South African creatives have found a way to cope in these trying times. Freestyle Friday has morphed into a weekly entertainment segment where every talented rapper gets the chance to flex their lyrical muscles.
Freestyle Friday challenge: South Africa is rapping again
Stogie T can be credited as the one who brought the trend to Mzansi’s social media. Since the nationwide lockdown was implemented in late March, the rapper has encouraged MCs to come forward with their best bars and inspire the return of lyricism in music.
It’s only a handful of rappers who have the natural ability to piece a verse together with intricacy and great wordplay. What makes a freestyle stand out is the rapper’s ability to engage his or her audience with words and show off his writing skills.
It has very little to do with the instrumental and other distractions found in commercial bubblegum music that circulates our airwaves.
Hip-Hop loyalists naturally gravitate towards this art and every Friday thus far, we have witnessed the depth of South Africa’s talent. The unsung heroes have their own platform and hashtag to share their talent and it is a wonderful thing to see.
Here are this week’s best freestyles
Stogie T led the way in this week’s Friday Freestyle. This time around, he brought it back home, using Mdu’s Siya Jola instrumental.
As expected, the rapper blew it out of the park. The rappers who followed after did not disappoint either. If South Africa’s music business had A&R’s, we would be sure at least half of these guys are on their way to getting record deals.
These are some of our favourite Freestyle Friday entries picked from Twitter: