There should always be room in hip-hop for artists who clearly enjoy what they do, who are skilled at translating their energy into their music. BlocBoy JB, the Memphis upstart, clearly understands this part of the game. His straightforward raps, which are peppered with clever pop-culture references and often come along with BlocBoy’s trademark dance moves, have won a host of fans over.

After he caught fire with his solo song “Shoot,” BlocBoy and Drake collabed on “Look Alive,” the 2018 track that sent the 22-year-old rapper into the stratosphere. A few months later, his solo project, Simi, came, and all of that build-up and groundwork led to him becoming a 2018 XXL Freshman. Of course, that means he had to drop a freestyle for the occasion. BlocBoy's offering fits who he is as an artist perfectly.

His freestyle has a flow to it, making it extremely catchy out of the gate. He also uses some wordplay to shout-out XXL the magazine, and the Freshman sponsor, Magnum. “XXL, gave your bitch the dick in the XXL/Running from the cops, yeah, we running from 12/If I see a opp I'ma dump 100 shells,” he raps, focused both on someone else’s girls and handling haters. “Y'all niggas never ever met the cartel/I was walking ’round with ’bout 30 Glock shells,” follows, as he makes it clear that he’s always ready for friction.

He also takes time to cleverly name-drop a character from the animated show The Boondocks. “We can't play no games with no suckas/I don’t like these niggas, Uncle Ruckus.”

Check out the rest of BlocBoy JB’s rhythmic freestyle below.

See Behind-the-Scenes Photos of BlocBoy JB at the 2018 XXL Freshman Cover Shoot

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