Freestyle vs "Free"style

The English language is a beautiful thing. It is dynamic: words enter and exit the lexicon almost daily. The meaning of words change and evolve over time as well. The term "freestyle" for example, has undergone some drastic changes over last decade.

Growing up, someone who freestyled was some that could rap of the top of the head. These MCs made a conscious effort to prove there flow was "off the dome" by incorporating topics from the day (like your clothing, people around, etc). In fact, heads would get ridiculed if they were suspected of "spittin a written" during a freestyle battle.

Somewhere along the line, freestyle devolved into something less free, and more prepared. More and more MCs would show up to radio shows, rap video shows and upon being asked to spit a little something, drop a pre-written verse. Weeks later you would hear that same verse verbatim on one of their next singles. And now that I think about it, I am not sure why people consider them to be freestyles anyway. Is it because it has not been used on a song before? Is it because it because they are rapping live over a different beat?

Obviously freestlying requires more skill than "free"styling, but that does not mean that there aren't dope "free"styles. I just believe that they need to be some way to formally distinguish the two from each other.

So, out of respect to those that came before us, and those that still do it the "free" way, we need to be vigilant in making sure we make a distinction between a true freestyle and the stuff most of these cats are doing these days. Maybe use air quotes when saying the word "free"?

Freestyle



"Free"style