As as a 90’s baby I grew up with freestyle tapes from G-Unit to Lil Wayne to The Clipse. I have fond memories of hearing Wayne progress with every installment of the Dedication series, and downloading bootleg after bootleg of unreleased material from whoever I damn well pleased (*word to Datpiff).
Freestyles from millennial MC’s almost never hit my inbox, and if they do they are usually lackluster at best. I rarely peruse SoundCloud as I truly despise all that it is, but somehow came across an 18-year-old Chicago MC by the name of Kari.
In the last month alone he’s released two dynamite freestyles that have garnered thousands of plays, new fans, and tons of positive feedback. His flow is fluid, but reminiscent of vintage battle rapping from the mid 2000’s. Kari is an eclectic MC, but he has a lighthearted nature that draws influence from the soul-hop movement running rampant throughout Chicago.
(*He’s been killing shows around the city, so be sure to look out for more performances)
I was most impressed with his versatility. While the Lemonade freestyle is animated, HARIBO GUMMY BEAR is Doom-esq, with contrasting elements that match its low-budget (yet awesome) music video (below.) A new project is coming soon, so hit that follow on SoundCloud to stay up to date.
flowsfordays 