This is what’s called a “cipher” between rappers Papoose, Lupe Fiasco (one of my personal favorites) and Styles P done as a BET promo for the popular and controversial television network. A cipher, for those out of the loop, is a group of rappers getting together to freestyle back and forth with each other. It’s both fun and a competition between the rappers who can come up with the best stuff. So in this particular one, two of the rappers (Styles P and Papoose) play fair and come off the cuff with their rhymes. But Lupe decided to break the cardinal rule and use a pre-written rap.

This is just a black and white video posted by a poster named Chedda346 of the three—first Styles P, then Lupe, then Papoose—standing outside of a building and showing their formidable skills. The creativity and wordplay Styles P and Papoose is pretty tame however—but then again it’s not easy to freestyle. Everybody can’t be Jay-Z. Lupe’s rap carries the cipher as it’s from his song “Real Recognize Real” off the bootlegged version of his album “Food and Liquor.” In it he personifies the street game with the different characteristics are prevalent in the communities where “the game” is prevalent. If you like rap, you’ll like what’s going on in this one.

See more from this YouTube.com user: Chedda346

Labels: cipher, ethan, Lupe Fiasco, music, music video, Papoose, Styles P