(upbeat music)
-: Hi, my name is Olisa.
Some people know me by another name.
It's my pseudo-name, it's my hero name,
it's my rap name: Spyc-E
So, today we're gonna talk a little bit about hip-hop.
Now, hip-hop is awesome.
I mean, it's the ultimate form of expression.
And rap is that expression in word.
So, this might be a little scary, but don't worry,
it could also be a lot of fun.
'Cause we're gonna freestyle.
Let me tell you a story.
So, I used to be super scared of free-styling.
And I was sitting with my friend one day.
She's awesome, she's an emcee, her name is Peace.
She's one of the dopest rappers I know.
And we were sitting on my porch just chilling, you know.
We had been hanging out all day,
and this was way back, like long time ago.
And we'd been hanging out all day, and she was like,
"Yo, let's cypher, let's freestyle,"
and I was like, "No, no, I don't freestyle.
"I'm a writer, that's what I do."
I was comfortable.
She was like, "Come on, I'll teach you how."
And that's what she did.
She did that day for me, and I'm gonna
do that with you if you don't know how to freestyle already.
Um, we're gonna go over a few techniques,
but you're gonna need a few things.
First, you're gonna need your senses.
Like, hear, taste, smell, touch, your senses.
You're also going to need a mouth.
Well, not really, 'cause you could do this
with pen and pad, if you wanted to.
You could write it, that's just fine, too.
Same techniques work.
I'm gonna show you a few different techniques
to get into freestyle, but don't worry
about a few things that might be in your brain,
like they were in mine, I had a lot of fear.
I was afraid of being imperfect and making mistakes.
And what I learned over time is that mistakes
are just a part of life, they're a part of art
they're how we learn, they're awesome,
they're what we're supposed to do.
Like, when you learned your ABCs or you learned how to walk,
you just fell down and that was okay.
You didn't worry about it.
Same is true with freestyle and rapping,
it's okay to make mistakes.
The second thing that you might be afraid of
is that you're not original enough,
that you won't think of something clever.
But don't worry about that, because you were born original.
You're you, and that's it, there's nobody
else like you on this whole planet.
Nobody, I don't care if you're a twin, a triplet.
You are you and that's enough, 'kay?
The last thing some people are afraid of,
I know I am, is our own brains, just being ourselves.
Because what happens is is our brains,
they have all these thoughts in them
that sometimes we don't wanna come out of our mouth.
And so we're afraid that if we just start talking,
those things will just blah, come out, and that's okay, too.
Start with yourself, if that's a fear,
that you don't want people to hear you
or it's okay to do this alone or with somebody
you trust and love or just for fun,
so you're not taking it so seriously, you know?
Awesome, so let's get into it.
The first technique we're gonna use is: Say What You See.
That's it, that's how I was taught: say what you see.
So I have these things around me that I see.
I see lights, I see cameras, I see a table.
This is what I see, so all I have to do is talk to a beat,
and I'm free-styling, 'cause I didn't write it before.
For instance, I have a beat in my head, right?
♪ I'm gonna say what I see ♪
♪ What's right in front of me ♪
♪ I see a red light, tells me that it is time ♪
♪ For lights, camera, action ♪
♪ What's your satisfaction ♪
♪ These are my papers and they're holding my notes ♪
♪ And this is my table and it's holding me up ♪
♪ I got a rhythm in my step, whatcha got, whatcha get ♪
♪ It's who you are, I'm feeling like I'm a star ♪
♪ 'Cause it's so bright in the bright light ♪
♪ It's like the sunshine, no, just fine ♪
And you make mistakes, and that's cool.
So I'm just seeing what I say
and saying what I see, that's it.
Just try it, it's actually kind of fun.
The second technique that we're gonna
do today is called: Pick a Topic.
Let me tell you a story.
So, I used to be a battle rapper.
Like, you know, when people get on stage
and they're like, Oh, I'm better than you are.
And the other person's like, No I'm better than you are.
And somebody wins money or something.
So I used to do that.
I wasn't the best, and that's okay.
I had fun doing it.
There was this one battle I was in at this place,
that was a long time ago, there was this place
in downtown Seattle called Sit and Spin,
where it was a washing machine place, was a laundromat,
with a place where you could have like, shows, and concerts.
It was an amazing place.
But there was a battle there and in that battle
they had us pick a topic out of a hat,
and you had to rap about that thing.
Check it out.
I haven't seen these yet.
I don't know what's in this.
These lovely people here provided some topics for me.
So I'm gonna pick one, and whatever pops into my head,
I'm gonna share with you, 'kay?
What is it?
Lawn chair.
So I got my beat.
♪ Sittin' in my lawn chair, chillin' in the grass ♪
♪ Wonderin' how it's gonna happen, what will pass ♪
♪ Time goes on and it goes away ♪
♪ I feel the sun shinin' on me everyday ♪
♪ Even when it rains, rains brings the pain ♪
♪ And I don't need to be afraid ♪
♪ Maybe I'll pick another topic ♪
♪ What is off it, then we'll go to the river ♪
♪ Knowing what it is and we'll have a little dinner ♪
♪ Hoping that we will and it tastes so good ♪
♪ In my hood rockin' headphones ♪
♪ No, I'm not alone, put 'em on, for the boom back ♪
♪ Whatcha got that, lovin' it everyday ♪
♪ What do you say, I don't know what goes on ♪
♪ But like Dr. Seuss, "Green Eggs and Ham" ♪
♪ I will not eat them, Sam I Am ♪
♪ I just love to read the little books ♪
♪ To the story to the kids ♪
♪ Knowing what it is and what it ain't ♪
♪ This is the life, this is the life ♪
And that's how you go on a topic.
You can have lots, and pull them out back-to-back.
Have one, as long as you know a little bit about it,
you're ready to go, and you just stay on beat.
And even if it doesn't rhyme, it doesn't matter,
it's just fun, so try it.
Write some random things down, or pick them out,
and pull 'em out, just try it out, it's lots of fun.
There are other ways to get in to free-styling.
There is the battle where you are braggadocious
and you talk about how great you are.
And that's fun, because I like to big up myself.
I don't really like to put people down, though.
That's why I didn't do too good at battle rapping,
because a lot of battle rapping
is putting other people down.
And I like a compliment battle.
Tell you a story.
I did this one battle called the Four Corners Battle
and I made it all the way to the last, last, last level.
And I was rappin' against my friend.
We weren't good friends, but I knew him from the community,
the hip-hop community, his name's Asa.
And we were battling each other,
but it turned into a compliment battle,
'cause I think he's a great rapper.
And so we started battling about
how good the other person was, and it was so much fun.
It was awesome, and we actually both won that battle.
So, that's a story.
Give compliments, go have fun and rap.
Say whatever you want to the beat.
Have a cypher, say one line, pass it around,
see what can happen, go back-and-forth
with one other person, or just do it all by yourself.
Like I said, you can also do this with pen and a paper.
Rap: rhythm and poetry, R-A-P.
That's a wrap.
(upbeat music)