Over twenty years after the murder of The Notorious B.I.G., the musical pantry is bare and fans will take any new crumbs they can get. It’s in the spirit of feeding the hungry that we offer you a previously unreleased freestyle from 1997, which has now come to light in a (sigh) Pepsi commercial. Via TMZ, Biggie laid down the lyrics in an appearance on the New York radio station Hot 97. Afterwards, it pretty much disappeared — until now. In defense of the makers of sugar water, it really is a whole entire verse about Pepsi. He raps, “Big slam, quick slam, tin can, whatever/ Whether too cold or too hot/ You got to keep Pepsi in the freezer/ I keep a 3 liter for my crew/ My girl like them diet joints too.” Ask not why Biggie Smalls keeps his soft drinks in the freezer, and instead e...
Blood Orange (photo by Ben Kaye) and 박혜진 Park Hye Jin (photo courtesy of artist’s Bandcamp) Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes, has teamed up with Los Angeles experimental pop musician 박혜진 Park Hye Jin for a new song titled “CALL ME (Freestyle)”. The track marks his first Blood Orange release since guesting on The Avalanches collaboration “We Will Always Love You” back in February. Today’s so-called “freestyle” falls somewhere between a remix and an interpolation of Park’s original “CALL ME” from 2019. Hynes alternately raps and sings over that song’s weary, lo-fi piano beat for a while, and then Park pops in later for her own verse. The collaborative track is accompanied by a video featuring footage that Hynes shot while wandering around New York City in March. It pairs perfectly wi...
Denzel Curry has unleashed a new freestyle, “I’m Just Sayin Tho”, featuring Atlanta MC Tommy Swisher. In a statement on YouTube, he wrote he was releasing the track now, “because we need music and happiness at a time like this.” Here, Curry borrows a track produced by The Olympicks, which had previously appeared on the Rick Ross rarity “Bust Back”. But while Ross used the epic strings as an excuse to stunt, Curry’s verse is more relatable. He starts with the words “2020 vision”, and then uses it to look backwards: to That’s So Raven, Mr. Miyagi, and the Rugrats. But while he plans to skip a visit to Dr. Lipschitz, his childhood comes loaded with trauma. “Try to keep the balance, be honorable and sadistic/ Lost a lot of homies, but in my dreams they revisit.” Check out “I’m Just S...
Bay Area rapper Watsky was looking forward to touring behind his latest album, Placement — that was, until the coronavirus derailed his plans. Now with nothing but time on his hands, the notable Def Poetry Jam alum has decided to spend his quarantine setting a world record for the longest freestyle. The MC born George Watsky is specifically aiming to rhyme for a mind-boggling 33 hours and 33 minutes straight. If he’s successful, he will break the Guinness World Record for the Longest Continuous Rap Performance, which is currently held by Pablo Alvarez’s nearly 26-hour triumph set in 2016. The 33-year-old Watsky kicked off his mission Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. PT and is hoping to make it to the finish line that’s set for Thursday, May 7th, 7:30 p.m. In true quarantine fashion, Watsk...