Abstract

Freestyle is a spontaneous activity that depends heavily on the uncertainty of the performance. Similarly, neither the performer nor the audience can predict the rhymes coming next and in what context they are based. Hoffa is an intriguing subject, particularly his freestyle technique that combines aggression with absolute authenticity. This commands respect and gives the audience a sense of authority and trust in his technique and style. Hoffa is a valuable case study to observe the freestyle phenomenon, dance culture and sampling processed in real-time as it moves into the digital era. This essay will describe the developments and transformations of the freestyle form. It will also describe the technique of real-time experiential exchange, followed by YouTube and the digitalization of the freestyle tradition.

Introduction

Before rappers, there were MCs and B-boys, DJs, graffiti artists and breakdancers who created a scene in any open space. They heavily rely on face-to-face social contact and interaction. These social engagements forged the environment today; the amalgamation of dress, style, art and music became inseparable from hip-hop during its formidable years. Much of this cultural milieu was left unrecorded and undocumented until 1979, when Sugarhill Records released their infamous single “Rapper’s Delight” on vinyl. The idea of a live event being recorded shocked the original proponents of hip-hop(Dimitriadis, 1996). When the first vinyl record was released, hip-hop entered public discourse and the public sphere, effectively separating it from its ancestral roots. Face-to-face social contact and interaction would no longer be necessary. Instead, in its place, another paradigm would develop to encourage efficient production, recording, synthesizing and distribution. This would reshape the foundation of hip-hop. Hip-hop became a mediated and commodified form through vinyl, videos, and CDs. No longer requiring a community, hip hop now manifests a closed narrative structure, a pattern recognizable by the audience, predictable wordplay, and individualized listening. This would circumvent hip hop’s true origins. The resulting definition would become “rap music.”

It is essential to distinguish between studio and freestyle performances because they are based on pre-defined expectations. Studio-based performances are heavily influenced and pre-determined by expectations stipulated by a studio, an agent, and a record label. In such instances, a studio MC may not even write his/her lyrics or co-perform with another artist determined by his/her record label for strategic relations or to expand or extend partnerships for future collaboration opportunities. On the other hand, freestyle relies on the complex ambience that intertwines art, music, beatboxing, breakdancing, and general dance, with a high-intensity battle occurring in real-time. This was hip hop’s spirit. When Grandmaster Flash was approached about being recorded for the first time, he said, “I didn’t think anyone else would want to hear a record re-recorded onto another record with talking on it” (George, 1993: p. 49).

Hip-hop literature often ignores the body. The body itself is an instrument of expression. Unlike Western, rock, and classical music, hip hop, like jazz and blues, emerged out of “experiential worlds,” according to Stuart Hall (1992), only to encounter what Foucault (1982) described as “innovating forms of subjectivity” (p. 126). These “evolving forms of subjectivity” manifested in group consciousness are made possible by available arenas (Dimitriadis, 1996). Hip-hop expressed social realism and urban ghetto decay, creating protest discourses from the late 1970s until the early 1990s. In the “Days of Old,” as Paris insisted, “keeping it live was a familiar scene” (The Days of Old, Paris)—referencing the communal expectation of hip hop, dance, art, and DJing forming an integral part of the “Days of Old.” Blues, for example, when performed live, is a flexible form that combines the exchange of fluid dance, unstructured rhymes and verses, asynchronous melodies, and abrupt breaks that one could argue parallel freestyle hip hop (Dimitriadis, 1996). In essence, the body is an agent that expresses these subjectivities in flexible lyrical forms imbued with contemporary improvisation. Listening to hip-hop, one could hardly resist the impulse to dance, sway, or snap their fingers. The body is vital to this mediating communication, especially in music videos. This unstructured form encourages interruptions from breakdancers, a dance form with characteristics from distorted bodily communication, unmetered and asymmetric. It is no wonder hip-hop and breakdancing are two art forms sharing an almost unique and identical cultural history (Dimitriadis, 1996).

Freestyle is a spontaneous activity that depends heavily on the uncertainty of the performance. Similarly, neither the performer nor the audience can predict the rhymes coming next and in what context they are based. This dual partnership between performer and audience suggests that hip hop, in a freestyle event, is an engaging social experience. This open form allows performers and the audience to co-create the freestyle event (Dimitriadis, 1996). Even studio performances, when given a music video, express a likeness to old-school hip hop (i.e. hip hop of the 60s till early 90s), e.g. Nostalgia by Masta Ace, performed in an open space (park) with scratching and breakdancing. Freestyles have evolved, except this time, the arenas for musical production have split into online video-sharing platforms like Metacafe, MySpace, ReelTime, Viddler, Yahoo! Video, Youku, and YouTube®. The spaces that once inspired the underground culture of freestyle have become scarce. However, the demand for freestyle events continues growing as more individuals pressure studios to produce mediated experiences through mobile phones, tablets, and desktop screens.

YouTube® is an intriguing platform, saturated with volumes of incalculable data and videos uploaded by hundreds of thousands of users daily. The platform is designed to encourage video sharing, uploading, and archival distribution of user-generated content. While user-generated content is interesting, this essay focuses on the idea of a freestyle event being recorded. This event that was before bound to its space has now become part of a complex, intricate entertainment industry. The freestyle event is recorded for many reasons in high 1080p definition, designed for transmission and viewing on any platform capable of viewing videos. Since mobile technologies can now capture videos at least 720p or more, recording freestyles in their highest resolution has become a standard.

Justin Edwards (aka Math Hoffa), a battle rapper from Brooklyn, New York, will be this essay’s preoccupation: a hip-hop freestyler whose reputation has attracted mainstream hip-hop artists like Drake. Math Hoffa is infamous on YouTube, with a total view count of over several million; Hoffa is a formidable entity on YouTube and social media. Hoffa has been challenged several times and insists a battle with Jay-Z is imminent. Hoffa is an intriguing subject, particularly his freestyle technique that combines aggression with absolute authenticity. This commands respect and gives the audience confidence and trust in his technique and style. Hoffa is a valuable case study to observe the freestyle phenomenon, dance culture and sampling processed in real-time as it moves into the digital era. This essay will begin by charting the developments in freestyle, the technique of real-time experiential exchange, followed by YouTube and the digitalization of the freestyle tradition. Lastly, Math Hoffa will become an invaluable case study as this essay explains how a hip-hop artist freestyles in the digital era of modern communication.

The Dominion of Freestyle

First and foremost, the freestyler is an artist, a master of linguistic expression and wordplay. His talents are part of a poetic storytelling tradition as old as utterance. Hip-hop culture is unique in the concept of battling. This is a highly competitive art of rapid discourse aimed at conquering and embarrassing the opponent through a synthesis of creative wordplay and a typically aggressive attitude. The freestyle event is highly situational and depends almost entirely on the minute-by-minute interactions between the DJ, the opponent, the audience, the arena, and the location because any of these elements can become a topic of discussion. Alim (2006) described the arena as a cypher, “the hyperactivated, communal Hip Hop lyrical testing and stomping grounds of verbal mastery” (p. 18). The cypher itself is alive–it compels the ongoing exchange of ideas, dialogue, and discussion, perhaps even facilitating new allegiances, encouraging verbal sparring, and sharpening one’s skills to prepare for an imminent battle (Alim, 2006). Century (2002) reported that hip-hop mogul and revered businessman Jay-Z once declared that the act of battle is the “true essence of hip-hop.”

The release of Sugar Hill Gang’s hit record, “Rapper’s Delight,” merely paved the way for mainstream acceptance of this genre of music. However, freestyle art has always existed long before hip-hop vinyl was produced (Dimitriadis, 1996). Rap is a by-product of an underground culture of breakdancers, graffiti artists, and b-boys whose lifestyles matched closely with urban life, often in areas of significant impoverishment in the Brooklyn, New York ghettos. Shortly after rapping was introduced, battling followed, contesting space to choose the victor of the arena, the territory, and whose name would be remembered. Gang Starr’s (DJ Premier & GURU) seminal track, “Code of the Streets,” in their infamous album Hard to Earn (1994), exemplifies this ghetto urban street life, the source and inspiration for freestyles. Anderson (1991) argued that the “code of the streets” was emblematic of an alternative status-based social economy, subverting middle-class ideologies. A person’s social status, education, and money are not necessarily the elements that differentiate one from another in the hip-hop community; hip-hop culture weighs different factors outside middle-class values (Anderson, 1991). The hip hop community values street smarts, the language of the community and intertextual references to other MCs, specific street slang, and stories of “the hood” — the freestyle event is an avenue that channels dialogue between two familiar MCs in the backdrop of a community that confirms their talents.

A freestyle event consists of a battle between two rappers, either pre-arranged, organized, or spontaneously erupted in real-time. Most people experience a pre-arranged event. In most cases, the opponent is not readily known. This requires the MC’s ingenuity to rely on the opponent’s tone, clothing, the audience, and the initial perceptions gathered of the adversary. This is to construct viable and strong battle rhymes. In the heat of the moment, generating rhymes as quickly as possible is the only way to ensure survival in the cypher- an attentive audience quickly ridicules a silent MC. The hallmark of a freestyle battle is the MC’s quick wit, creativity and lyrical proficiency in successfully outpacing, outsmarting and outlasting his adversary.

In cases where a freestyle event is pre-arranged and formalized, battles are held in crowded arenas, and participants are given a fixed amount of time for their performance. With their limited time, participants must strike quickly without inspiration; however, some MCs use a specific lyric that the audience knows while encouraging them to interact with the MC. In this type of formalized freestyle, the audience would decide the victor by booing, name-calling, or catcalling the loser. This would force the adversary to leave and bring in another challenger to take his place. In some cases, a beef is triggered, a “conflict, squabble, or a problem” (Smitherman, 2000: p. 65), or a persistent disagreement between individuals that leads to a rap battle, whose intent is to defame the opponent by announcing their fraud in a public scene.

In some cases, the cypher is not readily discernible. However, two rappers who have feuded create studio tracks to address their discontent. This is as though they were engaging in a battle rap with a designated, present cypher. For example, Jay-Z had beef with rapper Prodigy, a member of Mobb Depp. This later led to the beef between Nas, Mobb Deep, Jay-Z, and his Roc-A-Fella Family group. Outside the cypher, Jay-Z introduced the song “Takeover” to his live stage performances to address his beef. Subsequently, artists traded disputes over formalized records and never in freestyle arenas. Jay-Z’s “Takeover” has the characteristics of verse in any freestyle battle.

Similarly, Nas’s response, “Ether,” retorts almost identically. In 2012, Nas and Jay-Z ended their beef and collaborated on several records (Williamson, 2012). Cooperation born out of beef is one of the strongest examples of non-violent resolve the cypher can encourage. To this day, Nas and Jay-Z may be seen at party scenes together.

‍

Lyrical wordplay is an essential part of freestyle battling. Among the elements of freestyling are dance, DJing, sampling, beatboxing, and breakdancing. Osumare (2002) says, “Breakdancing is embodied text just as rap music is oral poetry” (p. 36). Like a rap battle requiring tremendous skill and practice, so does breakdancing. This thrives on improvisation and the experiential performance, the raving crowd, and the spontaneity of that experience. The freestyle battle encourages uniqueness, individuality and a never-before-seen allure; much like its breakdancing counterpart, the dancer speaks through his/her performance (Osumare, 2002). Before and after a battle, breakdancing, beatboxing, and DJ scratching may or may not occur. However, when it does, it ignites and amplifies the battle experience. The battle exists within a communal circle, wherein the performance between the two opponents, breakdancers, may also compete with each other in a similar light. The breakdancer exercises tremendous skill to convey his/her cultural identity, consciously delegating his soul as part of the performance. He adopts body language to synthesize minute-by-minute interactions with the audience to deliver an unforgettable experience. B-Boys, graffiti artists and DJs are integral to the freestyle battle, each contributing their own experience and building the freestyle moment to an unprecedented level. Beatboxers and DJs like Rakim and Eric B’s synthesis have inspired several B-boys and dancers alike, particularly B-Boy Junior, one of the most talented breakdancers in the world.

‍

Freestyling existed in a closed community in the Bronx, New York and could only be experienced once. The feud between two battling rappers would be resolved in that instance. The whole experience would be discussed, shared, and eventually become part of hip-hop cultural discourse in the Bronx. Initially, battles would be waged, and the cycle would continue as inspired hip-hop artists make their names known, breakdancers make their techniques visible, and DJs recognize their talents.

Freestyle 3.0

Freestyle is no longer bound to a single stage; two emcees extend the stage to every available device capable of receiving and playing back video recordings. In the same way, as rappers extend the cypher (aka arena) through studio recordings to be heard by their distant adversary (Nas vs Jay-Z), the freestyle event that is captured and replayed extends the cypher to include any other emcees willing to take the challenge, as well as the audience who view these typically closed performances in public spaces. What is so unique about recording a freestyle performance? Is it not the uniqueness of the performance, the exclusivity of the moment that gives freestyle its appeal? Recording the freestyle performance allows others to review the imagery. This confirms the authenticity of the rappers involved and their talent being reaffirmed by an audience that is more significant than the available cypher.

Freestyle events have long since been recorded on VHS cassettes, through hand-held portable video recorders, and on vinyl; however, these experiences have typically been monodirectional and prevented individuals from exercising their own embedded creativity. The freestyle experience used to be monodirectional; that is, the event would be transmitted through the audience, and the audience would declare the victor, and if the freestyle event were captured and played back in audio formats, it would only be experienced by that single individual, or if played aloud for a whole group—but that group would not be able to exercise their input, because the freestyle event is technically over. In the moment a freestyle event is captured and retrieved, essentially, that freestyle event is over with or without digitization.

What is different and unique about recording freestyles in today’s digital era is the quality and inherent potential to disseminate to anyone’s mobile, desktop, or tablet device. This is in ways that encourage participation. User-generated content and commentary are also recorded, shared and interacted upon. This significantly widens the scope of the typical cypher, involving the audience in a perpetual participatory scene—the audience can now leave comments on video-sharing platforms and continue discourse about the freestyle performance.

Current, convergent technologies have allowed the audience to document their experiences through video recording-enabled devices like tablets, desktop computers (webcams), and mobile phones. Furthermore, platforms that encourage video uploads may or may not be incentivized—video uploaders may be compensated for their uploads based on the advertisements they permit them to show. For example, on YouTube®, uploaders may choose whether or not they want their videos to display advertising. If they decide to display advertising, they can subscribe to cost-per-click earnings. Uploaders are not only influenced by the possibility of earning income from the videos they upload. In addition, they can also archive the videos and share it with family and friends. The image below is a small example of the ubiquitous use of recording technologies in live performances, including freestyle events.

‍

This performance by mainstream hip hop artist B.o.B at the iHeartRadio theatre in New York is a small example of the ubiquitous nature of video-recording-enabled devices. Users experience the event in real-time through their mobile devices, which have an outstanding picture and sound recording quality. Users can record at 1080p with Dolby Surround® Sound (in some cases). Additionally, users try to ensure that the video is straight, that it is easy to identify the performer, and that sound quality is unhindered by the recording. Users directly at this on-site concert performance may compete for whoever can upload their video the quickest (typically on YouTube) before anyone else to get the most views for their videos and, if advertisements are enabled, earn the most capital from ad-sharing. Users can directly syndicate the performance instantly from their recording devices to others who watch this event from their own devices. These devices are not present at the live performance but can still “experience” the event like the individual recording the performance. Before the end of B.o. B’s live performance, fans will share their photos or videos on Facebook, YouTube, Metacafe, or instant messaging mobile applications like WhatsApp, Viber and Skype®. The thrill of sharing an event with friends and family motivates individuals to record live performances. An ulterior motive may be to earn money by uploading their videos to video-streaming platforms like YouTube.

Most video-sharing platforms provide the element of personalization and the flexibility for scalability; however, Vimeo (vimeo.com) (a viral video-sharing/ sharing platform) and others impose limits that continually hinder or prevent mass uploading by applying allowed bandwidth limits, enforcing storage limitations, and creating queues delaying uploads for many hours, sometimes even a whole day. For the “real-time” user, waiting a whole day is completely unacceptable, especially in real-time performance—whoever uploads a video typically acquires more viewership. Live streaming requires immense resources from the provider (YouTube), and it is not something video-streaming platforms readily offer to their users; however, on monumental occasions like the Super Bowl final match and President Obama’s State of the Union address, would YouTube offer live streaming? YouTube decides newsworthy events and concerts do not belong in this category. Users often upload videos of concerts on the same day as the concerts. If a platform does not offer live streaming, users will find another means of sharing video in real time using livestream.com. On livestream.com, users can simultaneously record and stream live concert performances for their fan community and online partners.

With YouTube’s increasing popularity and its massive user community, it is the most attractive platform for users to share, interact, archive, and disseminate recorded concert events. YouTube’s statistics reveal that it has over 1 billion users, 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, and, every day, people watch hundreds of millions of hours on YouTube (“YT”). YT has a mixture of users and registered businesses, each uploading videos of enormous quality. Users and businesses can design their own “channels” however they see fit; however, businesses typically have more lavish designs and bolder typography (see Vevo’s official music channels). Subscribers to these channels are notified when they release their latest video. Despite the various metrics YouTube provides, the most concrete measure of a channel’s success is the number of people who subscribe to it. Some users professionalize their videos to mimic the high-quality productions of music videos uploaded on their competitor’s channels; for example, three individuals in a band named Boyce Avenue have uploaded nearly 300 videos to YouTube, with a total of 6,905,401 subscribers and 1,816,379,194 views (Boyce Avenue, 2015), using professional recording equipment, excellent cinematography and video editing to render their music videos almost indistinguishable from their MTV channel competitors. Having developed an enormous fan community that supports their music, Boyce Avenue has attracted significant attention. The group is now signed to a recording contract to perform live concerts. Depending on the niché, users may succeed and live the American Dream.

When a live concert is recorded, users can comment and share their observations, contributing to the ongoing discourse about the live performance. Recording and uploading a live concert has the characteristics of reportage or evidence that an event occurred. These videos are used and replayed on daily television broadcasts like CNN, CBC, NBC, BBC, etc… When a freestyle event is captured and posted to YouTube, the cypher expands to include anyone worldwide. This allows anyone to continue debating and leaving comments in the uploaded videos to support or retorts about the live performance. The videos may (or may not) be embedded into other websites that further discuss the freestyle event (hiphopdx.com, killerhiphop.com, etc.), criticize the performance or give unrelenting support to their favourite. In a way, a freestyle performance can be experienced continuously, even years after the live event, preserved in its authenticity—the cypher will always remain expanded, displacing the “real-time” experience of traditional freestyle performances.

Math Hoffa and Freestyling

Math Hoffa (“Math”), or Justin Edwards, is a Brooklyn-born MC whose difficult upbringing resonates with an incomparable “realness” that most rappers lack. Math is 190.5 cm tall, and his presence alone triggers intimidation; his voice carries an aggressive, dominating personality (Wikia, 2015). In an interview preceding a rap battle, Math stated, “Nowadays, you just gotta be bold and loud. I think it’s time people saw the difference in the authenticity of what a performance is” (King of the Dot Entertainment, 2013). Ever since Math’s first “punch” in a freestyle against Dose in a URL battle (Sunny, 2012), he has been dubbed the bully of hip-hop battles. His physical stature and “evident” aggressive Brooklyn edge draw immediate attention, and his previous altercations on Brooklyn streets form a steady basis for opponents to attack Hoffa. In his battle against Stay, the crowd (fully aware of Hoffa’s background) criticized Hoffa heavily for his attention to “realness,” claiming that his previous altercations had only proved otherwise. Stay is also a phenomenal lyricist focused on historical patterns, social inequalities, and contradictions. In contrast, Hoffa’s lyrics focus on urban dissolution, weapons and violent expressions in day-to-day life, using stories of his personal life as sources of creative lyrical expression. Stay is uncertain:

Ever since Calicoe punked him, his verses just don’t have any substance. His career was built up by being a bully, and Math never done shit. That’s what happens when acting so tough gets, instead you could have amounted to something; every battle you’ve done since has been counter-productive. You went from the highest paid battler to rapping for practically nothing. You turned your road to success into a path of destruction (King of the Dot Entertainment, 2013).

In the Math Hoffa: The Untold Truth documentary aired on YouTube by Unbias Review (2013), Hoffa explains that his altercation with Dose was a “setup” and that he never punched him; furthermore, he claims that the battle rap scene feels staged, or lacking in “realness.” Math does not consider himself a freestyle; he prefers to call himself a performer, entertainer and musician. He focuses primarily on his music, beats, and developing complex rhyme “bars” for soundtracks. In addition, Hoffa does not like being touched when freestyling. Math is a formidable opponent in the freestyle event because of his focus on performance. First, he is an entertainer, and his hip-hop lyricism targets audience satisfaction rather than his opponents’. The following image shows his audience-focused performance.

Math belongs to the industry of freestyle hip-hop, in which leagues, tickets, and platforms for ongoing and continuousdialogue about hip-hop performances take place. In cases where a winner is undecided, Math participates in rematches to clarify minor differences between his performance and his opponents. Freestyle performances are recorded, replayed, and remarketed to build YouTube channel reputation. Math participates in various leagues: King of the Dot (KOTD), Ultimate Rap League (URL), Do not Flop, SMACK, and Fight Klub. Each of these leagues operates a business model incorporating massive social media and, specifically, YouTube marketing. Previously, a freestyle event could be triggered to resolve a territorial dispute between two rappers in any given area (but not necessarily)—rappers may not have been paid for their participation in the freestyle event. Due to the general shortage of space, leagues book large venues, create tournaments and invite the most talented freestylers to compete against one another. These venues sell tickets and attract large numbers of people to fill their venues (there can be as many as 2000 people in a venue). Those standing behind freestylers may pay higher rates, like backstage passes. According to Hip Hop DX, “URL smacked heads with a $75 General Admission, $125 VIP, $300 Stage Pass special…and sold out the joint…in a recession” (Hunte, 2012)—Webster Hall is a venue that can hold up to 2000 people meaning valuable profit margins for SMACK. Furthermore, these high-definition videos recorded at each live performance are uploaded to YouTube to form an additional basis for capital procurement: freestylers can directly advertise on these videos, promotional links can be shared and embedded about their upcoming albums, and circulated across news websites and the discourse about a freestyle performance can continue perpetually. The URL battle league was created on the night the entire venue was booked for the battle between Math Hoffa and T-Rex (Unbias Review, 2013).

Math is no stranger to this perpetual discourse because he follows blogs and social media channels that discuss and spread rumours about his conduct and performance (Unbias Review, 2013). Consequently, he records interviews and seeks opportunities to express himself or address other hip-hop artists. The following is a brief list of his YouTube use to settle disputes, clarify his conduct, or express opinions about his freestyle events:

1. ‍Math Hoffa Rookies Vs Vets Predictions & Message To The Rookies W/ Nunu Nellz & Jaz The Rapper (15moferadio, 2015)
2. Math Hoffa: If Jadakiss Wants $700K I Want $1M To Battle (Full Interview) (FORBEZDVD, 2015)
3. Math Hoffa Addresses Rumor That He Sued Dizaster Over KOTD Fight (djvlad, 2014)
4. Math Hoffa Talks About 500k Fight With Bitchazzter! (Mathhoffa, 2015)
5. Math Hoffa July 4th “Unofficial Response” To Dizaster (Mathhoffa, 2014)

Math is aware that his activities on YouTube will generate attention that will work in his favour: he wants to build momentum and fan support that will attract battle leagues to invite him to freestyle battles. These freestyle battles lack music and dance. Math says the battle scene consists of “rap schemes and displays,” suggesting that freestyle battles are oriented toward performance and dialogue. “Displays” could mean any number of things: the brand of clothing artists wear, the way they move their bodies and the interactions artists have with their audience. Hoffa focuses on “display” and performance to catch audiences’ attention. Brinkman (2001) argued that a strong coupling existed between rap and DJing, stating that DJing gave rise to hip-hop and rap music. DJs were the central element of live performances, and rappers supported them (Brinkman, 2011). With the growing complexity of the hip-hop industry and the preferences towards recording studios to create beats and instrumentals, DJs lost their significance at live events:

On stage, the change was manifested by the popularity of DAT tapes, whose superior quality made live DJs superfluous, because the tracks came across clean with no chance of the inadvertent record scratches or turntable shaking that hampered live shows. Unfortunately, lost in the translation was the interplay between a live DJ… and the audience. (George, 1998: 112)

Quality soundtracks replaced DJs in live performances—beats can be played through a loudspeaker in live performances. George references turntable imperfections in freestyle hip-hop live performances, and freestylers often use them to interact with the DJ. In analyzing the orality of hip-hop freestyle, Pixel (1996) references Supernatural (considered one of the most notable freestylers of all time) to illustrate the inherent dynamism of freestyle. Pixel (1996) says when there is no beat and no discernable elements during a live performance, freestylers challenge each other’s wits by trading insults back and forth. Math’s reference to “displays” does not include interactions between him and the DJ—this is battle rap and not just freestyle — this is contrary to Large Professor’s expression of what freestyle means:

That’s hip-hop, you know what I’m saying, when you could just feel it…you can feel the beat flow through you, man, where you just know every lyric gonna come on time, and half the words gonna rhyme. (Large Professor, quoted in Fernando 1994, my emphasis)

Supernatural embodies the characteristics of an older tradition of freestyle hip hop, not much different from this freestyle 3.0 era that I describe. However, unlike current battle rap, it relates to freestyle music. During a studio freestyle performance, pixel (1996) illustrates that Supernatural found that his friend George was eating a bagel in the studio. He incorporated that detail into his first rhyme.

Supernatural gonna step in, and I’m stand-in
For George, ’cause you know he’s able
But he can’t flow right now ’cause he got a stupid bagel
Crumbs in his mouth so let me turn it out. (Supernatural, quoted in Pihel 1996: 258)

Consequently, the hallmark of a freestyle event is the unpredictability and lack of knowledge of the lyricist’s ongoing intentions (Pihel, 1996). Math is a highly articulate freestyler whose intentions are clear: to perform and earn his adversaries’ respect. When asked how he prepares for freestyle battles, Math answers that he cannot disclose his preparation techniques (Unbias Review, 2013). More often than not, Math freestyles with unpredictable rhymes and displays. As aforementioned, Math is a musician, and his preparations are as necessary as his rhymes’ execution. Unfortunately, he does not interact with any other element on the stage except his opponent, and he does not like to be distracted (the audience throwing towels at him in his Fight Klub battle against Serious Jones, Daylyt spilling water on his shoe, and Dose’s snapback hat touching his face). Math is slightly partial to freestyling because it has taken away from the performance and created an arena where two talented artists ridicule one another for profit: “Making music is more natural for me, battle rap is like you gotta convince yourself you don’t like this person” (Unbias Review, 2013). Math prefers to entertain, laugh and raise his hands. He repeatedly tells the audience to “hold on” and addresses himself as the dominant lyricist in any performance. Math Hoffa’s battles have a gritty “realness” to them, and it concerns him when his opponents rap what they mean (i.e. threatening, or provocating him:

Interviewer: You kind of got this bully persona in battle, how do you feel about that? Is that something that you like, or do you feel like it is a representation of you?

Math Hoffa: I feel like it is a misrepresentation of me because I don’t go around putting my hands in people’s pockets or grabbing people by the collar. Many of the situations I’ve got into were either, aside from the two incidents on camera, me either defending myself or expecting someone to be what they were saying they were, you know what I mean? I came to battle rap from the streets, I was selling coke, dope, running around, people doing shit for me, you know? I had a different perception of it than battle rappers rapping about it. I thought many more of them were like me, so when people said certain things, I felt I had to respond in a certain way ‘cause that was what it was. I heard stories…but after a while, I learned that a lot of it was fiction. It was just, you know, I understood it.  Ok, you guys are rappers; this is what people were talking about. I get it. Being from Brooklyn is different, especially from my area of Brooklyn, Crown Heights. We didn’t like dudes who rapped about shit. We knew that they didn’t live…we didn’t like that type of shit; we used to frown on that type of shit…We like the real shit.

I now dislike battle rap because I can see it turning into WWF. I feel like that’s where it’s going. There’s going to be costumes, people coming out with all types of crazy shit, capes, shades, looking like macho men. It’s going to take the real edge off. Every rapper exaggerates, but there’s gotta be a base where people can say, I understand where he’s coming from, where people can say that I know certain things went on in his life, where he could say this and that. You know, it’s that autobiographical feel. (Unbias Review, 2013)

Math is uncertain about current freestyle battle performances. He states that they are superficial and do not favour the best rapper in any performance—he believes that battle leagues have preferences and favourites.

Math directs all his attention across popular social media channels, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, mainly because they are cost-effective for an artist who is usually “thin on paper.” Using YouTube, Math requests battles with individuals he deems are the greatest in the industry of freestyle hip hop: Loaded Luxx, T-Rex, and Murda Mook. Math also arranges battle raps by contacting other freestylers if they would like to do a battle rap together. Some of these freestylers he deems to be professionals and others as “dickheads” simply because of their ridiculous demands and communication difficulties. The post-freestyle performance is also significant because arrangements and preparations for the next battle occur, including blog commenting, video postings, interviews, radio commentary, etc., until the next battle is arranged. There needs to be enough competition between artists to sell venues.

In the Untold Truth, Math complained about the unfairness of battle leagues because of the preferences they gave to particular emcees (URL, Fight Klub), including how the URL battle league no longer communicates with him, how they disrespect rappers and so on (Unbias Review, 2013). Interestingly, when asked which battle league treated him the right way, he said the Rap Battle Network. This is a notoriously famous pay-per-view YouTube channel whose income streams are offline (i.e. venues and ticket selling) and online (YouTube-organized pay-per-view arrangement). Through associations and similarly presented videos, YouTube offers relevant and user-targeted videos for each visitor, comparing videos they have liked, commented on, and shared with videos they may enjoy. Additionally, each YouTube channel allows users to view other similar freestyle battle rap channels.

YouTube continues to play an essential role in radically mediating and changing how people and users interact with this genre. YouTube allows freestylers to create profiles and upload freestyle sessions. Like-minded users, artists, and even battle leagues with prolific YouTube profiles will see and hear the freestyle techniques and lyrics. With YouTube’s growing viewership and community, freestyle has flourished. This has encouraged Math Hoffa and provided him with an extended cypher, as well as other artists participating in multiple freestyle battle leagues.

Conclusion

Hip-hop continues to evolve and adapt to socio-political conditions and technological innovations that are both challenging and enduring. Although the basic tenants of freestyle from the early 80s and 90s-era remain unchanged, with the growth and expansion of convergent media (video-enabled tablets and mobile technologies) and for complex industrial and economic reasons, freestyle live performances became challenging to arrange. During the early days of freestyle hip hop, the cypher of contention consisted of a neighbourhood and those who orally spread the story of the freestyle performance; recorded performances were rugged and costly to distribute—the cypher could only be experienced at the moment of its production. With the advent of convergent media, individuals are more likely to record and save videos for various reasons. For example, video publishing platforms like YouTube have embedded their services into mobile devices as applications with the opportunity for users to instantly upload their recorded live performances into their profiles (i.e. channels). The cypher can also be streamed live using live-streaming applications, extending the cypher to include anyone worldwide—the proving ground is not just their neighbourhoods, as freestylers compete for titles of worldwide significance.

Bibliography

Alim, S. (2006). Roc the mic right: The language of hip hop culture. New York: Routledge.

Anderson, B. (1991). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. London: Verso.

Boyce Avenue. (2015, April 25). YouTube.com. Retrieved April 25, 2015 from boyce avenue – YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/boyceavenue/about

Brinkman, B. (2001, December 6). Bababrinkman.com. Retrieved March 3, 2015 from Exchanging the currency of authenticity: Live performance and mediatization of hip hop culture: http://www.bababrinkman.com/doc/essays/currency.pdf

Century, D. (2002, January 6). Newyorktimes.com. Retrieved March 10, 2015 from Two of rap’s hottest return to the dis: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/06/style/two-of-rap-s-hottest-return-to-the-dis.html

Dimitriadis, G. (1996). Hip hop: From live performance to mediated narrative. Popular Music, 15 (2), 179-194.

Fernando, S. H. (1994). The new beats: Exploring the music, culture, and attitudes of hip hop. New York: Bantam.

Foucault, M. (2014). The subject and power. In M. Foucault, Beyond structuralism and hermeneutics (pp. 208-226). Chicago: Routledge.

George, N. (1993). Hip-Hop’s Founding Fathers Speak the Truth. The Source, 50, 44-50.

Hall, S. (1993). “What is this black” in black popular culture? (G. Dent, Ed.) Black Popular Culture, 21-33.

Hunte, J. (2012, September 28). hiphopdx.com. Retrieved March 13, 2015 from SMACK Talk: The Secret Success Of The Rap Battle Industry: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/editorials/id.1962/title.smack-talk-the-secret-success-of-the-rap-battle-industry

Nelson, G. (1998). Hip hop America. New York: Penguin.

Osumare, H. (2002). Global breakdancing and the intercultural body. Dance Research Journal, 34 (2), 30-45.

Owyoung, T. (2013, April 7). Ishootshows.com. Retrieved March 23, 2015 from Photos: B.o.B. @ iHeartRadio Theater: http://www.ishootshows.com/2014/04/07/photos-b-o-b-iheartradio-theater/

Pihel, E. (1996). A furified freestyle: Homer and hip hop. Oral Tradition, 11 (2), 249-269.

Red Bull. (2012, October 13). Redbullbcone.com. Retrieved March 20, 2015 from Red Bull BC One World Finals Brazil 2012: http://www.redbullbcone.com/en/battles/red-bull-bc-one-final-brazil-2012/

Smitherman, G. (2000). Black talk. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Sunny, S. (2012, September 29). Vladtv.com. Retrieved March 10, 2015 from Exclusive! Why Math Hoffa Punched Dose: http://www.vladtv.com/blog/123775/exclusive-why-math-hoffa-punched-dose

Wikia. (2015, April 7). Battlerap.wikia.com. Retrieved April 10, 2015 from Math Hoffa – Battle Rap Wiki: http://battlerap.wikia.com/wiki/Math_Hoffa

Williamson, M. (2012, July 25). Sociallysuperlative.com. Retrieved March 10, 2015 from Nas hosts the moet rose lounge celebrating life is good with dinner and party at bagatelle: http://www.sociallysuperlative.com/2012/07/25/nas-hosts-the-moet-rose-lounge-celebrating-life-is-good/

YouTube. (2015, April 25). YouTube.com. Retrieved April 25, 2015 from Statistics – YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html

‍

Videos

15moferadio. (2015, March 22). Math Hoffa Rookies Vs Vets Predictions & Message To The Rookies W/ Nunu Nellz & Jaz The Rapper [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5-d8nFpifg djvlad. (2014, November 13). Math Hoffa Addresses Rumor That He Sued Dizaster Over KOTD Fight [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-IRwN-7gW0

Don’t Flop Entertainment. (2013, March 23). Math Hoffa vs Shotty Horroh | Don’t Flop Rap Battle [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O49_SEWL-Dg

FORBEZDVD. (2015, January 9). Math Hoffa: If Jadakiss Wants $700K I Want $1M To Battle (Full Interview) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jxcEfnmIfE

Mathhoffa. (2015, January 11). Math Hoffa Talks About 500k Fight With Bitchazzter!  [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux3UHHYrt_g

Mathhoffa. (2014, July 5). Math Hoffa July 4th “Unofficial Response” To Dizaster [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeCXzUbqHGE

King of the Dot Entertainment. (2013, February 19). KOTD – Rap Battle – Pat Stay vs Math Hoffa – Co-Hosted by Drake & Maestro Fresh Wes [Video file]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hfh8SOILiM

Unbias Review. (2013, November 12). Math Hoffa: The Untold Truth (Unbias Review) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2O76g2PK4o

0