On the real, the only part of the BET Hip-Hop awards that I look forward to each year is the cypher segments. You take that away, and I'd have no reason to even watch the show (Yeah it's usually bad). This year, the cyphers were pretty dope. You had your mix of mainstream and indie rappers, and most of them came pretty hard. Some rappers that were previously in the cypher came back (Ace Hood, Wale, Reek Da Villain, Royce Da 5'9, Joe Budden), which is a little disappointing. It would've been nice to see some other new artists come and kill shit (Danny Brown, Mac Miller, Shawn Chrystopher), but those in the cypher did damage nonetheless. DJ Premier is back this year with a brand new beat (A sample of "The Big Payback" by James Brown). Here's what you might have missed.
Indie Meets Mainstream Cypher: B.o.B, Big K.R.I.T, Tech N9NE, Machine Gun Kelly, Kendrick Lamar
The opening cypher was pretty good, but not severely memorable in my opinion. K.R.I.T came through with his usual rhymes about life in the south, and Tech showed why he's so underrated. He was one of the better ones in this segment. Machine Gun Kelly was just decent. He had a few nice lines here and there, but nothing was really impressive. Kendrick bodied his portion, especially with the Oprah line. B.o.B showed that he still can rhyme his ass of even with going mainstream.
Best To Worst: Kendrick Lamar, Tech N9Ne, B.o.B, Big K.R.I.T, Machine Gun Kelly.
Uncut Cypher: Reek Da Villain, Busta Rhymes, 2Chainz, Ludacris
This cypher was actually really good. Reek Da Villain did a dope job of opening up and had alot of hot metaphors. It went the same way with 2Chainz. Busta Rhymes shined the most on this one and BODIED this segment. He also had the longest verse too. Luda closed it out and had some fire shit to end it all. Busta took this one hands down. For the other three, it's a bit of a toss up cause the verses were equally good.
Best To Worst: Busta Rhymes, The rest I honestly can't call.
Survival of The Illest Cypher: Skillz, Lady of Rage, Blind Fury, Dom Kennedy
The way I feel about the 1st cypher is how I feel about this one. It was good, but it wasn't really anything I can see myself remembering in a good week. Lady of Rage had some nice lines in there ("Inhale the ether, they can't breathe easy when I'm around, they get weezy like the son of Ceetha). Blind Fury's portion sounded like he was freestlying. That line about Notorious always coming on BET was hot. Hands down, Dom had the worst verse of every cypher. I'm not surprised though, cause he's not that lyrical. Last up was Skillz, and his bars went in, he did the best in this one. Maybe he does deserve the award for destroying the cypher "laughs"
Best To Worst: Skillz, Lady of Rage, Blind Fury, Dom Kennedy
Maybach Music Cypher: Rick Ross, Wale, Pill, Stalley, Meek Mill
Maybach Music was the first group cypher of the night, and overall they did a pretty fire job. Wale and Pill were pretty neck & neck on there verses, but Stalley didn't really impress too much. Meek stole this segement with his verse and he probably gained some fans with his freestyle. Then there was Rick Ross. Rick Ross was Rick Ross. He gave you the general kind of verse that he usually gives you. Nothing to write home about
Best To Worst: Meek Mill, Tie between Wale & Pill, Stalley, Rick Ross
International Flow Cypher: Estelle, Nitty Scott, MC, Lecrae, Soprano
I'll be honest and say that the international cyphers are usually my least favorite. This year it was the total opposite. Nitty Scott, MC & Lecrae WRECKED their verses. Lecrae especially took home the title of the best with his lines about Jesus. Crazy thing is, through all the religious portions, it's still super lyrical! Soprano's flow felt so distinct despite the fact it was in French. Estelle's actual flow was up there in the fly department, but her lyrics were so-so.
Best To Worst: Lecrae, Nitty Scott, MC, Soprano, Estelle
Chris Brown & Friends Cypher: Chris Brown, Ace Hood, Kevin McCall, Tyga
It kind of felt like this was the 106 & Park cypher, but it was still okay. If I had to rank all of them, it was probably my least favorite. Ace Hood was good as the opener, but Kevin McCall did damage as MC number two. Tyga felt very boring to me. The things he said didn't really stick to my ribs. I won't even front on Chris Brown's verse. He had some really nice bars in there. That line about getting head went in.
Best To Worst: Kevin McCall, Chris Brown, Ace Hood, Tyga
Shady 2.0 Cypher: Eminem, Yelawolf, Joe Budden, Crooked I, Joell Ortiz, Royce Da 5'9
This was the absolute best cypher of the night. None of them had wack shit to say in their bars. Yelawolf came back harder this year with an even hotter freestyle, but I can't say the same about Joe Budden. His verse was definitely hot shit, but it didn't top his 09 appearance. It felt like Crooked I and Joell Ortiz were freestyling, and either way they demolished shit. Royce had the funniest line of the night (Hi Rihanna). His verse was a great set up for the last freestyle of the night, Eminem. No debating, Eminem had the hottest verse of the night and shut everyone down.
Best To Worst: Eminem, ALL THE REST WERE EQUALLY DOPE
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