens' own, DJ Clue. On the brief project, Cole raps over four classic Bad Boy instrumentals, particularly The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Who Shot Ya?,” Diddy’s “Victory,” and The LOX’s “Can I Live” and “Money, Power, Respect.” The EP was first teased by Jadakiss on his podcast, Joe and Jada, with Fat Joe, announcing that Cole would be tearing up some classic instrumentals from The Lox. Cole has utilized unique marketing approaches for his projects in past years, so I expect more of the same for The Fall Off. In past years, I've discussed DJ Clue's Birthday Blizzard '94 and Birthday Blizzard '96 mixtapes, so this is a nice nostalgic full-circle moment. Stay tuned for The Fall Off in February. 

Beanie Sigel "Batcave Freestyle" (Video, 2012)

I'm not sure why this was on my mind so heavy today, but I wanted to take it back to a freestyle Beanie Sigel spit some years back... I read a caption that shared, "Right before Beans got locked up he drove his Crown Vic, with the spotlight still on it, up to N. 3rd St. and spit some serious shit at Batcave Studio…..guns, pills, syrup, duckin’ cops, incarceration." Over a classic break instrumental, Beans did what he does best, raw street raps with an equal dose of real life and pain. Props to Gillie the Kid and all the real spitters out of Philly. This exclusive freestyle from Beanie Sigel was featured on Black Deniro's DVD/CD "Money Is The Mission," directed by Rick Dange. Around the time, Beans was locked up and the streets held this one close until his return. "Money Is The Mission" featured never before seen footage of all the hottest artist in Philadelphia including Cassidy, Freeway, Gillie Da Kid, and many more. You can find it on Amazon or other online retailers.

CyHi the Prynce "LA Leakers Freestyle" (Video)

It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since CyHi the Prynce released his incredible No Dope On Sundays debut, but here we are. Thankfully, due to “the on-going encouragement [he’s] received from everyone,” he’s gearing up to release his highly-anticipated sophomore album, The Story of EGOT, sometime this summer. Now, ahead of releasing EGOT the EP on Friday (6/3), the gifted emcee stopped by Power106 to take part in the LA Leakers ongoing freestyle series. And, wow… this man went crazy. Over 42 Dugg’s “Maybach” and (especially) Jeezy’s “Go Crazy,” CyHi put on a showcase of elite lyricism for a solid seven minutes. “If I ain’t the dopest ni**a ever, you must sniff cocaine / Listen, since everybody wanna talk about the ghostwriter, I wrote fire for most of y’all favorite artists, so I inspired this whole generation, y’all are ghost-biters / Technically speaking, I’m everybody’s co-writer,” he raps. Check it out below. - 2DBZ. Dig in the archives for No Dope On Sundays and more... Props to Shake and Meka for puttin' me on, I woulda missed this one for sure.

Coast Contra "Never" (Freestyle, Video)

Twin brothers Ras and Taj Austin, sons of West Coast rap legend Ras Kass and Soul songstress Teedra Moses, met Colombian-born Rio Loz in high school to assemble the group Coast Contra. After releasing their first mixtape ‘The Coast Contra Volume Tape, Vol. 1,’ the trio later found its fourth member Eric Jamal, a bubbling rapper out of North Philadelphia, PA. Knowing two of the four members were sons of Ras Kass, I was quick to check them out and I was certainly not disappointed. Coast Contra means a universe within your universe where anything is possible, limitations non-existent. I don't know what the production is gonna sound like when their debut album, Apt. 505, drops at the end of March... but I'm highly anticipating their unique wordplay and raw delivery to shine through and be on full display. When touring and venues open back up properly, I definitely hope to catch one of their live shows. Check the group catching a body, rhyming over J.I.D.'s "Never" below and especially the fourth verse; true storytelling at its finest. 

Ghostface Killah Drops 2 New Freestyles...

Ghostface Killah — who celebrated the 25th anniversary of his debut album Ironman, and is in the middle of his 3 Chambers Tour alongside GZA and Raekwon — has dropped a pair of freestyles: “I Got Soul” and “Bob James.” “I Got Soul” is his take on fellow legends Eric B & Rakim’s “I Know You Got Soul,” while “Bob James” — with Raekwon — has the two revisiting the track (“Nautilus”) RZA sampled for “Daytona 500.” Meanwhile, the “artwork” is a sly nod to the disks of beats RZA would label for the Clan during their early days (which was referenced in their Wu-Tang: An American Saga series). This could serve as a precursor to Ghost’s Supreme Clientele 2 project, which is reportedly arriving sometime in early 2022 and will be executive produced by Kanye West and Mike Dean. Clearly, I’m here for both of these tracks. Press play on the freestyles below. - via 2DBZ. I don't have much faith in Kanye West these days, but I'm always here for new GFK. Enjoy the freestyles....

Stretch & Bobbito + The M19s Band "Freestyle EP" (EP Stream)

In FREESTYLE EP 1, Stretch and Bobbito pay homage to their past while simultaneously transcending to the present. Using cutting edge technology to create a cappella versions of iconic live performances from their legendary 1990s radio show, the duo has digitally remastered, as well as enhanced, the original recordings of freestyles by Biggie, Big L + Jay-Z, and Method Man + Ghostface Killah. Additionally, they took these isolated vocals and created remix versions by layering in new background instrumentals featuring original music played by their band the M19s Band, which Stretch then sampled and looped. Ultimately, both the original ‘90s versions as well as the remix versions reach unprecedented new ground in the merging of beats, rhymes, life and technology!

Much respect and thanks to Stretch & Bobbito. Photo by Janette Beckman...

Yo! MTV Raps "Final Episode" (August 17, 1995)

Wax Poetics explains, "Yo! MTV Raps exploded onto cable television on August 6, 1988. Yo! MTV Raps was a huge hit because it was necessary. Perhaps the most potent catalyst in hip-hop’s infiltration of the mainstream, Yo! beamed future superstars and regional rap heroes alike into living rooms for the first time ever." On August 17, 1995, Yo! MTV Raps aired its final episode, which concluded with an epic freestyle cipher featuring legends like Rakim, KRS-One, Erick Sermon, MC Serch, Redman, Method Man, Craig Mack, Chubb Rock, Large Professor, Special Ed, and hosted by Doctor Dre and Ed Lover. From 1996 to 1999, MTV repackaged it as simply Yo! The repackaged version was far more stripped down. Yo! had a weekly slate of special guest hosts. For instance, Angie Martinez and Fatman Scoop served as its hosts. By 1998, Yo! had no guest hosts and became a one-hour program airing late Friday nights at 1 a.m. or 1:30 a.m. In 2000, MTV's outlet for hip-hop videos became Direct Effect, known since 2006 as Sucker Free. As time goes by, MTV has played less and less music videos, but you already knew that! I miss these old days, so once again, reminisce with me below...

Black Thought "Tiny Desk Concert" (NPR, Video)

April 8, 2020 | Abby O'Neill -- While our culture adjusts to the New Normal, artists are revealing the threads of our common humanity as they find new ways to bring their work to virtual communities. In this installment of Tiny Desk (home) Concerts, hip-hop wordsmith Tariq Trotter, aka Black Thought of The Roots crew, took the occasion to premiere three new songs. On "Thought Vs. Everybody," Thought calls for unity in response to the conditions of an encroaching dystopia. Next up is "Yellow," a song from his upcoming off-Broadway musical Black No More, an adaption of the 1931 Afrofuturist novel by George S. Schuyler, set during the Harlem Renaissance. The track is co-written with Anthony Tidd. He closes with "Nature of the Beast," a cross-genre collaboration with alternative music sweethearts Portugal. The Man, who pop up on screen from a remote location. "Thought Vs. Everybody" and "Nature of the Beast" are produced by Sean C and will appear on Streams of Thought Vol. 3, which will be released as an EP. The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. It's the same spirit - stripped-down sets, an intimate setting - just a different space. - NPR. Much love to Black Thought holdin' it down for the culture, watch below!

Guru "Gang Starr Mix Freestyles" (2005)

It's not all that noteworthy, but this is only my second leap year post (on this site). Back in 2016, I shared my brother One Be Lo's new album (at the time), The Original B.O.R.N. O.N.E.S., which is still a solid album, dig that up! This year? I was gonna do a post about Ja Rule, who celebrates his born day today, but I wasn't in the mood for that. So... I looked at my desktop screen, and on it was a file I'd downloaded from DJ Step One's website about Guru. Guru hosted a mix tape back in 2005 called The Official Gang Starr Mix CD, where he dropped a handful of exclusive freestyles. I owned that CD at the time and even included one of Guru's freestyles from it on my niche mixtape called FreeOfStyle in 2012. DJ Step One made one single MP3 out of all the individual freestyles on there, which I think is genius, and very much worth sharing/revisiting. Guru was a one-of-a-kind artist - his voice and the messages in his music were an integral part of my childhood. Click the tags, you'll see references time and again that Gang Starr is my favorite group of all-time, so it's no surprise DJ Premier and Guru pop up every couple of months on this site. I'm constantly revisiting the music and remembering memories where they were the soundtrack. Peep some tracks as elusive as 2/29...

Common, Black Thought & More "Freestyle" (1998)

From the mid 90s through the early 2000s, the epicenter of Philly Hip-Hop culture could be found every Monday night at a small second floor nightclub directly off South Street. That club was Fluid, that night was The Remedy, hosted by Cosmo Baker & Rich Medina. Threaded through the evolution of the music at the time, through the rise of independent movement, concurrent with the very beginning of the Neo-Soul scene, The Remedy became the destination for music and culture lovers alike. Everyone from Kid Koala to Madlib, Questlove to DJ Craze, Bobbito to Goldie - would play the most underground and obscure tunes to a hungry and receptive crowd. And it was also not unlikely to have some immense talent jump up into the DJ booth and grab the mic, whether it was local talent from the Philly Neo Soul movement, or Slum Village, or Pharoahe Monch, or Bahamadia, or Kurupt. On this particular night in 1998, it was DJ Jazzy Jeff on the ones and twos, and we brought up Philly’s own Black Thought to bless the mic, followed by Common who ripped it to pieces. The freestyle session continued with Dice Raw, Scratch, Maylay Sparks and Rehani… everyone in the pocket. Also you can hear Black Thought kick a bunch of the rhymes he’d later on go and use on the masterpiece album by The Roots “Things Fall Apart”. Listen to this classic '98 cipher below...

DJ Lazy K "Butta Mixin Rican Part 2" (Mixtape, 1996)

Here's a dope mixtape from '96 by DJ Lazy K, Butta Mixin Rican Pt.2. Born in Mexico, and raised in Madrid, Spain, and Switzerland, DJ Lazy K has been holdin' it down since the 90s. This particular mix includes tracks from Nas, Shyheim, Redman, Lost Boyz, Jay-Z, 2Pac, Common, Kool G Rap, Smoothe The Hustler, Mobb Deep, Tragedy Khadafi, as well as multiple freestyles from members of the Wu-Tang Clan; Mic Geronimo, and more. Wu-Tang and Jay-Z embraced her early, listen to the mix below...

DJ Lazy K "Butta Mixxin Rican" (Mixtape, 1996)

Another dope Lazy K drop from '96; the first of three mixtapes in the Butta Mixin Rican series. There's a lot of dope freestyles on this tape from Memphis Bleek, Musolini & Maze, Portorok, Half-A-Mil (R.I.P.), 50 Cent & Royal Flush, and Negro League, as well as cuts from Busta Rhymes, The Lox, Big Pun, Jay-Z, Cappadonna, Method Man, Sporty Thievz, Goodie Mob, The Luniz, Cocoa Brovaz, Sauce Money, Mase and other exclusives. The mix was released on cassette and CD, both through the infamous Tape Kingz in Brooklyn. Peep the mix below & I'll post more from Lazy K.

Supastition "High Off Life Freestyle" (Video)

Supastition touches down at High Off Life for an exclusive freestyle over a classic J Dilla beat. This is a series dedicated to artists with flow, delivery, wordplay... and BARS! Supa showcases all that and more with this latest freestyle spittin' lines like, "Sorry dog, I'm different / I was brought up on Kool G / Better yet, Biggie in a Coogi / Ghostface with the mask, that's what it takes to WU me!" and "... I go for broke and I ain't talkin' chapter 11 / I got the holy ghost, better call a pastor or reverend / Hallelujh, I wouldn't donate a dollar to ya / Rappin' over your vocals, I understand why they boo'd ya / High off life with Z Rich and MiCxSiC, Supastition had to come through and kill it right quick / Like this..." Rest in Peace, J Dilla! Supastition put it down, catch these bars below...

The Big Picture "15 Classic Big L Freestyles" (2014)

"On February 15th, 1999, Harlem rapper Big L (aka Lamont Coleman) was tragically gunned down in the same neighborhood that he consistently repped in his rhymes. His murder came at a time when he had one of the most-talked about singles out, “Ebonics,” his D.I.T.C. crew was making major noise with posse cuts like “Day One,”and his mixtape and radio freestyles were scorching in the streets, which all led to his sophomore album being one of the most anticipated projects by a New York MC to drop. There were even rumors that he was signing to Roc-A-Fella Records, the hottest and most successful young label in the Big Apple at the time led by his rapper friend Jay Z. Unfortunately, his moment to shine at the next level never came to be. To celebrate Big L’s rap career today ... we thought to truly highlight the essence of Big L’s lyrical greatness, charisma, performance ability, and bottomless pit of bars, we’d round up 15 of his dopest radio, mixtape, and live freestyles (plus a few bonuses because that’s how we do), and put them all together in one mix for you to enjoy." - via NahRight and UpNorthTrips (2014), enjoy the mix below, and - of course - Rest peacefully, Big L!

Nas & Mobb Deep "Rap Exchange Freestyle" (January 25, 1995)

On January 25, 1995, Nas and Mobb Deep appeared on Tim Westwood's Radio 1 Rap Exchange up at Hot 97 with Funk Flex, as they kicked an impressive 10-minutes of trading (written) verses over the Infamous Mobb Deep's "Shook Ones Pt.2" instrumental. The homie DJ Step One shared the audio online and today felt like a good day to pass it along, too. We call these "FreeOfStyles," like Big Daddy Kane and KRS-One used to say back in the day. Enjoy this throwback below, and I'll see if we can dig up the full audio of Flex spinning that night with other special in-studio guests in 1995.

DJ Sav One & DJ Dyllemma "FreeOfStyle" (Mixtape, 2012)

We put this mix together (in 2012) reminiscing on the days of golden era CASSETTE mixtapes. It should bring you back to that analog vibe with the sound, substance and live mixing. The theme is an ongoing debate over the two meanings of “Freestyle”: off the top of the head verses and/or unreleased writtens (discussed by Big Daddy Kane in the Intro as ‘FreeOfStyle’). The mix is 40 minutes long (all golden era content) and is 1 side of a forthcoming cassette release with original content on the flip-side. The sources are old cassettes, white label vinyl and an occasional CD. Peace to the all the DJs who laid the foundation and pushed the culture forward - this tape is as much an ode to those pioneering DJs as is to the MCs who held it down on the mic. - DJ Sav One (Update: Got a takedown notice, so a new post to update the embed link below). One-track version is HERE.

The Def Squad Freestyles, Volume 1 (Album Stream)

In attempt to embrace this digital space we're in, the Green Eyed Bandit, Erick Sermon, has created Def Squad Streaming, and presents Volume one of the Def Squad Freestyles. This new compilation project features tracks from EPMD, Redman, Keith Murray, Jamal, and more up at shows like Stretch & Bobbito, BET/Rap City, the Wake Up Show, and on tapes like Doo Wop's 95 Live II. Listen...

Prodigy "Thief's Theme" x "Stay Chiseled" Freestyles

June 20, 2018 is the one year anniversary of the death of Mobb Deep's Prodigy. To commemorate his creative partner's untimely passing, Havoc has shared two "unreleased exclusive freestyles," as with DJ Absolut. "Thief's Theme," originally a single from Nas's 2004 album Street's Disciple, features both members of Mobb Deep, while Prodigy is solo on "Stay Chiseled," which appeared on Large Professor's 2002 album First Class. Listen to both below, via Fader. Rest In Peace, Prodigy!

Lloyd Banks "Victory" (Classic Freestyle, 2002)

Sometimes I go back and relisten to the old G-Unit, LOX and Dipset mixtapes, amazed at how much content was put out in that era. It's mind boggling! One of the standouts is the Victory freestyle from the punchline king, Lloyd Banks. Years back Banks explained why it was undoubtedly his biggest mixtape song ever: "That has to be overall the most–the biggest freestyle I had as far as impact wise. Even DJ Clue will tell you that’s when he felt I went from being a mixtape dude to the next dude they expect to pop from the mixtapes… Honestly, I knew what I was following behind. Biggie was one of my favorites. When I did ‘Victory,’ everybody knew that was one of his biggest verses. So to fall behind him, I knew there was pressure behind it. I just wanted to add a different feel. At that time, I was thinking punchline wise. A lot of people used to ask me, ‘Yo you going to run out before the album,’ but when I write naturally, I write witty. I write from the perspective of being different. So, that was one thing that never troubled me. There was a few lines [I liked]. I said, ‘I think I’m the last rapper to scare n*ggas since Craig Mack.’ There was even the Master P line and its funny because I have 100 percent support for Master P, but his sneaker was [ugly] at the time.” Banks adds, "That was the first freestyle I performed. Not only did it help me as far as my recognition goes, but it helped me performance wise cause I got used to being by myself for a whole verse. It’s hard to keep people in tuned for a whole verse with no chorus–on a mixtape too. The breakdown toward the end of the verse, is when I learned over time you can’t rap the same bar cadence throughout 50 bars, you got to at some point change it up." Banks ends it by saying, "I put my all into that, bar for bar.” - via Rap Radar. Happy Born Day to Banks, listen to Victory below...

Hex One "This Is How You Murder A Kanye Classic" (Video)

Hex One was born in Barranquilla, Colombia in '89. He spent most of his childhood and adolescence in Queens, New York after he and his family moved there when he was 6 years old. Influenced early on by the Colombian culture of improvised rhyming called “trovas” and later on being exposed to New York’s hip hop landscape, Hex soon began writing his own rhymes at age 12. Later, after relocating once more to South Florida, he met high school friend and fellow MC Tek-nition. Hex and Tek went on to release multiple projects and garner some relative notoriety in the underground. I've covered his projects on the site, but below is a joint he titles, "This Is How You Murder a Kanye Classic," which I'm (sorta) embarrassed to admit, I didn't know was a Kanye beat. Shrugs... nevertheless, he kept his word and bodied it! I don't post a lot of loosies, but the content and his flow made me stop and pay attention, which checks both boxes on reasons to share this here. Watch it below...