On Thursday, Westwood posted a rare, unreleased Jay-Z freestyle from 2000 on his TimWestwoodTV channel. The freestyle features a classic Jay-Z flow and some clever wordplay that harkens back to Jay’s prime. It seems effortless and reminds us, as if we had forgotten, that Jay-Z will go down as one of the greatest to ever grab the mic.
The freestyle is a welcome throwback and a real contrast to Hov’s recently released tracks – “Spiritual”, a response to the recent #BlackLivesMatter movement, and “Drug Dealers Anonymous”, with Pusha T.
In 2000, the Tidal founder was preparing to release his first instalment in the ‘Blueprint’ series. He was also releasing ‘The Dynasty: Roc La Familia’, an album that introduced the world to newcomer producers The Neptunes, Kanye West and Just Blaze.
Recently, Westwood has released a series of rare, previously unreleased freestyles from rap-game legends Ludacris, Mobb Deep, Ja Rule, Method Man, Nelly, Eminem and Common. You can check them all out on TimWestwoodTV.
Words: @CamJohnston