philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

The Philosophical Improvisations of Hip-Hop Freestyle

Acts that were primitively spontaneous are converted into means that make human intercourse more rich and gracious, just as a painter converts pigment into means of expressing an imaginative experience. Dance and sports are activities in which acts once performed spontaneously in separation are expressive art -John Dewey

Off the top of the dome without premeditated ideas, let your gift go . . .

Freestyle is an intimate exotic experience within the musical art form called Hip-Hop. Its only weapon is the crude black spark and the individuals experience. The expression freestyle has its roots in African-American slang. It is a coined phrase that every generation X black person should understand as leaving all your written and planned compositions at home and only bringing out your microphone and soul.

Page 1 of 18

philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

A fundamental difference that separates the art form of a so-called rapper from a freestyler is that a rapper is a counterfeit artist. An authentic artist has an intimate relationship with Hip-Hop. During the artists incubation period is when his or her freestyle should begin to develop. Websters Dictionary defines freestyle as using a certain style in a contest. However, I would like to submit to you that freestyle is a primitive way of relating to music and artthat innately Hip-Hop music is embedded into our soul through experience, and we access this realm of our spirit through our music. Therefore, freestyle does not depend on mental and logical sequence of thought. In contrast, we should avoid thinking when freestyling because raw emotions are the most valued virtue in this domain. Moreover, we as humans are taught to never let feelings or emotions control our actionsthat emotion should not dominate over the human faculty to reason. This is not acceptable when we begin improvising or freestyling because feelings become the catalyst for spontaneous expression. To a rapper, improvisation is a struggle because the art

Page 2 of 18

philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

form, which is Hip-Hop, repels the rapper with its pretense of virtue. His extreme insincerity is similar to a man who says he loves a woman but spends no time developing and cultivating a relationship with her. Instead he would rather purchase material items to appease her needs, thus exposing himself as a cheap pimp. Similarly, freestyle is the barometer that determines if an artist has established a relationship and a high level of comfort with Hip-Hop. It becomes a consecrated ritual rather than an opportunity to devalue what is sacred. When freestyling, a persons experiences become the pigment they use to paint their picture. The African-American experiences become the means and often the raw material used during spontaneous acts of expression. Once the beat drops, this expression becomes a basic instinct of arousal. Just as freestyle is the spontaneous form of the expressive art form of Hip-Hop, improvisation is the art of unplanned creation. For a rapper to be able to improvise, he needs to have a foundation of skills. Within the art form of rap, the MC who improvises or freestyles is usually using a drum track or band.

Page 3 of 18

philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

What mostly separates a rapper from a Hip-Hop artist is his or her ability to improvise or freestyle on the spot. In fact, freestyle has been a common practice for artists throughout the legacy of Hip-Hop. While freestyling is the ability to find structure and make sense out of a random thought pattern, finding some type of flow out of nothing, meaning no prewritten or recycled raps, is the main goal of improvisation. As a rapper develops as an artist over time, his seemingly random lyrics become increasingly controlled, and as the MC matures in his skills, his freestyle and delivery should improve. _____________________________________________________________ The Art of Not Knowing

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Albert Einstein For quite sometime in the world of education, knowledge or rational is seen as the most important trait of

human development. For we valued the ability to not be lead by emotions but to make rational decisions. From generation to generation, we have viewed knowledge as a better way to

Page 4 of 18

philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

function in life. For they have tried to measure our knowledge and cognitive abilities through IQ test, etc. Albert Einstein suggests in the above quote that imagination is better than knowledge because knowledge is limited. It is limited in what one can grasp or conceive in one moment. Now, for him to say imagination is better than knowledge that is to suggest that something we can not measure, such as Imagination, is better than that which is all ready concrete, our knowledge. We can measure knowledge by a variety of different test therefore gauging knowledge. Knowledge has always been exalted by men, but when have we ever heard someone say, forget about knowledge and just get some imagination. This would mean ignore the physical and embrace the spiritual. Imagination must not be limited if knowledge is limited. For imagination is a bottomless cup. The word imagination comes from the root word imagine and the root word to imagine is image. So, imagine is a verb. The act of visualizing something in your minds eye. So, here we have the act of doing something before one is able to create a image. We must imagine the image of the thing that we want to create and the

Page 5 of 18

philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

image prompts the mind to act in the visualizing mode of imagining to bring forth the creation. Therefore, the image is the idea in seed form. The image gets planted in the soil of imagination for it to grow. So, imagination is the faculty of the human mind that makes sure that the image gets accomplished. It is the housing center of the person who conceives the image. Furthermore, knowledge without imagination is void of potential (if you can receive it imagination is mans omnipotence). So you see knowledge is limited without imagination, but, imagination can not get the job done without the seeds of knowledge for these seeds impregnate the idea. Knowledge is essential to the miracle birth of creation. Likewise, imagination expands and increases the possibilities. For example, one may know that they need to cross the river and even have the knowledge to know that the rivers current is too fast and the river is too deep to swim across. Although, crossing and how to cross without killing ones self is imaginations job. Imagination draws from knowledge and makes it all possible. Now that I have shown you how knowledge is limited. I

Page 6 of 18

philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

would like to submit to you that knowledge is a hindrance and a blessing to an artist when engaged in the act of spontaneous creation i.e., freestyle. For the art of freestyle is the act of not knowing. The artist must trust that the seeds of his skills will blossom and be accessible to fill in the gaps of the process of freestyle. Which can be fearful to him if he is a novice. For the fear is in not knowing and this is frightening to a person that wants to succeed without failing. But, in contrast, the very thought of no failure is insane because no one could succeed without failing. In all honesty, for one to freestyle they must have a portion of blind faith. If I may, the Bible states;

Prophesy according to the proportion of your faith. Romans 12:6

This is a spiritual truth that one can only do a thing to a degree that they believe they can do it. Your omnipotence or potential will not awaken to bring forth your creation. In a television documentary on Stevie Wonder, he stated in an

Page 7 of 18

philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

interview that when he goes into the studio to record:

I always leave room for God to show up.

This is a deeply profound statement for it suggests that he has faith in himself and he honors the divine presence within. For improvisation, the spontaneous act of rhyming offthe top of your head, is the way that a Hip-Hop artist communes with his god-self. The ability to not think or lean upon mental faculties but just rest in the state of just BEING and removing ones self from under the curse of thinking. Also, if I may again quote from the Bible and reveal a spiritual truth of freestyle. It states in Matthew 10:19:

But when they deliver you up take no thought of how or what you shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what you shall speak. KJV

Many may think that there is no spiritual origin to the things

Page 8 of 18

philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

they do but that is not true because everything has an origin. For the act of improvising is the act of channeling. As one grows and becomes more intimate with the art form of HipHop their faith should increase. They should have the heart to jump out there and try to swim no matter how deep the water is. For if you jump out in six feet or twenty feet the act of treading water is the same no matter how deep the water. Improvisation is the act of releasing the imagination and embracing the feeling of not knowing. Freestyling is not an intellectual process, rather a deeply felt something that can only be expressed musically through the body i.e. dance or lyrically rhymed out. This process in which we are speaking of falls in the affective domain where rational thought and thinking are not employed but only the ability to react to the music. In realm of education there is a word to prove that art is a worthy discipline just like Math and History etc. They use it as a means of definition.

FeelingFul knowledge and KnowledgeFul Feeling.

Page 9 of 18

philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

Broudy.H.S. 1972 Enlightening Cherishing: An Essay on Aesthetic Education. Urbana: University. Press. Moreover, freestyle is the activity of a spontaneous flow of not knowing where you will end up, walking by faith, blind in the area of your destination but yet the pleasure is in the process rather than in the final product. The art being the experience; filling in the spaces while trying to compose and maintain structure.

The Art of Inquiry

As an artist deepens their relationship with Hip-Hop their freestyle should become more purposeful and rhythmic. A sign of a mature artist is the way he makes sense out of his randomness. Here is a fabricated freestyle that will serve as an example for the inquiry process within Hip-Hop criticism. So, one will be able to discern if an artist is actually freestyling. Mcs are so elementary like A,B C I will C

Page 10 of 18

philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

(see) them ease on down the road, or Ill flush them down the camode. Now an aesthetic inquiry would ask the question, is this MC really improvising or was this a premeditated written rap? Hip-Hop criticism may pose the question, what is an actual Freestyle? Is it simply a way to rap randomly regardless of whether its pre-written or comes off the top of the head at that moment in time and space? There has been much debate in various circles on what freestyle actually is. Lets say, for the sake of aesthetic inquiry, that it is the latter. If it is, how can we tell if the artist is coming off the top of his head with the rhyme? The only way to detect this is to notice his flaws, relying on the fact that their is no such thing as perfection. The trick of freestyling is to harness random thought patterns and make sense or structure out of it in your delivery. For example, in the above fabricated rap it states, MCs are so elementary like A, B, C, which sounds controlled, however, it is in the next thought pattern that he is going to have to know what to say even before he says it in order for it to make sense.

Page 11 of 18

philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

He says, I will see them ease on down the road, or Ill flush them down the commode. During the time when he is saying the last word in the second to last line, down the road, this is where the mind releases the next phrase to connect with the last word. No matter how outlandish the word is, the developing artist needs to say it. The artist does not have total control over how the structure of his rap will come together. He demonstrates this when he says, or Ill flush them down the commode. Now we can get a glimpse at where the artist is going by what the first two lines were suggesting. This particular song is building itself on battle rhymes. However, the MC can easily change the direction of the rap like a tamed horse. His imagination controls the whole improvisation.

When an artist is freestyling, it is the releasing of the imagination in action. The imagination is controlling where the flow of the rap will go depending on the nature of the situation. There is usually no particular theme, but the artist is trying to find ways to connect what he said previously building line upon line and theme upon theme into a whole

Page 12 of 18

philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

compositional piece. As John Dewey said In an experience, flow is from something to something. In the experience of improvisation the flow is built upon the past lyric of the composition. Additionally, the artist uses a random thought pattern while trying to maintain structure and simultaneously compose the rap. This all leads to an inevitable potential for flaws. The art of it all is when flaws make sense. So, the flaws are not flaws at all, but this ability comes only with experience. An artist does not have such control but will develop control over time, through incubation process to improve and perfect his artistic craft.

Improvisation: The Birthing of New Ideas

The emergence of an idea is determined by the relationship that an artist has with the art form. In Hip-Hop, there must be a sacredness and a mutual respect for this act of spontaneous expression. The Hip-Hop artist is almost like a Native-American beating on his drums and chanting to evoke a

Page 13 of 18

philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

spiritual presence. Whether they realize it or not, the instinct is natural. To the casual observer, the chanting appears to be nothing more than the drummer beating himself into a frenzy, when really he is trying to tune into a channel and find a frequency to obtain a new revelation. This spontaneous act of expression calls for the artist to find a groove or a resting place, in the music or on a drum beat, whatever they are using for a canvas. Before one can ever freestyle or create their composition, it is essential that they find the level of comfort and relaxation with the music. At this point, the artist can begin to muse or meditate about which direction they want to go. It does not matter that the artist does not consciously know what direction they want to go. However, the music becomes a drug for the conscious mind to lay down its inhibitions so that the subconscious can begin to realize new ideas.

The freestyle session is an experience within itself. Before words can begin to emerge from the subconscious mind the numbing of the conscious mind by the music must be complete. For the realization of imagination to occur, it is

Page 14 of 18

philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

imperative that the artists inhibitions and fears be put to rest by the music and groove that he has found. This spontaneous act of expression creates a drift that the artist must flow into and begin to express the subconscious minds ideas and imagination. This blind faith is necessary so that the moment is not lost in fear. Most people begin to catch a flow initially, but then they get so excited at how one line or two to four lines were successfully connected that they abort the process due to the hype of the moment. A novice is interested in fleeting success; an artist is searching for an idea rather than a rhyme. Depending on the sacredness of the freestyle session, this act of expression will lead to new artistic discovery. Consequently, it is kindred to stumbling upon buried treasure without a map in hand. However, it is the vibe or energy of the moment that give way to blind faith in order to step out into the current and let the stream carry the person away. If it leads to the ocean, flow with it. If it leads to a pond, flow with it. If it leads to the breakers, flow with it. The key to discovery is to find meaning and structure out of lack of self-control while simultaneously seeking to broaden what is already being said.

Page 15 of 18

philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

The process of the spontaneous act of freestyling will lead you to your promised land. The process of creating meaning is more important than actually rhyming verse to verse. If the artist says something with enough passion and meaning behind it, it will demand approval because of its inherent potency. An artist could say, Im walking down the street, rhyming to the beat, makin everyone move their feet. Yes, these words rhyme but they lack style and aesthetic beauty. That same artist could say, What up for-real, lets get down, and check out this new smoke. Though this doesnt rhyme it has eloquence, style, and meaning that goes beyond the simple goal of finding a rhyme. The artist is on a quest for something more profound in meaning and should never be tempted to search for any rhyming word simply to connect the previous line. The full creative impulse must be expressed though some say skills should never be sacrificed for style. However, I feel the spontaneous act in search for meaning is the act of expression. This process of spontaneous expression is a metaphysical and transcendental undertaking of creating something out of nothing. For example, when I think back on

Page 16 of 18

philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

most of my personal creative processes. Most of my raps come from times when I was driving in my car freestyling. Usually I have a title before I create lyrics. My song Peppermint Cool was conceived in the car while listening to an instrumental track. That particular day I felt cool for some strange reason and the word peppermint was a description of my feeling. I connected the two together and this inspired my creative processes. I began to meditate on what Peppermint Cool meant to me. As I wrestled with this problem, I allowed my subconscious to take control. My primary improvisation sessions were in my car while I was driving to and from work. These freestyling sessions lent themselves to new artistic discoveries. The vibe or energy I derived from the freestyle session is an aesthetic experience in itself. Keith Murray said in one of his raps, I need a lot of music and a rowdy atmosphere to even think clear, this statement has a lot of meaning in it for me. My interpretation of it is that for him to get aroused to a certain level of aesthetic sensitivity, he needs this external inspiration to begin to release imagination in a new way. The title Peppermint Cool came out my mouth

Page 17 of 18

philosophical fresstyle

9/25/06 6:12 PM

just as randomly as thoughts came to mind. Along with the vibe of the drum track the words Yo man, Im glad that schools out, Pour that brew out, emerged and told me in what direction my subconscious was leading me. Then I began to build on my song by turning the music back and reciting the words over again. I came to the conclusion that what I was trying to reveal was not destructive or negative, but instead positive energy. The next line flows off like this. Lets get bent, and light incenses, to Peppermint and cool out, and cool out... I could then retaste the flavor of the first two lines so that the transition I made to the next statement have the same feel. This flavor drove the lyrics in the same way the Native American chants serve to contact the spirits.

Page 18 of 18