ABOUT RHYME SPITTERS

Rhyme Spitters is an annual, Chicago-based, MC freestyle tournament and documentary film event. Four documentaries have been made so far, all with the aim of capturing the brilliance of freestyle battling. Freestyling is all about making observations in the moment, and then in rhyme-form, speaking them into life. Freestyle battling is like this, but instead MCs are making critical observations about their opponent, going back and forth until it's clear to the audience, the judges, and even the MCs themselves that there’s a clear winner and a clear loser.

At the end of every freestyle tournament the cream rises to the top, but so does the scum. It's not a pretty world, and neither are the battles, but in the moment of the freestyle something almost-mystical can happen. Freestyle battles generate intense energy because of the reputations on the line and because of the rewards that might be taken. Certainly not every battle is brilliant, but when two especially talented MCs clash it brings out the fullness of their intelligence, wit, creativity, stamina, voice, and over-all physical presence. It's all-encompassing, rare, and just as thrilling as any Hail-Mary pass caught in the last two seconds of the game.

Design by Oscar Contreras, Web Development by Oliver Holmberg