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Freestyle rap fight advice is hard to get by. As a ten year veteran battle rapper who gains about 80% of my battles, I determined to share about usable tips that have helped me live the combat rap circuit.

Focus on specifics. Generally, the more specific your punchlines are, the harder they hit. Try and chooes things about your opponent that aren’t immediately obvious. For example, I once battled a guy with an Oakland A’s baseball cap. Rather than talk trash about the A’s- which wouldn’t be a good idea in Oakland- I began to list off nasty words about him that start with the letter A, such as “arrogant, asinine, and atrocious” not to mention a few others that don’;t belong in print. This brings me to my next point…

Win the crowd. Most freestyle rap battle tournaments are based on audience vote. Even those that are decided by judges are still heavily influenced by the crowd. The lesson from this? You aren’t there to beat a rapper; you’re there to win the crowd. To do this, avoid saying stupid things aimed at the audience. If I had bagged on the A’s the crowd would have turned on me, which is why I kept it specific without losing the crowd in my freestyle.

Be prepared. Anyone who’s battled for a while knows the importance of scoping out the competition. If I’m in a room full of MC’s, believe me, I watch every battle and try to come up with punchlines about each MC. Obviously, I spend more time focusing on the best ones, as there’s a greater chance I’ll battle them at some point! Having just a few minutes before going up on stage can help you come up with a few one liners that just may win the rap battle for you.

Show no mercy… most of the time. There is a very thin line in a freestyle rap battle between entertaining and abusive. Generally, you can be as ruthless as you want provided it’s entertaining. We all know someone who can say anything and get away with it; try and be that guy when you’re on stage. There are a few times when laying off a topic will score you big points. For example, MTV hosted a rap battle where one of the MC’s was blind. The guy who battled him, Swan, poked fun at the guys small stature, his goofy clothes and weak style. He didn’t make fun of the kids blindness (except saying “I’m a take you outside and rob you blind”). If he had, he would have lost the crowd in a nanosecond. But he didn’t and won the battle based on merit. A dope freestyler can rap about anything; he proved he could steer it away from the most obvious points.

With this freestyle rap battle advice you should be capable to mark high marks the following time your on level.

Want to learn more about how to rap, then visit this site for more freestyle rap tips.