Grading The Freestyles Over Drake's "Pound Cake"

Check out what rappers like Raekwon, Meek Mill, and Lupe Fiasco have done over Drake's beat.

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Complex Original

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The first time we heard Drake's Nothing Was The Same, we knew "Pound Cake" was something special. Produced by Boi-1da and Jordan Evans, "Pound Cake" samples Wu-Tang Clan's "C.R.E.A.M." as well as Ellie Goulding's "Don't Say a Word" and Jimmy Smith's "Jimmy Smith Rap." The key to the song is its airy, atmospheric beat which relies on the Ellie Goulding sample to carry it.

Meanwhile, Drake and Jay Z trade verses. Drake offers what might be the best offhand bar on the entire album, "Tables turn, bridges burn, you live and learn." Jay swoops in for the second verse which is pretty standard 2013 Jay rhymes (his apparent effortless is reminiscent of his verse from Rick Ross' "3 Kings") but his unnecessary third verse (where he bizarrely chants "cake" like he's Rihanna before throwing a shot at Beanie Sigel) kinda ruins his guest appearance. Still, it's not enough to derail one of the best songs on Drake's latest album. 

Here's a telltale sign that a beat is awesome: Everyone wants to rap over it. In the case of the "Pound Cake," a number of rappers—ranging from legends like Raekwon to stars like Lupe Fiasco—have opted to jack the beat and drop a couple of bars over it. We went ahead and listened to all of them and gave them a grade. Check out Grading The Freestyles Over Drake's "Pound Cake" 

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The Lox "Hood Cake"

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Lupe Fiasco "Pound Of Flesh/Paris Tokyo 2"

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Ransom "Pound Cake Freestyle"

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Date: September 25
Grade: B

Ransom opens with a vision of a ghetto revolution inspired by his album with Statik Selektah, The Proposal: "Rebels running the streets knocking the cops over/Supreme Court judges, being shot by niggas who lost brothers." He goes on to reject label offers that involve 360 degree deals, and ends his verse calling himself the best rapper alive. He raps with well-written urgency, but the verse loses some momentum by its close, and aims for a goal a little higher than his recognition level. — David Drake

Mysonne "Pound Cake Freestyle"

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Date: September 27
Grade: C

Mysonne has always had a great rapper's voice, an effortless mask of unaffectedness. This is true here, where the "Robin Hood of the Pro Tools" knocks out a few nonchalant bars. His "Pound Cake" freestyle is solid, but not the most remarkable moment for either the rapper or this beat. A few bars stand out, although in a way that never leaves you stunned or makes you want to hit rewind. He's more of a stylist than a writer, at least here. But his voice is a great tonal match for the smooth production. — David Drake

Raekwon "Marble Cake"

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Date: September 27
Grade: B

While the world waits on the official Wu-Tang remix to "It's Yours," Raekwon opted to rock over "Pound Cake" with his own version, "Marble Cake." Since the original samples lyrics from Wu-Tang's classic "CREAM" we're gonna go ahead and say that if anyone had a right to rhyme over this beat, it's Rae. He flourishes on the beat, even if his flow aren't as fluid as it once was. We're not sure why it opens with Ghost Killah's classic "Blue and Cream" rant from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx but we're always happy to hear Ghost at his finest. Meanwhile, Rae rhymes, "Rock mad diamonds and strive, see the bracelet/Ask Ghost where the eagle come from, don't say shit/Caesar's, no skeezers/I could get you barred from Europe, no visas." This just that fly wonderful talk. — Insanul Ahmed

Killa Kyleon "Pound Cake Freestyle"

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Date: September 28
Grade: B+

Killa Kyleon is one of the survivors of the mid-00s H-Town media wave. His rap style is particularly dexterous, "lyrical," in the language of our time. The flip side of being one of the best rapper qua rappers in the genre right now is that his rap style has never sounded particularly musical. He doesn't tend to let his bars-on-bars mesh with the production; his shouted flow here would probably not change over a DJ Mustard beat, or a Clams Casino beat, or a collaborative effort with a jazz combo. That said, he's definitely one of the most underrated rappers on this list, rapping with a gripping energy and a sense of pure craft. — David Drake

Trinidad James "Pound Cake Freestyle"

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Date: October 2
Grade: F

This is what the fifteenth minute of fame sounds like. In a terrible display of freestyle rhyming, Trinidad James tried to rhyme over "Pound Cake" while on Tim Westwood's show and it can best be described as a trainwreck. So bad that it's hard to watch (sadly, more people probably watched this than all of the rest of these freestyles combined). Trinidad had nothing to rap about and could barely string two bars together. The thing about freestyles is, you have to actually come off the dome—if you don't, no one will really care. So we really have no idea why Trinidad thought he had to keep it 100. Maybe if he had written some rhymes, he wouldn't have embarrassed himself. — Insanul Ahmed

Meek Mill f/ Spade-O "Pound Cake Freestyle"

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Date: October 8
Grade: B

"They killed Dame set him on fire/And the crazy part, that nigga was choir/Nigga on obituaries like they're flyers." That's Meek Mill, who got saddled, somewhat unfairly, with the stigma of having fallen off last year. Because his official debut album didn't set the world on fire the way his mixtapes had. (Granted, the bids for radio fare on there disrupted the urgency we'd come to expect from Philly's finest.)

But the thing is, Meek Mill is a terrific rapper. The echo effect on his voice here makes it jump off the mellow atmospherics of Drake's "Pound Cake." Things bog down a bit when Spade-O joins him for the finish. There's a self-consciousness audible in Spade's exacting enunciation that a little off-putting. He needs to liquid up some. — Dave Bry

Memphis Bleek "Pound Cake Freestyle"

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Date: October 9
Grade: C+

"It's never been about the money, it's about the love," says Bleek. The fact that Bleek was missing from Jay's list of of poeple who he made millionaires on the original "Pound Cake" seems glaring until we remember the "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" remix ("Bleek could be one hit away his whole career/As long as I'm alive he's a millionaire.") In this case, Jay wasn't going to repeat himself.

Bleek's remix truncates the song by removing the two original rappers. He replaces them with a relaxed, though technically sound, 90 seconds of Bleek rap. Bleek often sounds as though he's rapping after the dust has settled. There's not so much hunger as there is satiated resignation. Kind of like Jay, minus the opulence. — Alexander Gleckman

Papoose "Pound Cake Freestyle"

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Date: October 9
Grade: C

"Pap/The law librarian/Says a lot about you in you ain't feelin' him." Well, halfway through Papoose's freestyle over the "Pound Cake" beat, I was wondering what it said about me. Because his first verse, full of well-intentioned, but much too broad and vague historical references, and a claim to want to learn to speak Arabic so he could tell the Syria government to stop being so arrogant, well, I was really not feeling the rhymes. (The Syrian government gassed 1,400 of its own citizens to death in August. And, just this weekend, reportedly, executed 130 civilians. "Arrogant" is putting it sort of lightly, don't you think?)

Things got a little better in the second verse, when Pap replaced Jay's (and Rihanna's) "Cake-cake-cake-cake" with "Fake-fake-fake-fake," and went a nice little anti-materialist riff. But still, Papoose, we don't hate you. We respect your dedication to your craft, and your commitment to addressing serious topics in your songs. We respect that a lot. But if you want to really feel you, you have to rhyme better. — Dave Bry

Sean Falyon "Pound Cake Freestyle"

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Date: October 10
Grade: B-

Sean Falyon is certainly everywhere. The Philadelphia-bred Atlanta transplant knows how to show his face and get his music out there on an independent level. Part of this is the attention he pays to detail. Sure, this is really just a "Pound Cake" freestyle, but Falyon creates his own artwork for the song. At the bottom of the cover, it reads "Never Was To Shave," reminding people that his Philly roots make him a member of "Beard Gang" for life.

The song itself does a couple of interesting things. He calls out industry veteran Al Lindstrom for not believing that he was ready to make it, and even splits his rhymes into two verses as opposed to just going in with one freestyle verse. That being said, there is some personality in Falyon's voice and pretty decent flow, but outside of that, it's not really doing too much. And the break in-between his verses is just him saying, "You gotta get it, yep, you gotta get it." — Dharmic X

Skeme "Pound Cake Freestyle"

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Date: October 10
Grade: B

Inglewood's Skeme joined in on the run of California rappers releasing music last week with his "Pound Cake" freestyle. He sounds sharp and very hungry on his verse, as he provides fans with an update on his life and his upcoming Inglewood project. "This rapping shit ain't just a hobby/And if it was I'll murder niggas for fun," Skeme said. The upstart Cali rapper makes this worth a quick listen with his undeniable flow, but probably doesn't do enough on the song to make it stand out outside of a list like this. — Dharmic X

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