Rap City. The title alone evokes countless memories of tuning into the beloved BET series, where rappers across the country would make an appearance to talk about their music and, more importantly, freestyle.
From its inception in the late ‘80s to its end in the late ‘00s — three Rap City specials have since occurred following the show’s cancellation — Rap City served as a platform for many of rap’s greatest MCs to come through and perform. Depending on the era, you could catch hosts like Joe Clair alongside A Tribe Called Quest, or Big Tigger — arguably the most popular era of the show — offering some bars alongside 50 Cent and G-Unit, Kanye West and many, many more.
But among those many freestyles were some standouts: highlights that have stood the test of time and are talked about and shared on social media to this day.
Below are the best freestyles to ever come from Rap City. From Clipse’s enthralling 2002 to Lil Wayne’s incredible 2007 freestyle effort, these are the 12 best Rap City freestyles.
Lil Wayne (2007)
Lil Wayne really had no sympathy for this instrumental. Rapping over Collie Buddz’s “Come Around,” this Q-45 era Rap City freestyle is one of the more beloved and fondly remembered performances from the series, and for good reason. Here, he has words for Gillie Da Kid (who had claimed to ghostwrite for Wayne) This one line alone — “You don’t wanna crash like la-la-la-bamba, yeah” — could go up against full Rap City freestyles.
Cam’ron (2003)
Cruising over the instrumental for Scarface’s “My Block,” Cam’ron makes it sound like he’s taking a stroll around his own stomping grounds as he unloads clever quips with a rare mix of humor and outright dexterity. Among the bars is the most audacious of brags: “F Mike, ‘til you see me, you never saw Thriller.” Naturally, even his Dipset groupmates hollered approvingly. Throughout the rhyme session, Killa Cam counts cash and rhymes simultaneously, an effortless feat of multi-tasking that only added to the freestyle’s greatness.
Eminem (2000)
It’s astounding what Eminem manages to do in a little under a minute for this freestyle. Using a rhyme scheme where he jumps back and forth between an e’s and aw’s cadence over LL COOL J’s “4, 3, 2, 1,” Em gives a straight-faced deluge of bars that are as skillful as they are hilarious, including this standout: “I’m cold enough and hot enough to freeze and unthaw.”
50 Cent & G-Unit (2003)
Right around the time Tupac: Resurrection was released, G-Unit made time to spit over the beat for the soundtrack’s lead single. 50 Cent, Young Buck and Lloyd Banks didn’t disappoint. And although each rapper has their standout moments — especially 50 offering two freestyles while introducing Buck and Banks for theirs — Buck is arguably the highlight. Here, Buck raps about how he’d rather “grab a strap” over dealing with New York battle rappers, and “the consequences when you play to win.” With his mix of tight rhyme schemes and dense street vignettes, it’s all a masterful exercise in rap theater.
Juelz Santana (2007)
Juelz Santana must have been taking notes when Killa Cam counted cash during his Rap City freestyle, because he too gripped a wad of cash during his triumphant freestyle over Jeezy’s “Go Crazy.” “And my money gettin’ chubby / Puttin’ calories on,” to the brilliance that is, “I’m paid, Thomas Edison’s around my neck / light bulbs, I send Con Edison a check,” he reaps, flaunting a level of creativity that’s as indelible as his confidence.
Ye (Kanye West) (2004)
Ah, the old Kanye. Rapping over a beat he made for someone else — Ludacris’ “Stand Up” — is already a flex. But the fact that he undeniably killed his freestyle, too? Sensational. He just doesn’t let up, filling each and every second with bars contextualizing his journey from perpetual underdog to burgeoning rap superstar. What stands out most about this performance is just how playful it is. You can tell Kanye takes rapping seriously, but he’s clearly enjoying himself. You can’t end a bar saying “single” like the “e” has an acute accent and not be having fun.
Method Man (2004)
Backed by the instrumental for Seth Marcel’s “Hardcore,” Method Man is unrelenting in his freestyle, offering multiple quotable punchlines. In his most notable bar, he spits, “Don’t get comfy, I cramp your style like a monthly” (a line he used to similar effect a year prior on Ginuwine’s “Big Plans”) and “Just know I kill a mic like that kid from ATL.”
Clipse (2002)
Operating with a quasi-homefield advantage, Clipse sounded right at home as they spit over The Neptunes-produced “Cross the Border (J.B.M. Remix)” instrumental. Both Malice and Pusha T offer effortless raps, with the latter ending his verse with a fitting declaration: “I am him / Virginia’s own, creme de la creme.”
Also, extra points have to be given to Pharrell serving as the duo’s hype man, and his producer-in-crime, Chad Hugo, just chilling in the back, taking in Clipse’s rhymes while presumably thinking to himself, “Damn, me and Pharrell snapped.”
JAY-Z (2003)
Honestly, if JAY-Z had decided to just rap his then-new “P.S.A.” verse on the instrumental for Ludacris’ “Stand Up,” it would’ve been fine. But then he decided to diss Nas and speak on the cons of engaging in direct rap beef, rapping, “Real ni**as respect, fake ni**as want beef / ‘Cause they know that’s the only way we ever gon’ speak” and “Mobsters opt to not get in beef / There’s no business in it, it only brings police.”
Mobb Deep (2000)
Prodigy was known as one of the fiercest wordsmiths in the rap world, and during Mobb Deep’s 2000 Rap City appearance, he reminded us why. Spitting over a slightly altered version of Mobb Deep’s own “Get Dealt With,” he let loose self-mythologizing bars that let you know his name held weight in the streets, unloading a couple movie references to make the point: “I’m not a Boyz n the Hood addict / Menace fanatic / I live the street life for real so I could brag it.” For his part, Havoc bot bars off, too as he made known the distinction between the real and the fake: “They see the cheese but they don’t see the trap / Not a real-life cat but a real-life rat.”
MC Lyte (2002)
Over a beat-boxing Big Tigger, MC Lyte gives a freestyle that serves as a testament to her being revered as one of rap’s greatest MCs who also happens to be a woman.
“I rock for those in they b-boy clothes / Ice in they nose / Hangin’ out the Range Rove / Bangin’ the Bose,” she spits to begin her verse. You can tell she’s having fun with it, too; her performance was a reminder of just how she became a rap legend.
A Tribe Called Quest (1996)
Most Rap City freestyles that tend to get highlighted are from the Big Tigger era, so it’s easy to forget (and dismiss) the freestyles that came before then, including this standout from A Tribe Called Quest that was done when Joe Chair was host.
Going in over Heltah Skeltah’s “Operation Lockdown,” Q-Tip unloads a barrage of serious: “With a twist, of my nouns and verbs / Consummated, into a sentence, these are words.” But it’s the late Phife Dawg who steals the show, calling out subpar rappers and MCs who claim Brooklyn but actually reside in Lynbrook (it sounds much less cool than Long Island, which the village of Lynbrook is a part of).
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