While CyHi The Prynce may not be a household name (yet), those who know of his work recognize that he has one of the strongest pen games in Hip-Hop. Even those who may be unfamiliar have heard his stellar lyricism on songs like Kanye West’s “So Appalled,” from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and he has been an integral part of Kanye’s team ever since, having picked up 5 Grammy nominations for his songwriting, in the process.

CyHi Details His Influence & Role In The Creation Of Kanye West’s Discography (Video)

While CyHi has yet to release an album for sale, his body of work is already extensive. He has nearly 10 mixtapes under his belt, as well as a number of high profile feature verses, alongside his writing contributions. He also has amassed a high concentration of show-stopping freestyles, from his appearance on Tony Touch’s show in 2010 through his Team Backpack cyphers, and beyond.

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Though all of his freestyles are high quality, CyHi always seems to shift into another gear when visiting Sway In The Morning, and his latest trip was no different. As he preps for the release of his long-awaited debut album, No Dope On Sundays, CyHi took on the 5 Fingers Of Death freestyle challenge, where he was asked to rhyme over 5 different beats.

Flowing over Biggie’s “10 Crack Commandments,” Tupac’s “Ambitionz Az A Ridah,” Black Moon’s “I Got Cha Opin (Remix),” the Shady 2.0 Cypher beat, and more, CyHi uses the first five beats just to get warmed up. It’s at 3 minutes in when the DJ drops Jeru Tha Damaja’s “Come Clean” record that CyHi really starts to get open. He drops lines like “If you got beef, I’d rather squash it like zucchini, ’cause keep talking sh*t, I’ll put some bread on your panini.” After a brief pause, he starts up again and it’s there that he delivers the coup de grace. Keenly aware of the perception of Atlanta Rap, he references his fellow Atlantan, and current leader of the new school of so-called “Mumble Rap,” Lil Yachty, saying they’re both affecting Hip-Hop in the same way, though clearly from opposite ends of the spectrum. “Why would I ever slang dope? I just destroy the Rap game ’cause me and Yachty in the same boat,” he raps.

CyHi closes out, fully in the pocket over the soulful sounds of DJ Jazzy Jeff and Barry White, for 8 beats in total.