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A (freestyle) cypher...When a bunch of people (2 or more) gather around a boombox or a beatboxer, take turns and spit their guts out to the beat. The cypher allows hopefuls to showcase their skillz, earn their peers' respect while competing with them - more often than not, when you're in a cypher, you try to outshine the whole assembly (your predecessor especially). A jam session of sorts, the cypher is only as good as its participants who feed off each other and try to raise the bar and the energy from turn to turn. It is a personal belief of mine that posse cuts evolved from freestyle cyphers.
The posse is the clique, the crew, the people you're down/associated/affiliated with. And the posse has an important place in hip hop. Everybody major rap artist (except LL Cool J) has one. Some posses went on to become groups - it was the most common thing to do in the earlier rap days. In other cases, the posse would be featured on a joint or two off of one member's album. Such joints are posse cuts - you need at least four emcees for a posse cut in my humble opinion. The definition of the posse cut was later expanded to include collaborations of several people, ignited usually by mutual respect for each other's skills on the mic.
As such, other purposes for posse cuts were found. One can use a posse cut to boost sales (there are a lot of posse cuts out there!), to raise awareness (on some We Are The World schtick), or to execute an interesting concept (Sticky Fingaz' State Vs. Kirk Jones and Immortal Technique's Peruvian Cocaine are excellent examples). Nonetheless, the posse cut remains the best way showcase your clique, on some "my crew is wild nice" ish. And every now and then, it can introduce us to incredible talent (NaS, Beanie Sigel, Redman, etc...).
This shiznit has some of my all-time favorite posse cuts, which I hope you'll enjoy.
- A Tribe Called Quest - Scenario (feat. Leaders Of The New School)
A Tribe Called Quest + Leaders of the New School = spontaneous combustion!
- LL Cool J - I Shot Ya Remix (feat. Fat Joe, Foxy Brown, Keith Murray & Prodigy)
Tight sample! One of the earliest Ill Nana verses. And one of the better LL performances. Should we ask for more?
- Lost Boyz - Beasts From The East (feat. A+, Canibus & Redman)
...and Canibus even manages to outshine the neck snapping beat!
- Luniz - I Got 5 On It (Clean Bay Ballas Vocal Remix) (feat. E-40, Dru Down, Richie Rich, Shock G & Spice 1)
For some of us, this was the joint that had us realize there was more to the West Coast than Death Row (at the time)
- Main Source - Live At The BBQ (feat. Akinyele & Nas)
Street's disciple, my raps are trifle/I shoot slugs from my brain just like a rifle... Besides announcing the coming of Nasty Nas, the track is also dope.
- Marley Marl - The Symphony (feat. Big Daddy Kane, Craig G, Kool G. Rap & Masta Ace)
If you don't know this classic or never heard of it, it's high time you did!
- The Roots - Adrenaline! (feat. Beanie Sigel & Dice Raw)
Blazing verses from Black Thought, Malik B and Dice Raw. This is also the first ever look at Beanie Sigel aka "how I fire niggas up with a laid back flow."
- Sticky Fingaz - State Vs. Kirk Jones (feat. Canibus, Guess Who, Rah Digga, Redman, Scarred 4 Life & Superb)
This track will amaze you by its execution. Kirk Jones, an ex-convict, is on trial for murder...
- Stop The Violence All-Stars - Self Destruction
(In alphabetical order) the Stop The Violence All Stars are Doug E Fresh, Heavy D, Just Ice, Kool Moe Dee, KRS-One, MC Lyte, Public Enemy & Stetsasonic. The Stop The Violence Movement spoke most notably against black on black crime.
- Various Artists - One Four Love Part I
This song speaks against police brutality. It came out shortly after the Amadou Diallo shooting and draws from similar injustices (Abner Louima). It has verses from Common, Kool G. Rap, Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch, Posdnuos (of De La Soul), Rah Digga, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Sporty Thievz & Talib Kweli
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