If albums are what make you great, freestyles are what make you hot.
The modern day freestyle is all about showcasing premium lyrics and captivating flows over a face-scrunching beat – one take. It’s probably what grime MCs do best, reflected in the fact that all the key grime channels have their own series for them.
Freestyles are a pivotal pillar of the culture. A bit like a Kanye Twitter rant, if you get into debating the best Fire In the Booth or Daily Duppy with a grime fan, it is likely to get very opinionated and very long.
But, as a wise man once said, “Men lie, women lie, numbers don’t…”
So, without any further ado, we bring you the top 10 most viewed grime freestyles “of all time!” (Collated by an unscientific process of scouring Youtube, so apologies if we missed anything).
10) Lowkey – Fire in the Booth (3.9 million views)
Lowkey got fans and neutrals clicking like mad with his clever ABC wordplay and political flow in Charlie’s booth.
9) Wiley – Westwood Freestyle (4.5 million views)
Back in 2008, Wiley delivered the aptly described ‘epic freestyle’. In its sheer duration, Eskiboy proved he was the Mo Farah of barring. Over nang beats, Wiley flexed a range of different flows, a bit of singing and a bag of energy, showcasing his calibre.
8) Giggs – Fire in the Booth [Part 2] (5.1 million views)
Giggs jumped on his 2013 Fire in the Booth with intent, spitting, “I’m back out on my boss sh*t”, and never let up. At the time, it was one of the few occasions the world had heard the legendary Peckham MC switch up his flow on a quick tempo. Since then, he’s made a very, very sick habit of it.
7. Skepta – Westwood Freestyle (5.2 million views)
Back when Skeppy had so much Ed Hardy clothes he could open his own Ed Hardy shop, he gave fans a grime freestyle for the history books. Starting off with a multi-pack of sends over Wiley’s “Where’s My Brother” beat, Skepta absolutely destroyed this.
6) Bugzy Malone – Spitfire (5.2 million views)
Bugzy’s JDZ Media freestyle was really when he smashed down the door to the scene. With lyrical tales of childhood and road life, he earned the respect of many. Short but certainly not sweet, Bugzy made an impression on millions, and paved the way for his greatness.
5) Stormzy – Wicked Skengman [Part 4] (5.8 million views)
Ok, this one ain’t a one taker, but it’s certainly a freestyle. In true Stormzy style, the Wicked Skeng Man brought through a bag of fans, friends and famous faces and dropped typically dope bars over JME’s “Serious” instrumental. Almost as good as the bars themselves are the reactions of the crowd surrounding – “Punch a grime MC off his Segway” gets some certified “Ooos”.
4) Stormzy – Fire in the Booth (5.9 million views)
Stormzy again, this time with a Fire in the Booth. Grime beat, rap beat, whatever, he does the damn thing. Big Mike made this back in 2014, and at around the same time, everything he touched started turning to gold.
3) Nines – Fire in the Booth (6.3 million views)
Nines set fire to the booth, and it didn’t even look like he was trying. His distinctive style – slow, detached even, captured the attention of over 6 million viewers. Articulating details of street stories with a touch of emotion, Nines fully landed with this one.
2) K Koke – Fire in the Booth (7.7 million views)
The award for most viewed Fire in the Booth goes to K Koke, who turned up to Charlie’s booth with a denim jacket, cheeky smile, and some really really real bars. Kicking things off over Lil Wayne’s “Tie My Hands” instrumental, Koke’s idiosyncratic charisma got millions of fingers clicking.
1) Stormzy – Shut Up Freestyle (33.7 million views)
Coming in at number 1 of the most viewed freestyles ever, with more views than the rest of the top 5 combined, is Stormzy’s “Shut Up”. What is it that makes this so addictive? Is it the rhyming couplets, delivered by the whole squad? Is it the lingering “man over there with the pouch”? Is it Flipz, with his distinctive hand on grill, eyeing down the camera?
Or maybe it’s just Stormzy. Whatever the reason, “Shut Up” is the most reloadable grime viewing to date, three minutes of certified energy and realness, that certified Big Mike’s position as the chosen one.
Will anyone ever top him?
By SJRip
