A big ass Wake Up Show freestyle cipher (1997)

Freestyles were a regular part of rap radio by 1997 but this is like a Mr Bongo regular's wet dream. It's a 37 minute freestyle session on Sway & Tech's Wake Up Show from late 1997 and the line up is immense. Kool G Rap, Craig G, Juice, Shorty Wreck, Eminem, Kwest Tha Madd Lad, Thirstin Howl, Wordsworth & Mos Def and Talib Kweli all step up and do their thing. A lot of those names were new on the scene at the time so there's definitely an element of hungry MCs with something to prove when their time on the mic comes around.
As far as I can tell, this is a simultaneous broadcast with Marley Marl who's on the radio in NYC with G Rap and the lads. At one point you'll hear Eminem (of all people) get told to hold off rhyming so they can switch over for some rhymes from the east coast.

The full tape (with the 50 mins of the show before the freestyle) is available on  the Hip Hop Radio Archive

There's a snippet of this on YouTube but I don't think the whole thing has been online before



Thanks to Random Rap Radio for supplying the tape of this (and a few others soon to come). He's about to drop a very dope limited edition cassette mix of super rare live 80s Hip Hop with the latest issue of Dig Mag, so get that.

live on stage...

Got my ticket for this (and possibly a spare the way things are going). I'm more amped to see De La and Rakim for the first time than I am Mos and Talib but all 3 acts in the same night should be great. We don't get that very often in the UK! Just hoping Rakim shows up - he cancelled his last 2 UK shows in recent years.
Good to see promoters in London keeping the shows coming. Check Ah Sh!t for the latest gig info in the capital.