Freestyle (battles)

In the world of hip hop, freestyle is the ability to rap improvised with or without a microphone on or without a base. The person who improvises is called a rapper, MC, freestyler, improviser, or rooster (only in the case of battles). In the case of Spanish-speaking countries, competitions are held where participants compete by doing freestyle. They are improvised verses.

Features

There are several ways to do freestyle, classified into modalities usually used in official competitions. In the first place, there is the freestyle libre, which consists of a confrontation of 2 or more people whose purpose can be recreational, or in competitions where the purpose is related to attacking the rival based on events, highlighting their defects, making comparisons, technically surpassing him in rhymes, and/or more aspects. Battles can be in pairs, in groups of three and four, and even free-for-all. With or without a microphone, with a theme to stick to or without it, on a stage or in the street, with a track; a cappella; or, with a person performing the base (beatbox). The battles are characterized by being varied and being able to take place anywhere. Battles between MC's at a competitive level have juries. If the jurors consider that an MC won, they will be able to point their arm at him, write his name or select him from previously handed out cards. Otherwise, a so-called "replica" or "extra round" is established as a tiebreaker.

Fighting of cocks

The most well-known field of free is the competition between cocks, where two or more improvisers compete to win the title in a competition; without neglecting the value that is considered thanks to the complex handling of lyrics, metrics (skills), phonetics, use of time and pauses, etc. In addition, the content of the rhymes is taken into account. That is to say, that the rhymes are not superficial, they lack meaning or coherence and the participant flows the base well. The most important factor is the impact on the rhyme that "hits" to the opponent, also known as a punchline or auction (generally occurs on the 4th bar, although it can also be seen on the 1st or 2nd bar).

The most important or professional rap competitions have their official rules, and the participants are obliged to follow them. To deliberate a winner in these battles, the previous data is taken into account to carry out a vote, which must be as objective as possible. In juried competitions, the opinion of the public must not influence the decision of the judges. One of the best-known competitions, sponsored by the Red Bull company, bears the name of "Red Bull Batalla de Gallos". The Rap Battles have gone viral in recent years as a result, mainly, of street tournaments such as El Quinto Escalón, or professionalized battles such as the aforementioned Red Bull or the FMS.

Red Bull Battle of Roosters

It is an event organized by Red Bull since 2005. It consists of a world series that echoes its fame internationally, because it is also organized in several Spanish-speaking countries whose winners later they compete with each other. Par excellence, it is the most recognized freestyle competition that brings together the MC's winners of the competitions organized in each country, facing each other in a specific venue. To compete it is necessary to be 16 years old or to be the same. As a slogan it has the phrase "Many speak, few rhyme, only the best improvise".

As mentioned, there is the National Red Bull that classifies its winner directly to the International. The countries that have Red Bull Nacional are Spain, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Ecuador (in 2021 there were in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic). In addition, there are divisions where regional competitions are held in each country.

History

Edition	Headquarters	Champion	Subfield	Third
Madrid 2005	Club Gallica	Frescolate	The Child	Ehler Danloss
Bogotá 2006	Colosseum Gallica San Miguel	Rayden	TekOne	Candy Man
Caracas 2007	New Circus of Caracas	Link One	Jay Co	Kim
Mexico City 2008	Anahuacalli Museum	Hadrián	Mena	Basek
Madrid 2009	Macumba Room	Noult	McKlopedia	Rayden
2010-2012	Red Bull Parón
Buenos Aires 2013	Estadio Malvinas Argentinas	Dtoke	Jony Beltrán	Chuty
Barcelona 2014	National Museum of Art of Catalonia	Invert	Kaiser	Sony
Santiago de Chile 2015	Avenida La Paz	Arkano	Tom Crowley	Aczino
Lima 2016	Costa Verde	Skone	Jota	Arkano
Mexico City 2017	Arena Mexico	Aczino	Wos	Arkano
Buenos Aires 2018	Club Hípico Argentino	Wos	Aczino	Valles-T
Madrid 2019	WiZink Center	Bnet	Valles-T	Aczino
Santo Domingo 2020	Pinewood Studios	Rapder	Skone	Aczino
Viña del Mar 2021	Fifth Vergara amphitheatre	Aczino	Skone	Gazir
Mexico City 2022	Palace of Sports	Aczino	Gazir	Mecha

Country title(s)

Country	Champion	Subfield
Spain	6	3
Mexico	5	3
Argentina	3	1
Puerto Rico	1	1
Chile	-	2
Colombia	-	2
Venezuela	-	1
Peru	-	1
Dominican Republic	-	1

MC Supremacy

In 2015, the first international tournament was created, based in Peru; also known as SMC. Currently, more than 20 Latin American countries participate. It stands out for being the window that allows competitors with less reflectors to be known on the scene, having been the first international experience for consolidated rappers today such as Trueno, Gazir, Teorema, MNAK, Skiper, among others. Chuty is the current champion, being three-time champion of the tournament, along with Aczino.

In addition to functioning as an international tournament, with its respective national qualifiers, Supremacía MC set a precedent by diversifying alternatives such as the “Interescolar”, “Interuniversitaria” and “Interplazas” editions, forming a complete competitive circuit.

Edition	Champion	Subfield
2015	Aczino	Kaiser
2016	Stick	Shecka
2017	Aczino	BTA
2018	Chuty	Theorem
2019	Aczino	Chuty
2021	Chuty	Nekroos
2022	Chuty	Marithea

Freestyle Master Series (FMS)

In 2016, the company Urban Roosters created the first professionalized freestyle competition in Spain, called the Freestyle Master Series. It is a league of 12 participants in which they face each other in 11 days. His system is based on a ranking where each rapper adds points (or not) in a day according to the result of their battle:

• Victoria: 3 Points.
• Victory after replication: 2 Points.
• Defeat after replication: 1 point.
• Defeat: 0 Points.

At the end of the season, the sum of those points results in one winner and two relegations. To get promoted you need to be active in the music scene, so there is a ranking for access to the league, which works according to popularity and the position that the MC occupies in the different competitions. from the country. The classification system is as follows:

• The 1.o is crowned as FMS champion.
• Posts 11. and 12. descend directly.
• Posts 9. and 10. dispute a battle against the 3.♪ and 4.o post promotion respectively: if they win, they stay; if they lose, they go down and climb up the promotion. This is done through a play-off organized by Urban Roosters.

For the FMS International there are 16 freestylers competing in the tournament. The first round is the round of 16, but there is a preliminary qualifier of 3 days in different venues (league system) to decide who gets into the International Final.

Season	Spain	Argentina	Chile	Mexico	Peru	Colombia	International
2017	Chuty	-	-	-	-	-	-
2018	Chuty	Wos	-	-	-	-	-
2019	Chuty	Thunder	Theorem	Aczino	-	-	-
2020/21	Bnet	Stuart	Nitro	Rapder	Jaze	-	Aczino
						-	Gazir
2022/23	Gazir	Papo	Nitro	Aczino	Jaze/Toy Lokaso	Valles-T	Chuty

Covid-19. This change has remained so to date.

Battle of Masters

Also known as BDM, it is another of the existing competitions. Created in 2014, it was a place of welcome for Chilean freestylers and allowed them to grow exponentially. Subsequently, international competitors began to be invited to their competitions. And, in 2015, Aczino and Kodigo would go as visitors to Chile for the first time; Aczino would win after a tough confrontation against Teorema. The following year, both would face each other in the 2016 BDM, making this battle one of the most viral in history. Currently, the champion of this contest is Chuty.

Edition	Champion	Subfield
2014	Sador	Radamathys
2015	Aczino	Theorem
2016	Theorem	Aczino
2017	Aczino	Kaiser
2018	Chuty	Aczino
2021	Chuty	Acertijo
2023	Le33	Stick

Freestyle by country

Argentina

In all areas of the country freestyle has been developing. The impact of this discipline is constantly developing and each sector of the country has its own renowned events. Some important competitions are: A Cara de Perro Zoo (Buenos Aires); Elite Free and Rosario Underfree (Rosario); Rapper Invasion (Santa Fe); Freestyle Limit (Missions); Anti Po (Formosa); Norteground (provinces of northern Argentina); Halabalusa Movement Under (Claypole); BDM Argentina (Buenos Aires); Rapublik (Mendoza); Olimpo Freestyle, Italia Freestyle and Underground Generations (San Juan), etc.

The most important competition in the history of Argentine freestyle was El Quinto Escalón, which seeded the careers of hundreds of Argentine MC's and led to artists that today have great international recognition.

Among the best-known freestylers in Argentina are: Klan, MKS, Dtoke, Sony, Papo, Dozer, Tata, Cacha, Replik, Mecha, Larrix, Zaina, Stuart, Nacho, Sub, Wolf, MP, Katra, Naista, Roma, Tego, Beelze, Tuqu, Mamba, Jaff, CTZ, Dybbuk, among others.

There are also other rappers who withdrew from the battles temporarily or permanently, of which many continued with their musical career having great successes, among these are: Duki, Alejo, Dam, Lit Killah, Dani, Acru, Trueno, Wos, Luchito, Ecko, Kodigo, Tiago, Midel or Paulo Londra, Sony, who decided to dedicate themselves to the world of music.

FMS Argentina 2022/23
Papo
Mecha
Larrix
Klan
Stuart
Naist
MP
Nacho
Zaina
Katra
Wolf
Tata

Brazil

In Brazil, there are currently several Rap battles that are constantly happening throughout the country. Some popular ones are Batalha do Museu, Batalha do Neurônio, Batalha da Aldeia in São Paulo, Batalha do Largo and Duelo Nacional de MCs in Belo Horizonte. Brazil is a country where the culture of Hip-Hop and freestyle is very strong.^{[citation required]}

Columbia

Although Colombia is not a country where the culture of freestyle abounds, it has had remarkable growth in recent years, with Carpediem, two-time Red Bull national champion in 2019 and 2022. Also, it is worth noting Elevn, who is another two-time national champion (2017 and 2020).

The MC that has stood out the most in Colombia is Valles-T from Cali. He is the first two-time Red Bull Colombia champion, doing so in 2016 and 2018, and international finalist in 2019, also winner of FMS Colombia 2022, beating Chang who came in second place.

Another of the roosters that has been standing out the most lately is Marithea, the second woman to win a Red Bull national final (after Kim in Venezuela). His most important role was when he faced Aczino in the God Level 4v4 in 2022, which led to a highly recognized battle, although he would end up losing after a controversial jury decision.^{[citation required]}

In February 2022, an FMS was created, which makes national talent known internationally.

Other notable rappers are: Big Killa, Ñko, RBN, Colossus, Airon Punchline and Filósofo.

FMS Colombia 2022/23
Valles-T
Chang
Lokillo
Philosopher
Airon
Letra
RBN
Carpediem
Elevn
Big Killa
ÑKO
Gavyria

Chile

Chilean territory has been the cradle for several freestylers competitions, such as BDM in its subgenres (Deluxe, Gold, Callejera), God Level and Double AA. The final of God Level International (3vs3) in 2018 had 8 participating countries, with Chile (Kaiser, Teorema and Nitro) being the winner. Teorema, has also won an international (BDM Deluxe, 2016).

The underground of this country has achieved great popularity both nationally and internationally, thanks to the DEM Battles, an urban competition that was developed in the beginning in Bustamante Park and, later, after restrictions from the Providencia commune^{[citation required]} they moved to Almagro Park. Similarly, in the underground competitions such as Batallas Catamarca and Freestyle Master Series have stood out.

Among the Chilean freestylers , the following stand out: Nitro, Teorema, Kaiser, Pepe Grillo, Basek, Acertijo, Stigma, Ricto, Tom Crowley, Drose, El Menor, Metalinguística, Jokker, Joqerr, Rodamiento, among others.

FMS Chile 2022/23
Nitro
Basek
Joqerr
Acertijo
Theorem
Bearing
Metalinguistic
Anubis
Tom Crowley
JNO
Jokker
Erreka

Spain

In Spain there are various freestyle competitions such as the Red Bull Batalla de Gallos or the Freestyle Master Series. Spain has 6 Red Bulls in total thanks to Rayden (2006), Noult (2009), Invert (2014), Arkano (2015), Skone (2016) and Bnet (2019).

Although battles were already organized both underground and at a competitive level, the arrival of Red Bull meant an increase in the reach of freestyle throughout the nation. Furthermore, Spain was the first country to host the first Freestyle Master Series in 2017.

For the vast majority of the public of free culture, Spain is the benchmark country for this discipline.

The most prominent freestylers are: Arkano (retired), Chuty, Skone, Zasko Master, Force, Errecé (retired), Gazir, Blon, Walls (retired), Khan, BTA, Sweet Pain, Sara Socas, Bnet (retired), Mister Ego, Invert, Mnak, Tirpa, Hander, among many others.

FMS Spain 2022/23
Gazir
Chuty
Mnak
Skone
Blon
Zasko Master
Sweet Pain
Sawi Elekipo
Tirpa
Sara Socas
Mister Ego
Hander

Mexico

Mexico has 3 Red Bull international champions: Hadrian (2008), Rapder (2020) and Aczino (2017, 2021 and 2022).

In Mexico, several competitions have been created such as the Fight Club, Eligere, Batalla De Maestros, Shaolin Battles , Ghetto Dreams League, Pangea or Titans of Freestyle (TDF). These events have raised the regional and national scene of Mexican freestyle. With the arrival of the Freestyle Master Series in 2019, the doors were opened to publicize the level of the battles internationally. In underground competitions, the Liga de Freestyle Monterrey (LFM) or Multiverse Freestyle League (MFL) stand out, where you can appreciate young talent from "the street" mexican.

Mexico has also been a pioneer in written battles or at least in imposing this format. Some competitions in this field are Spit MX, Line 16 or COLISEVM.

The best-known freestylers are: Aczino, Rapder, RC, Jony Beltrán, ZTICMA, Potencia, Dominic, Lobo Estepario, Jack Adrenalina, Yoiker, Garza, Skiper, among others.

FMS Mexico 2022/23
Aczino
East Wolf
Skiper
Rapder
RC
Yoiker
Dante
ZTICMA
Garza
Lirical Lancer
Jony Beltrán
Dominic

Peru

Rapper One, first national champion.

Jota MC, the biggest exponent of the Peruvian freestyle, after achieving the bicampeonate at the National Final of Peru in 2016.

The greatest exponent of Peru is Jota MC, being this two-time Red Bull champion in his country and international runner-up, after losing against Skone in the final. Jota has participated in several competitions, such as God Level or El Quinto Escalón. His style is characterized by powerful punchlines and on-the-spot responses.

Another current Peruvian figure of freestyle is Jaze, being the 2018 National Champion. This is one of the greatest exponents from 2018 to the present. Nekroos is also considered a great competitor, despite not having been a Red Bull champion, his style and level have given him a place on the world scene, having participated in competitions such as BDM (Gold and Deluxe), Red Bull, God Level, Double AA or Supremacy.

In 2019, at God Level, the team made up of Choque, Nekroos and Jaze after a tour that took place in three countries, starting in Mexico through Chile and ending the last date in Peru, are crowned the world champion of God Level 3vs3, a victory that takes him to the pinnacle of success for the first time. The level of Peruvian freestyle increased further due to the creation of its own FMS league, since new faces from Peru were selected for this, such as Ramset or Ghost (this was replaced by Litzen).

Other recognized rappers include Stick, Choque, Vijay Kesh, Ghost, Strike, Ramset, Diego MC, Blaximental, Xplain, Jair Wong, Kian and Maricielo.

FMS Peru 2022/23
Jaze/Toy Lokazo
Nekroos
Stick
BlackCode
Jota
Skill
Kian
Vijay Kesh
Diego MC
Jair Wong
Ghost
Strike

Venezuelan

Venezuela does not have its own FMS but it is a very prominent country for its rappers. In 2007, Kim MC became the first woman to win a Red Bull National. Akapellah became popular in the Latin American freestyle scene in 2011, due to the level he demonstrated in the recordings of his battles, which were not so common for freestyle at that time, without the need for participate in a Red Bull, as a springboard to be noticed within said artistic scene. She won the 2014 God Level Fest by beating Stigma. She performed at the 2016 God Level Fest, facing Aczino in the finals; however, Akapellah would cede her place to him.

It also has McKlopedia, considered one of the icons of Spanish-speaking, since he was runner-up at Red Bull 2009 or runner-up at God Level Fest. In 2019, he would be part of the first Mexican FMS; however, he finished last and ended up being relegated.

Letra is one of the most recognized rappers. He was twice champion of BDM Gold Venezuela , holds 13 international titles, runner-up of God Level AllStars (2vs2) in 2020, among other achievements. He stood out for winning the Nacional de Venezuela 2018 over Chang, Gavyria and Inmigrante (these last 2 were already champions in 2017 and 2015 respectively). Also, he stood out for his staging at the Red Bull International 2018 losing in the quarterfinals against the local and champion of the event, Wos.

Other notorious rappers are Black Code, giving a notable role in the Nacional de Perú 2020; Chang, who has participated in small competitions giving an outstanding role, being the last champion of Red Bull Venezuela 2019 and reaching the round of 16 of the International; Gavyria champion of the Nacional 2017 , in the Red Bull International 2017 he would beat the Bolivian Redección, but would lose to Aczino; Immigrant, in the Red Bull International 2015 , in the semifinals he would lose to runner-up Tom Crowley, taking fourth place after losing the consolation final against Aczino; In 2016 Lancer Lirical would win the National, and, in the Red Bull International 2016, he would lose in the first round against Papo. In 2019 and 2020, he would be present at God Level Individual and 2vs2 with Letra, McKlopedia or with the Argentine Sony.

Criteria for improvising in battle

Rapero in full performance freestyle.

There are a number of important factors that are valued when improvising:

Literary Figures

MC raping.

To decorate the "bars", to give them double meanings and/or games, figures are used, as in poetry. The main literary figures used in battles are the simile, the metaphor, the hyperbole, the calambur or the wordplay.

Flow

Usually refers to the ability to improvise by adapting correctly to the base (the melody on which it is improvised). Its importance is variable and highly subjective, since each MC values it in a different way: some believe that to improvise one must have ingenuity above all, estimating more the content of the rhymes. Others, however, believe that improvisation is a form of rapping, and therefore you should stick to the basics. Currently, the trend in competition is to value more ingenuity and leave flow in the background.

Staging

The staging is defined as ease and confidence on the stage, it is especially important in battles. An MC must improvise with strength, decision, self-confidence and confidence to cause the greatest impact and show his verbal superiority. If the MC is nervous or shows some stage fright (something common in rookie MC's), you should not let it show or influence your improvisation, but usually, and as it is naturally, these problems disappear with time and experience. It focuses mostly on the rapper's body language and his "theatricality".

Structures or metrics (skills)

It consists of the ability to link and concatenate different rhymes, alternating them. This facet, despite its difficulty, is perhaps somewhat less valued and is relegated to the background. Usually, improvisation, especially at the competition level, is governed by couplets, since the vast majority of MC's decide to be more simple and make rhymes in the form of couplets to be able to think better. and show more ingenuity in order to obtain greater recognition from the public, since this, sometimes, does not capture the structures well. Hence, it is usually said that the flow and the "structures" are two facets that only those who are MC's or who have an opinion can really appreciate. very well formed about freestyle, because on multiple occasions the public can differ from the opinion of a jury. A structure is the way of alternating rhymes in the same rhyme. That is, create a rhyming phrase to increase the difficulty. At a structural level, these rhymes can be not only with two, but also with all the syllables that the MC's capacity allows (it doesn't always have to be like this). The participant can combine different types of structures and metric resources.

Great examples are Zasko Master, Bnet, El Menor, Ricto, among others.

Double Tempo

This is the ability of a freestyler to play twice as many words at one tempo. This modality, despite its difficulty, is well valued by the judges and it is better if combined with the flow, since it sounds very good. Few freestylers have been able to stand out by combining these two facets, among them are: Khan, BTA, Chuty, Valles-T, Cacha, Sub, Lit Killah, Metalinguistics and Teorema. The greatest exponent of this modality is Kodigo, being one of the most experienced.

Punchline

It has two variants. On the one hand, the negative "punchline" is a phrase that attacks his opponent, letting him be seen as someone with little ability at the time of rapping or, remembering some imperfection in the opponent's life. It can also praise the rapper who says the phrase ("punchline positive"), denoting superiority over the opponent.

Examples:

• Aczino vs Invert (RB International 2014): "Do you think playing at home will give you luck? The same thing Brazil said and you see, they put him seven."
• Tata vs Kodigo (RB Argentina 2015): "It seems to me that you are very little blinded and with the State silver you became greedy."
• Thunder vs. Replik vs Dani (The Fifth Step 2016): “Replik So. Very good, the You can. acotar, but Trueno only has one and that will never change."
• Theorem vs Drose (BDM Gold Chile 2016): "This was actually part of the process: I fell, I got up, that's what progress is based on."
• Jota vs Skone (RB International 2017): "It is right today that bottles will rain, because I will win and celebrate with them!"