Step 5. Rap about things around you
This is definitely the best way to prove to the crowd that youre really freestyling and not just spitting something you wrote in your room the night before. Its also a huge crowd-pleaser, cause its impressive and it makes everyone real glad that theyre hanging out with you. Rap about things you see. Incorporate objects, actions, people, clothing, situations, and sounds into your rap. When Im in the shower, Ill rap about what kind of soap Im using:
Trying hard to get clean, maybe just a smidgen,
Make my Dove dirty, oh, now I call it pigeon
At a battle competition, this is crucial. Youve got to spit things specific about your opponent. These are the hardest-hitting punches. Take Iron Solomons opening lines against The Saurus in a battle on the streets of New York. He looks his opponent up and down, sees that hes wearing shorts, and then spits:
Maybe you should have come here rocking a better flannel,
Or at least some long pants,
You should have checked the weather channel.
One of the freestyle kings is a rapper from North Carolina named Spectac, who can spit a rhyme off the top of his head that sounds like it was pre-written. Ive heard Spectac freestyle for 40 minutes straight over various beats, and Ive seen him in action at a show, getting some kid to walk around the audience pointing at things and Spec rhymes about it. I asked Spectac what it takes to freestyle. Heres what he told me:
Honestly, first of all, you have to have a love for the music and not just the hip-hop genre. You have to love the instrumental. Once you have the passion for it, anybody can develop the ability to freestyle. It comes down to how much time youre willing to invest in practicing that part of the art. When Im freestyling, Im thinking ahead. Im definitely thinking ahead. At the same time, I dont get too far ahead of myself. You try to enjoy it with the crowd. Enjoy the punch lines, but keep yourself focused on the fact that the party isnt over.