I've been absolutely obsessed lately with Harry Mack and his insane freestyle rap abilities. The man's alien brain is basically a multi-core CPU, where he can simultaneously observe everything...
I've been absolutely obsessed lately with Harry Mack and his insane freestyle rap abilities. The man's alien brain is basically a multi-core CPU, where he can simultaneously observe everything around him, craft lyrics based on those observations, and rap flawlessly at the same time. I've been slowly going through each and every video on his channel.
This submission is a clip from the middle of his Omegle Bars 26 video, but is so fucking good that I had to find it on its own so I could throw into in a playlist. It's just such a damn good song, period, and the fact that its off-the-dome freestyled is insane. He even instantly turned the three suggested words into a super catchy hook, and then schemes on those concepts all throughout the rest of the song. WTF!? Harry is the GOAT freestyler, for sure. Not even Biggie, Eminem, Mos Def, Kendrick, or Juice WRLD could do that shit so quick and cleanly.
I stumbled on him a little before the pandemic through his Guerilla Bars series and got hooked! Definitely one of the very best off the dome (really wish there was a better term instead of the...
I stumbled on him a little before the pandemic through his Guerilla Bars series and got hooked! Definitely one of the very best off the dome (really wish there was a better term instead of the ambiguous overload of "freestyle"). The end of Omegle 18... my heart.
King Los, Eyedea, Big L, Super Nat, or MC Juice are also pretty up there, and everyone sort of has their own flavor or contribution. If you open it up to [writtens]((https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prmQgSpV3fA), flips in battles, or grime the pool gets too big for me to say the GOAT is anything but a cryptid. Finding talent like Sa-Roc calls back a former band teacher who'd light up when he recalled the street musicians he met in New Orleans that couldn't read sheet music but who could play anything he could throw at them perfectly by ear.
Maybe most impressive/important about Harry Mack is he's figured out the formula for how to actually package freestyling into a career? There's got to be a wave of people following him and I love that. Freestyling's lack of commercial viability stunted the art.
The biggest thing going against him is his lack of a perspective(?) and maybe for and against him is his availability. "Fairly well-adjusted Portland subarbanite that loved drumming and hiphop" just can't be the sort of thing Kendrick's GKMC was.
On the other point, he's probably filmed more hours of footage of going off the dome than... thousands of his peers combined? It's easy to find his habits (he's got some busker tricks) and get some burn out, but he's also got a ton of highlights to pull from.
Word similarity would be used to create the targets that you're trying to incorporate (and it's been a while since I've looked at speech recognition but it should be pretty good with a very narrow vocab?)
I agree that calling anyone the definitive GOAT in freestyle is almost impossible, since there are so many different approaches and styles, all equally valid, and appealing in their own ways. Hip...
I agree that calling anyone the definitive GOAT in freestyle is almost impossible, since there are so many different approaches and styles, all equally valid, and appealing in their own ways. Hip hop is also constantly evolving, so every generation had their own masters of the craft for the time, and comparing one generation to the next is often counterproductive. Especially since so many careers (and lives) came to tragically early ends, so we never got to see what they all could have become were they still around, and evolved with the game. But even so, I honestly would put Harry at, or near, the damn top in terms of sheer, raw talent, especially off the dome.
The end of Omegle 18... my heart.
Yeah, that one blew me away too. And the fact that he would even attempt to tackle such a touchy subject like that in front of an emotionally vulnerable person goes to show how confident he is in his own abilities. That confidence is well earned though, since he handled it remarkably gracefully, and clearly touched the guy quite deeply. And who else do you know that would have had the balls to even attempt that, let alone be able to pull it off as impressively as Harry did?
"Fairly well-adjusted Portland subarbanite that loved drumming and hiphop" just can't be the sort of thing Kendrick's GKMC was.
Yeah, I get that, and agree. Similar to Lil Dicky, Harry Mack is unlikely to have much of a profound impact on hip hop overall. In 40+ years time only true fans of the freestyle artform will probably still be talking about him, since he isn't breaking much new ground with his lyrics. They're impressive off the dome, but they're usually not that profound, or worth relistening to over and over again. But that's kind of the nature of freestyle to begin with, so I can't hold it against him too much for his lack of profundity.
But to be fair, the few times Harry has actually gone political, it has been surprisingly interesting and thoughtful. E.g. His freestyles using Citizenship, and Trump. I just wish he had enough courage to do that more often, so maybe he could leave a more lasting mark outside his niche. Regardless, Kendrick seemed to respect the hell out of Harry's talent, so there is that.
My top 3 favorite hip hop groups are Black Star (Mos Def+Talib Kweli), The Roots (Black Thought), and A Tribe Called Quest (Q-Tip). Who are/were all amazing freestylers too. Out of curiosity, what are yours?
BTW, that 10 minute Black Thought freestyle on Flex is my absolutely favorite pre-written freestyle, and I have listened to it countless times. Black Thought is a GOAT freestyler for me too, along with Mos Def, and Eminem (all of which also got bars off the dome). And speaking of those three... 2009 BET Awards Cypher 3 FTW!
For sure. For what Harry does I can't think of anyone who does it better. Honestly I think figuring out how to market/package freestyling has a much greater impact than any revolutionary album or...
But even so, I honestly would put Harry at, or near, the damn top in terms of sheer, raw talent, especially off the dome.
For sure. For what Harry does I can't think of anyone who does it better.
Harry Mack is unlikely to have much of a profound impact on hip hop overall.
Honestly I think figuring out how to market/package freestyling has a much greater impact than any revolutionary album or jazz-inspired polyrhythm flow he could have contributed. He's shown a way you can be a freestyler instead of an artist who freestyles, with a very low barrier to entry.
The community that I'm guessing formed around him is probably a great vectoring point for people wanting to get into freestyling / get support / get known?
My top 3 favorite hip hop groups are Black Star (Mos Def+Talib Kweli), The Roots (Black Thought), and A Tribe Called Quest (Q-Tip). Who are/were all amazing freestylers too.
Not trying to avoid the question (well, I might be, and also see it was edited out haha), but I'm not sure I can come up with any consistent top 3?
Aesop Rock would be one. In my early P2P days I think he might've been the first album I stumbled on. It'd be easy to explain away liking him in the same way I'm unduly biased to Infected Mushroom for trance, but I would've liked him regardless.
He just sort of covers the bases of the moods that draw me to the genre (which isn't everything; not exactly my choice of dancing or background music) with the different collaborations he's done. I also like wordplay(?), and that's a big draw to Aes. Some always-available thought puzzle to get distracted by when distraction was needed.
For the rest it's hard to choose because the mood changes. I tried coming up with a list of what that would be (storytelling, rhythmically interesting, uniqueness of sound, emotionally poignant, etc.) but after some thought it wasn't something I'd stand by.
I can appreciate people that had a lot of influence (KRS-One, Tech N9ne, Twista, GM Flash, lots you mentioned, etc.), but not listen to them often. Kendrick is great. MF DOOM or Del for some nostalgia? Danny Brown for the rawness? K.Flay or Dessa / Doomtree sometimes? Some artists just have a couple songs that phrase concepts like MLK's "riots are the language of the unheard" that stick with me, or a cozy instrumental. Run the Jewels/El-P or a number of others fit a darker anti-establishment/self-reliance mood. Blue Scholars or Grieves when I miss the PNW? Ocean Wisdom for the flow and maybe not much else? Hell, I've enjoyed some deep dives into nerdcore or foreign hiphop.
I think maybe the most salient things I like about the genre are the sort of things that makes a top X list hard? It's the sort of thing that made Harper Lee say she only had one story in her to tell.
p.s. If you ever follow through with that tool/game idea, plz let me know. :P
I'll have to remember! ...do you think Keanu would be willing to help if I called it Cypher Punk 2077?
And for fun, here's some more throwback videos from my freestyle playlist that you might enjoy:
I hope so, since I would love to see freestyle properly blow up, and the artists actually get paid! LOL. But what, no mention of Maestro Fresh Wes!? Am disappoint! ;) In all seriousness though, if...
I think figuring out how to market/package freestyling has a much greater impact than any revolutionary album or jazz-inspired polyrhythm flow he could have contributed. He's shown a way you can be a freestyler instead of an artist who freestyles, with a very low barrier to entry.
I hope so, since I would love to see freestyle properly blow up, and the artists actually get paid!
I was tempted to only throw out Canadians artists... but I'll take this seriously and say Magnus Carlsen.
p.s. You listed a bunch of absolutely top notch artists too, and provided some great links as well. And I'm happy to even see nerdcore get a mention too, since I'm also a fan. Frontalot and MC Chris, FTW! Nice to see K.Flay mentioned as well. :)
p.p.s. That Mongolian rap you linked to is 🔥🔥🔥. I'm gonna have to hunt for more of that, since Mongolian rock/metal is something I already listen to a fair bit too. ❤️ throat singing.
Always glad to get recommendations, but don't go to any trouble with it! Just to warn you: it would all be going to a playlist called "Authentic Kitchen Party" Is Buck 65 hiphop? Watching this...
In all seriousness though, if you want some recommendations
Always glad to get recommendations, but don't go to any trouble with it! Just to warn you: it would all be going to a playlist called "Authentic Kitchen Party"
Is Buck 65 hiphop?
no mention of Maestro Fresh Wes!? Am disappoint! ;)
Watching this doubled the amount of culture I have, 10/10 :P
And I'm happy to even see nerdcore get a mention
There was an episode of Darknet Diaries (a great quarantine find) with ytcracker and a few others you might enjoy, if it's new to you.
Never heard of Darknet Diaries before, so will definitely check that out (listening now, in fact). I would assume that since you're a fan, you have seen Nerdcore Rising? But I figured it was still...
Never heard of Darknet Diaries before, so will definitely check that out (listening now, in fact).
I would assume that since you're a fan, you have seen Nerdcore Rising? But I figured it was still worth mentioning on the off chance you haven't.
Hadn't heard of that! Worth watching for someone pretty slow about getting through to-watch lists? Darknet Diaries probably has some better (or at least more on-brand) entries to start with, but...
Hadn't heard of that! Worth watching for someone pretty slow about getting through to-watch lists?
Darknet Diaries probably has some better (or at least more on-brand) entries to start with, but hope you like that one. Typically it's a surprisingly thorough look into some hacking-adjacent stories, often getting interviews with people involved in the scene.
Nerdcore Rising is quite low budget, features a lot of home camera footage, is a bit slow, and so you definitely have to be a real fan of the genre to enjoy it (which probably explains the low...
Nerdcore Rising is quite low budget, features a lot of home camera footage, is a bit slow, and so you definitely have to be a real fan of the genre to enjoy it (which probably explains the low rating on IMDB). But if you are a fan, it's pretty funny, and interesting getting a glimpse at the birth of the genre from behind the scenes, IMO. I don't know if I would necessarily dedicate myself solely to watching it, but it's at least worth throwing on in the background while you do other things.
p.s. I love that WinNuke got a shoutout on the podcast you linked to. I have pretty fond memories of using that exploit back '97 to punish all the assholes in online multiplayer games. :P
I've been absolutely obsessed lately with Harry Mack and his insane freestyle rap abilities. The man's alien brain is basically a multi-core CPU, where he can simultaneously observe everything around him, craft lyrics based on those observations, and rap flawlessly at the same time. I've been slowly going through each and every video on his channel.
This submission is a clip from the middle of his Omegle Bars 26 video, but is so fucking good that I had to find it on its own so I could throw into in a playlist. It's just such a damn good song, period, and the fact that its off-the-dome freestyled is insane. He even instantly turned the three suggested words into a super catchy hook, and then schemes on those concepts all throughout the rest of the song. WTF!? Harry is the GOAT freestyler, for sure. Not even Biggie, Eminem, Mos Def, Kendrick, or Juice WRLD could do that shit so quick and cleanly.
p.s. Song starts at 1m49s if you want to skip the initial discussion.
I stumbled on him a little before the pandemic through his Guerilla Bars series and got hooked! Definitely one of the very best off the dome (really wish there was a better term instead of the ambiguous overload of "freestyle"). The end of Omegle 18... my heart.
King Los, Eyedea, Big L, Super Nat, or MC Juice are also pretty up there, and everyone sort of has their own flavor or contribution. If you open it up to [writtens]((https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prmQgSpV3fA), flips in battles, or grime the pool gets too big for me to say the GOAT is anything but a cryptid. Finding talent like Sa-Roc calls back a former band teacher who'd light up when he recalled the street musicians he met in New Orleans that couldn't read sheet music but who could play anything he could throw at them perfectly by ear.
Maybe most impressive/important about Harry Mack is he's figured out the formula for how to actually package freestyling into a career? There's got to be a wave of people following him and I love that. Freestyling's lack of commercial viability stunted the art.
The biggest thing going against him is his lack of a perspective(?) and maybe for and against him is his availability. "Fairly well-adjusted Portland subarbanite that loved drumming and hiphop" just can't be the sort of thing Kendrick's GKMC was.
On the other point, he's probably filmed more hours of footage of going off the dome than... thousands of his peers combined? It's easy to find his habits (he's got some busker tricks) and get some burn out, but he's also got a ton of highlights to pull from.
A project idea I've got way on the backburners is a freestyle tool/game based on word vectors (or a Tetris-esque game if you like).
Word similarity would be used to create the targets that you're trying to incorporate (and it's been a while since I've looked at speech recognition but it should be pretty good with a very narrow vocab?)
I agree that calling anyone the definitive GOAT in freestyle is almost impossible, since there are so many different approaches and styles, all equally valid, and appealing in their own ways. Hip hop is also constantly evolving, so every generation had their own masters of the craft for the time, and comparing one generation to the next is often counterproductive. Especially since so many careers (and lives) came to tragically early ends, so we never got to see what they all could have become were they still around, and evolved with the game. But even so, I honestly would put Harry at, or near, the damn top in terms of sheer, raw talent, especially off the dome.
Yeah, that one blew me away too. And the fact that he would even attempt to tackle such a touchy subject like that in front of an emotionally vulnerable person goes to show how confident he is in his own abilities. That confidence is well earned though, since he handled it remarkably gracefully, and clearly touched the guy quite deeply. And who else do you know that would have had the balls to even attempt that, let alone be able to pull it off as impressively as Harry did?
Yeah, I get that, and agree. Similar to Lil Dicky, Harry Mack is unlikely to have much of a profound impact on hip hop overall. In 40+ years time only true fans of the freestyle artform will probably still be talking about him, since he isn't breaking much new ground with his lyrics. They're impressive off the dome, but they're usually not that profound, or worth relistening to over and over again. But that's kind of the nature of freestyle to begin with, so I can't hold it against him too much for his lack of profundity.
But to be fair, the few times Harry has actually gone political, it has been surprisingly interesting and thoughtful. E.g. His freestyles using Citizenship, and Trump. I just wish he had enough courage to do that more often, so maybe he could leave a more lasting mark outside his niche. Regardless, Kendrick seemed to respect the hell out of Harry's talent, so there is that.
My top 3 favorite hip hop groups are Black Star (Mos Def+Talib Kweli), The Roots (Black Thought), and A Tribe Called Quest (Q-Tip). Who are/were all amazing freestylers too. Out of curiosity, what are yours?
BTW, that 10 minute Black Thought freestyle on Flex is my absolutely favorite pre-written freestyle, and I have listened to it countless times. Black Thought is a GOAT freestyler for me too, along with Mos Def, and Eminem (all of which also got bars off the dome). And speaking of those three... 2009 BET Awards Cypher 3 FTW!
And for fun, here's some more throwback videos from my freestyle playlist that you might enjoy:
Mos Def -- Snoop Dogg, Talib Kweli & Big Tigger -- Biggie -- Rakim -- Pharoahe Monch -- Eminem -- GZA & ODB -- GZA & Big Tigger -- Method Man & Big Tigger -- Rakim, KRS-One, Erick Sermon, Chubb Rock, MC Serch, Methodman, Redman, Large Professor, Special Ed & Craig Mack
p.s. If you ever follow through with that tool/game idea, plz let me know. :P
For sure. For what Harry does I can't think of anyone who does it better.
Honestly I think figuring out how to market/package freestyling has a much greater impact than any revolutionary album or jazz-inspired polyrhythm flow he could have contributed. He's shown a way you can be a freestyler instead of an artist who freestyles, with a very low barrier to entry.
The community that I'm guessing formed around him is probably a great vectoring point for people wanting to get into freestyling / get support / get known?
Great choices! :)
I was tempted to only throw out Canadians artists... but I'll take this seriously and say Magnus Carlsen.
Not trying to avoid the question (well, I might be, and also see it was edited out haha), but I'm not sure I can come up with any consistent top 3?
Aesop Rock would be one. In my early P2P days I think he might've been the first album I stumbled on. It'd be easy to explain away liking him in the same way I'm unduly biased to Infected Mushroom for trance, but I would've liked him regardless.
He just sort of covers the bases of the moods that draw me to the genre (which isn't everything; not exactly my choice of dancing or background music) with the different collaborations he's done. I also like wordplay(?), and that's a big draw to Aes. Some always-available thought puzzle to get distracted by when distraction was needed.
For the rest it's hard to choose because the mood changes. I tried coming up with a list of what that would be (storytelling, rhythmically interesting, uniqueness of sound, emotionally poignant, etc.) but after some thought it wasn't something I'd stand by.
I can appreciate people that had a lot of influence (KRS-One, Tech N9ne, Twista, GM Flash, lots you mentioned, etc.), but not listen to them often. Kendrick is great. MF DOOM or Del for some nostalgia? Danny Brown for the rawness? K.Flay or Dessa / Doomtree sometimes? Some artists just have a couple songs that phrase concepts like MLK's "riots are the language of the unheard" that stick with me, or a cozy instrumental. Run the Jewels/El-P or a number of others fit a darker anti-establishment/self-reliance mood. Blue Scholars or Grieves when I miss the PNW? Ocean Wisdom for the flow and maybe not much else? Hell, I've enjoyed some deep dives into nerdcore or foreign hiphop.
I think maybe the most salient things I like about the genre are the sort of things that makes a top X list hard? It's the sort of thing that made Harper Lee say she only had one story in her to tell.
I'll have to remember! ...do you think Keanu would be willing to help if I called it Cypher Punk 2077?
Thanks, had fun listening!
I hope so, since I would love to see freestyle properly blow up, and the artists actually get paid!
LOL. But what, no mention of Maestro Fresh Wes!? Am disappoint! ;)
In all seriousness though, if you want some recommendations for decent oldschool Canadian hip hop, lemme know. E.g. Rascalz - Northern Touch (ft. Checkmate, Kardinal Offishall, Thrust & Choclair) is an absolute classic. And Checkmate, Kardinal, Thrust, and Choclair also had some bangers on their own too.
p.s. You listed a bunch of absolutely top notch artists too, and provided some great links as well. And I'm happy to even see nerdcore get a mention too, since I'm also a fan. Frontalot and MC Chris, FTW! Nice to see K.Flay mentioned as well. :)
p.p.s. That Mongolian rap you linked to is 🔥🔥🔥. I'm gonna have to hunt for more of that, since Mongolian rock/metal is something I already listen to a fair bit too. ❤️ throat singing.
Always glad to get recommendations, but don't go to any trouble with it! Just to warn you: it would all be going to a playlist called "Authentic Kitchen Party"
Is Buck 65 hiphop?
Watching this doubled the amount of culture I have, 10/10 :P
There was an episode of Darknet Diaries (a great quarantine find) with ytcracker and a few others you might enjoy, if it's new to you.
Never heard of Darknet Diaries before, so will definitely check that out (listening now, in fact).
I would assume that since you're a fan, you have seen Nerdcore Rising? But I figured it was still worth mentioning on the off chance you haven't.
Hadn't heard of that! Worth watching for someone pretty slow about getting through to-watch lists?
Darknet Diaries probably has some better (or at least more on-brand) entries to start with, but hope you like that one. Typically it's a surprisingly thorough look into some hacking-adjacent stories, often getting interviews with people involved in the scene.
Nerdcore Rising is quite low budget, features a lot of home camera footage, is a bit slow, and so you definitely have to be a real fan of the genre to enjoy it (which probably explains the low rating on IMDB). But if you are a fan, it's pretty funny, and interesting getting a glimpse at the birth of the genre from behind the scenes, IMO. I don't know if I would necessarily dedicate myself solely to watching it, but it's at least worth throwing on in the background while you do other things.
p.s. I love that WinNuke got a shoutout on the podcast you linked to. I have pretty fond memories of using that exploit back '97 to punish all the assholes in online multiplayer games. :P