Del The Funkee Homosapien Drops 16 Bars in Our L.A. Studio

"For me, it's any rhyme that's a stream of consciousness, so basically just whatever comes to me. [It] could be written down on paper or it could be off the head," West Coast alt-rapper Del The Funkee Homosapien tells the BoomBox when discussing what freestyle means to him.

The Bay Area emcee goes on to explain how some artists disagree on what counts as a freestyle and what doesn't. "Now, some people have an argument with that. Some people think a freestyle is strictly off the head and other people are like 'No, it's any rhyme that doesn't have a particular subject matter.' I would agree with the second one, but i don't like to argue."

It's not surprising that the rapper avoids arguments. He's made a career of avoiding some of the topics that have become the norm in hip hop, i.e. guns, gangs, drugs and sex. "I rap about all that stuff, I just don't rap about it in the same tone that other rappers rap about it in," Del says. "I don't like to push issues on people."

Check out Del's performance and interview after the jump.

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Dizzee Rascal Lets Loose on the Microphone in NY Studio

"I can rap over opera music if you gave it to me," London-bred rapper Dizzee Rascal boasted to the BoomBox during a taping of an exclusive 16 Bars freestyle segment in our New York studio. Dizzee waltzed into our New York studio, stepped up to the microphone and delivered pure fire over Lil Wayne's 'Fireman,' no pun intended.

A man of few words when confronted by the media, the British rapper -- known for meshing his self-produced basement beats with funky eclectic samples to create the rugged 'Dirtee Stank' sound -- felt right at home in front of the microphone, so much so that he flowed for almost five minutes with no hesitation.

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Bun B Keeps UGK Alive, Drops 16 Bars in NY Studio

"First of all, let me say I've never set out to be a solo artist, so doing a solo album was not a natural process for me," Bun B told the BoomBox during a taping of an exclusive 16 Bars freestyle segment in our New York studio. Pimp C's death has transformed UGK from a duo to a one man show, and the 34-year-old rapper is still dealing with the lost of his friend.

"It's definitely not an easy road to walk," the rapper explained. "I know that he's in heaven, that he's in a better place and I'm going to get to see him again, and that in itself helps me."

Now that he's on his own, the 34-year-old rapper realizes that his upcoming solo project, 'II Trill,' which is due in stores on April 29, will serve as his way of keeping UGK alive.

"During the time of Pimp C's incarceration, ['Trill'] was the best way that I knew to keep the UGK name and the UGK legacy alive and to keep us out there. With this solo album, [I] understand that [I] have a solo career now," Bun said. "It's different with 'II Trill' because, with 'Trill,' it was absolute new ground. I myself had never done anything like that, so I was a little bit nervous and apprehensive at certain parts as to how this s--- was going to come across. With 'II Trill,' we know we can do it, it's just a matter of doing it better than we did before."

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Chingy Gets Back to His Roots, Drops 16 Bars

"A lot of people stick to being rough, but I'm more of a player when I freestyle," Chingy told AOL during a taping of an exclusive 16 Bars freestyle segment in our New York studios. "Freestyling is important to me because that's what a lot of cats did back in the '80s .. flippin words back and forth ... It's the root of hip-hop."

The 28-year-old's memories of the '80s and old school rap may be a bit scarce, but Chingy claims he still gains inspiration from those who came before him. "Ice Cube and DJ Kwik are two people that I kind of really was inspired by back in the days. 'Cause they've been doing it for decades and they're still relevant ... they're still around to this day," he said.

Unfortunately -- or fortunately -- the St. Louis native doesn't go West Coast on his new album, 'Hate It Or Love It.' Instead, the rapper took a stab at some more "conscious" subject matter on 'They Don't Know,' featuring Anthony Hamilton. The track addresses "politicians overlooking what's going on in these 'hoods and these ghettos," Chingy explained. But a Chingy album wouldn't be complete without a track dedicated to the ladies. "I have fun making songs about women. Whether it's me talking about women, chasing them down, trying to talk to them or whatever. I just love... love songs."

Check out Chingy's performance and interview after the jump.

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Pitbull Shoots From the Hip in NY Studio

"To make music is like a puzzle, you're putting little pieces together constantly," Pitbull told AOL Music during a taping of an exclusive 16 Bars freestyle segment in our New York studios. "You may go in the studio and a part of the verse or a part of the hook ... you go back and just freestyle it because it just sounded better -- it felt better."

Pitbull went with what felt good in our studio and after chowing down on some McDonald's, the emcee stepped up to the microphone and laid down his freestyle with ease.

"A lot of people get freestyling messed up and they say, 'You gotta come through and go off the top of your head,'" he said. "And I say, 'Naw, these things just been in my head.'"

After the performance, Pitbull set the record straight. Like many artists, the rapper isn't too keen on labels. "I'm not a Latin rapper," he said. "I'm just a rapper that happens to be Latin." The rapper admits that the labeling and categorizing can be limited to an artist that likes to ride both lanes.

"If I go to an award show on the Spanish side, they say I'm too English. If I go to an award show on the English side, they say I'm to Spanish," Pitbull said. "Like me having a No. 1 record on the Spanish charts last year for 17 weeks and not get nominated or get an award for anything, I asked myself how could this happen. They say 'Your album's not 51 percent Spanish.'"

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Ghostface Relives 'Wisdom Body,' Talks Wu-Tang Rifts

"My lyricism is crazy different from people, because I got style. I have swagger in my rhymes," Ghostface Killah told AOL Music during a taping of an exclusive 16 Bars freestyle segment in our New York studios. "I swing from a different web than a lot of these other emcees."

This emcee certainly moves to the beat of his own drum, as he proved when he delved into his illustrious career to pull out a 12-year-old rhyme, polish it and spit over Jay-Z's 'Girls, Girls, Girls.'

Before breaking into the verse, he contributed to fellow Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon's 'Wisdom Body,' off 1995's 'Only Built 4 Cuban Linx,' Ghostface explained the importance of freestyle and admitted that he prefers to put his rhymes down on paper.

"Freestyling is important to me because it exercises your darts ... exercises your mind. It gets you ready. And it's always good to exercise," he said. "A lot of brothers that come off the head, I respect them for that ... I'm not good at coming off the head ... you have to think really fast and know what you're getting ready to say, and that's like an art within itself, other than writing."

After laying down his verse, the rapper took a moment to discuss the recent bad blood among Wu-Tang members and shed some light on why he doesn't completely support Wu's new album, '8 Diagrams.'

"It's just been a lot of ... a lot of bulls---. There been a lot of salty things going on that's not right within the circle, but fans don't really know this," the rapper confessed to us. "Money issues been a problem for the longest. We try to stay so tight where we don't even try to let nobody know what's going on within the circle because you're family. But it's like, enough is enough."

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Common Freestyles Like Fire on 16 Bars

Common could slay a man with his words, as he demonstrates in this exclusive 16 Bars freestyle segment. The Chicago-based Grammy nominee took time out from promoting 'Finding Forever' to talk to PopEater about the new album and how he's evolved over his 15-year career. Read the full interview after the jump.

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