In what will easily go down as the best freestyle of 2017, and arguably of all-time in hip-hop history, The Roots’ Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter took a seat on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to discuss his 10-minute session on Funkmaster Flex‘s HOT 97 radio program where he dropped straight, non-stop bars to the beat of Mobb Deep‘s “The Learning (Burn)” from the Queensbridge group’s 2001 Infamy album. He also explained the early beginnings of the group, and meeting drummer Questlove in school.
Video of the performance has been trending on social media, with many fans and fellow artists dubbing it the greatest freestyle of all-time, giving further evidence to the ongoing debate of Black Thought’s G.O.A.T. status. The Philly MC tweeted about the freestyle, “That verse was just what I had to say at the moment.” Conversely (and not surprisingly), it has also incited comments from some race trolls thinking “black thought” was a type of philosophy and/or campaign, clearly showing their ignorance and unfamiliarity with the hip-hop legend. Never a dull moment with morons, is there?
Regardless of all that racket, the linguistic ability, overall command of the English language, and social, political, historical and pop culture references that Trotter was able to put together in the moment is beyond impressive, and shows such a high intellect that would put most people to shame. Fact.
Check out the freestyle below and the interview with Fallon, and tell us how you rate the performance.
[via HOT 97]
Black Thought On Jimmy Fallon:
[via The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon]