Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysAPA Heritage MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)

Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme

  • 20002000
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
565
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • IMDbPro
Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme (2000)
Trailer for Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme
Play trailer2:01
2 Videos
5 Photos
  • Documentary
  • Music

A documentary about freestyling--the improvised, on-the-spot rhymes that demonstrate the skills of hip-hop MCs.A documentary about freestyling--the improvised, on-the-spot rhymes that demonstrate the skills of hip-hop MCs.A documentary about freestyling--the improvised, on-the-spot rhymes that demonstrate the skills of hip-hop MCs.

IMDb RATING
7.6/10
565
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Kevin Fitzgerald
  • Stars
    • Chali 2na
    • Muhammad Ali(archive footage)
    • Planet Asia
Top credits
  • Director
    • Kevin Fitzgerald
  • Stars
    • Chali 2na
    • Muhammad Ali(archive footage)
    • Planet Asia
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 6User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
    • 63Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 wins

    Videos2

    Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme
    Trailer 2:01
    Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme
    Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme
    Trailer 2:28
    Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme

    Photos

    Freestyle The Art of Rhyme one Sheet
    Freestyle The Art of Rhyme screening
    Hip Hop Films crew (from Lft to Rt) Youree Helney, Kevin Fitzgerald, Addison Lui, Todd Hickey
    Kevin John Fitzgereald on set  shooting Freeestyle The Art of Rhyme

    Top cast

    Edit
    Chali 2na
    • Selfas Self
    Muhammad Ali
    Muhammad Ali
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    Planet Asia
    • Selfas Self
    Bahamadia
    • Selfas Self
    Yasiin Bey
    Yasiin Bey
    • Selfas Self
    • (as Mos Def)
    Akim Funk Buddah
    • Selfas Self
    Eluard Burt
    • Selfas Self
    Myo Campbell
    • Selfas Self
    Cut Chemist
    • Selfas Self
    John Coltrane
    John Coltrane
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    Crazy Legs
    • Selfas Self
    Darkleaf
    • Selfas Self
    Kirby Dominant
    • Selfas Self
    Eminem
    Eminem
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    Freestyle Fellowship
    • Themselvesas Themselves
    Lord Finesse
    • Selfas Self
    Kevin Fitzgerald
    Kevin Fitzgerald
    • Selfas Self
    • (voice)
    Richard Fox
    • Director
      • Kevin Fitzgerald
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

    More like this

    Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest
    7.6
    Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest
    Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell
    6.8
    Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell
    Rhyme & Reason
    7.4
    Rhyme & Reason
    King of New York
    6.9
    King of New York
    Style Wars
    8.1
    Style Wars
    Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap
    7.1
    Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap
    Nas: Time Is Illmatic
    7.0
    Nas: Time Is Illmatic
    Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives
    8.0
    Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives
    The Show
    6.9
    The Show
    The Art of Dance
    The Art of Dance
    Wild Style
    7.0
    Wild Style
    Tupac: Resurrection
    7.9
    Tupac: Resurrection

    Storyline

    Edit
    From neighborhood ciphers to the most notorious MC battles, "Freestyle: the Art of Rhyme" captures the electrifying energy of improvisational hip-hop--the rarely recorded art form of rhyming spontaneously. Like preachers and jazz solos, freestyles exist only in the moment, a modern-day incarnation of the African-American storytelling tradition. Shot over a period of more than seven years, it is already an underground cult film in the hip-hop world. The film systematically debunks the false image put out by record companies that hip-hop culture is violent or money-obsessed. Instead, it lets real hip-hop artists, known and unknown, weave their story out of a passionate mix of language, politics, and spirituality. —Anonymous
    • hip hop
    • freestyle
    • battle
    • underground
    • live performance
    • 6 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Genres
      • Documentary
      • Music
    • Certificate
      • Not Rated
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Alternate versions
      Special limited Edition Directors Cut released 2013
    • Connections
      Features Wild Style (1982)

    User reviews6

    Review
    Top review
    5/10
    A so-so documentary made with... LOVE!
    This is a decent documentary with a very homemade and intimate feel, full of interesting people, and with compelling subject matter. Despite its admirable goals, I feel that it was a documentary with major flaws in it, and I have the sense that it had the potential to be a lot better than it was. Some of these shortcomings I would level against the director, while some seem to have their roots in the art form itself.

    Most importantly, as a showcase for freestyle as an art form, it is surprising to see how the MCs in this movie are, by and large, pretty wack. There are a few that are quite good-- particularly a talented freestyler named Juice who is easily the best rapper depicted -- but for the most part they are mediocre rappers with poor flow, throwing around tired battle rhymes. Even Supernatural, who is often cited as the world's best freestyler, doesn't seem all that remarkable. Nor does the much heralded Mos Def, who raps in a monotonous style that quickly proves tedious and boring. However, there is a very early clip of Biggie Smalls at age 17, rhyming in the streets of New York; it's both historically interesting and one of the better examples of freestyle featured in the movie. This clip also has a way of showing how a better selection of rhymes would have drastically improved the quality of the documentary. And even though "Freestyle" catches the loose and casual feel of impromptu "cyphers" (circles of freestylers that rhyme and battle), it is largely unable to capture many transcendent rhymes, the kind that you go to the movie in hopes of seeing. Unfortunately, there are only a couple times you might be genuinely impressed by the rhymes. In general, freestyle comes off in the movie as something that you respect and appreciate "in theory" rather than when you're actually presented with it, again, with a few exceptions.

    If you didn't already know about freestyling, and hadn't already been exposed to good freestyling, this movie might convince you that freestyling is an interesting facet of urban culture, but it probably would not make a strong argument that it's a art form worth paying attention to. Sure, there are isolated moments of interest, but in general, it comes off here as a rather undeveloped art. On top of that there's all these guys doing these unenlightened rhymes that hardly seem like important or progressive social, political, or even humanitarian statements. I would have liked to have seen people rapping about intelligent things, not insulting each others' physical appearances and making wack attacks on each other's clothes! And yes, I realize that these MC battles are part of what freestyling is about and where it came from, yet the director does not attempt to explain what socially progressive purpose such rhymes provide. Agreed, that it helps create community, but what use is that community without a positive purpose? After all, it's not hard to gather crowds around fights.

    In this manner, too much effort is made by the director to make freestyling out to be a "spiritual" exercise. While it is conceivably true, "Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme" nakedly makes overtures to convince you of this at every possible opportunity; and at times, it seems to use this "spiritual" veneer to gloss over the rampant violence, misogyny, and homophobia that comes through in many of the freestyle lyrics. It seems disingenuous on the part of the director to portray these rhymes as "spiritual" and "expressions of the divine" when they don't seem particularly bent on promoting consciousness. Instead, it almost seems that all the "spiritual" talk is a way of deflecting this sort of criticism.

    In the end, I think this movie is largely for "heads" (AKA hardcore hip-hop fans); anyone else won't come out feeling too impressed by this art form, if their only exposure to it is based on this documentary. But ironically, hip-hop fans who will be interested in this subject matter are probably already knowledgeable about freestyling, and would likely be familiar with better and more interesting rhymes, ones that could elicit more provoking thought than these. For what it's worth, this movie is clearly a labor of love, and there's a deep respect and love for hip-hop culture involved in the making of this movie, but unfortunately it doesn't really translate into a very compelling documentary.
    helpful•21
    8
    • Voivod-2
    • Aug 30, 2004

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 14, 2000 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Freestyle
    • Filming locations
      • Pennsylvania, USA
    • Production companies
      • Bowery Films
      • Organic Films
      • The Center for Hip-Hop Education
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $12,600
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $4,842
      • Jul 18, 2004
    • Gross worldwide
      • $12,600
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour
    • Color
      • Black and White
      • Color

    Related news

    The Roots’ Black Thought Is Getting A Lot Of Love For This Epic 10 Minute Long Freestyle
    Dec 16ET Canada
    Lin-Manuel Miranda And The Roots Freestyle About Audience Members On ‘Tonight Show’
    Oct 25ET Canada

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme (2000)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme (2000) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The 10 Most Anticipated Marvel and DC Movies
    See the full list
    Image caption not available
    2:14
    The Most Anticipated Movies and Shows to Watch in May
    Watch the video

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.