The internet broke into pieces on Thursday (Dec. 14) after one of the greatest emcees of all time, lead lyricist of hip-hop band The Roots, Black Thought, hypnotized the masses with a ten minute long lyrically luxurious freestyle on Funkmaster Flex‘s Hot 97 show.
Over the classic instrumental of Mobb Deep‘s “The Learning (Burn),” the Philly wordsmith flawlessly performed a series of mind-twisting rhymes filled with darts of social awareness, black pride, and hip-hop cultural prestige.
Black Thought proves exactly why he is considered by many to be the greatest emcee of all time. His wordplay in this freestyle is a type that is beyond just being impressive, it is a certified record of the tactic’s mastery.
“Pre-Kardashian Kanye my rhyme play immaculate…”
Depicting his unapologetically dominating flow, Black Thought mapped out his ability to form heavy phrases with cloudless cadence throughout the ten-minute jam tackling the effective reach of his solitary rhyming technique.
“I made the 21 pound for some a new found religion
When money’s put down there’s only one sound I make
OGs and young lions equally proud to listen
The secret, the mile, the ism, the algorithm
Coming from where only kings and crowns permitted the darkness
Where archaeologists found my image in carved into a scroll holding a message for you “
Social media went abruptly in awe over the electrifying performance of Black Thought with many declaring the freestyle as one of the greatest in the history of hip-hop, including Diddy.
THIS IS THE GREATEST FREESTYLE IN ALL OF HIP HOP HISTORY!!!! @BlackThought https://t.co/IffabCoZcV
— Diddy (@Diddy) December 15, 2017
@blackthought channeled 10,000 ancestors!! I'm sitting here stuck ! He hit glow mode !
— ghost (@therealstylesp) December 15, 2017
In late 2017 @blackthought just made a major case for going even higher in the all time MC rankings… that freestyle is INSANE just based on memorization alone…. thank you Thought! @funkflex adlibs/reaction ? too
— Peter Rosenberg (@Rosenbergradio) December 15, 2017
A Black Thought Freestyle Thread. https://t.co/Cu6kvYcV3p
— Questlove Gomez (@questlove) December 15, 2017
Fans recalled and brought to the surface the recent commentary of DJ Vlad, during a sit down with resident guest Lord Jamar where he says he does not think Black Thought is a top emcee: “Strictly as an emcee, I would not put him on my top list.” There is a great request for DJ Vlad to reevaluate his critique, mainly because hip-hop heads found his standpoint to be overtly unsuspecting.
Many pillars of understanding are bound to come out of this freestyle, and the number of quotables proves it. This is an exhibit of what the crystal clear sophisticated emcee sounds like and there is no denying that Black Thought is undisputedly one of the greatest emcees of all time whose superior skill set is unmatched.
Watch Black Thought’s historic 10 minute Hot 97 freestyle, below.
