Ciphers Aren’t For Every Rapper

A cipher can be an exciting intro to an up-and-comer. Not every exciting up-and-comer is meant for a cipher.

Credit: On The Radar/Underground Sounds

A decade ago, I wrote a piece about the “Obsolescence of the Freestyle,” theorizing that since so much of rap had expanded beyond traditionalist lyricism, a cipher could no longer be considered a default showcase for every rapper’s skills. And just about every year since, I find myself resharing the piece amid rap fans complaining about hating the current XXL Freshman cipher.

I wrote “The freestyle is a venue for the lyrically inclined, for artists who are spellbinding with their words alone.” That’s still the case, and last Friday reinforced that. On The Radar, the culture’s preeminent freestyle platform, dropped a 10-person New Class cipher featuring a group of hungry spitters trying to steal the show to a dazzling degree. And on the same day, hip-hop platform Underground Sounds released their own cipher of 10 artists who probably aspire to be more Playboi Carti than Black Thought — as you could expect, it was underwhelming.

This isn’t meant as a declaration of war on Underground Sounds. They seem like a quality platform doing the much-needed work of amplifying talented artists. But, like I say about XXL’s Freshman freestyles, a cipher isn’t the most effective way to do that.