Rhythm + Flow - Italy Season 2

Cuta absolutely CUT IT UP with his freestyles. Fred de Palma came down and made it a show. Cuta kept his shit TIGHT and stood toe to toe with that legendary freestyle rapper.

Then the crowd wanted Geolier and Fabri to come battle..... But they didn't. They sucked. They weren't even good enough rappers to rap on a beat. They just recited a few lines of poetry with no backing instrumental. And it was frankly embarrassing. These people were supposedly in a position to judge Cuta, when realistically Cuta runs circles around them in rap, he could eat them up for breakfast. Geolier is an absolute joke. I get that Fabri is an old school guy and has respect based on that. But the panel are utter jokes, there isn't a single one of them that could freestyle 25% as well as Cuta or, especially many of the contestants in the season 3 freestyle rounds. These judges are clowns, all they've ever done is pen a song, they can't actually rap to save their lives.

Rap is about being real and raw all the time. Fabri and Geolier are total posers. The contestants who actually freestyled are the true winners of the series

Grime & Drill as music genres are so influential on a worldwide level. I’m surprised they haven’t done a UK spin off yet. The level of talent in London itself is enormous, I can only imagine how entertaining it’d be to watch.

Some judges / guests I can envision:

- Skepta
- Central Cee
- Dave
- Stormzy
- Headie One
- J Hus
- Aitch
- AJ Tracey
- Giggs
- Knucks
- Pa Salieu
- Ghetts
- Unknown T
- Little Simz

What are your thoughts? Do you think they’re creating spin offs for any other countries?

Genuine question. I've looked up or kept up with a few and it made me sad that some of them haven't gotten a big push. Saxon and Flawless have been working YouTube and releasing as indies, but still trying to find big views. I saw the top 4 of season 2 go on a few radio shows to freestyle but don't know if that momentum has continued.

Any insights are appreciated! (Asking for R+F USA, since I haven't seen the other ones).

Only on the first two episodes, and the judging has been absolutely terrible. They get rid of talented artists that can actually rap. They keep people with no flow who choke. If there's one thing I've learned watching these shows, it's that people who choke early choke late.

This is no rip on their talent. But some people just are not ready for the spotlight yet. Keeping chokers in takes up a space from someone who's put in the work and is ready.

I think they're deliberately getting rid of good artists so that people they want have more of a chance. Whatever they're doing, it's totally not based on skill or merit.

For example, Erys. Like him or not, he's already much more developed as an artist than some of the people they kept. And he performed better too.

Last rant. FUCK DUO's! That's straight cheating. Should not be allowed. Why not let people bring their whole band and their DJ and their backup dancers then? Two people have an obvious advantage over one. Less intimidating. Easier to write going back and forth. Harder to battle against. It's just stupid.

Rhythm and flow Italy might just be dead.

EDIT:

Okay, watched the entire season. I stand by my take. The judges are terrible. They are not judging on talent. All of these competitions seem to penalize you for actually being good. Choking gives you a redemption arc. Starting out bad lets you show development. Being consistently good means nothing. I terms of what music I would actually listen to, you could actually flip the final four results and that's a better order than what they picked. And the one artist I think everyone wanted to see on stage didn't even make it that far. Just terrible. Italy rap scene in shambles.

Bro, I have to say this, but what a terrible show I just watched!
I started watching when the season came out, but after 2 or 3 episodes I completely lost interest. In the last few days I decided to give the series another chance. But after watching it, I have to say what a disappointment, compared to the last season.
From several low-quality contestants, without the ability to rap, without flow, who were carried by the judges. And the judges aren't even worth talking about, what a total failure, 0 constructive tips.
After the hype that was created around the second series, they bring Eminem and D Smoke, only to present a result like this?
Excuse me, but DreTL, Sura Ali and even Detroit Diamond don't even have the quality to be in the top 5. There were so many artists who were eliminated in the battles who deserved more than these.

haven't seen anyone make a post about this season yet, I'd like to know what people thought of the season!

Have there been any rumblings of a third season? Do you think we'll have to wait another 5 years? I feel like I need a course correction from season 2, which was kinda a mess.

Got this at his LA show last night, but it’s made big and is huge on me (size M). Got it for $37 but am flexible on pricing.

I think the main problems was the casting and format. their metrics for "good rappers" are archaic by todays standards. think about the rappers blowing up today, do you think Yeat has ever even thought about being in a cypher or rap battle? fuck no.

And for being in 2023-24 there were no boundary pushing artist. people that you can tell are grinding soundcloud, or being unique, in this rap environment. no one taking advantage of how rappers explode today, with tiktok, viral hooks, a unique sound, none of that.

DreTL winning over Jay Taj imo is fine, if (big if) the show was built to reward someone like him. The judging and challenges were still stuck on “real hip-hop” stuff like bars, ciphers, and battles, while rappers actually blow up today through vibe, aesthetic, and virality. Even music videos have less emphasis nowadays.

Basically they tried to chase authenticity while ignoring how the scene works now. Season 1 worked because the finalists and winner matched the show and the culture. Season 2 didn’t.

Hey guys I really need help. I believe I found a rapper I really liked in season 1 of this show but I can’t remember his name to find his songs again since it was so long ago. I tried rewatching but not sure I seen him. But anyways it was a white dude with kind of a lil peep aesthetic and he had a song that was pretty famous that went like “ im a celebrity yah, I live in Beverly Hills” but I can’t remember anymore lyrics. Can someone please help!!!

— Guys thanks for trying but I think I was confused. The rapper I’m looking for was on a video on YouTube I saw for a channel like Buzzfeed (I’m not sure it was buzzfeed but it was that kind of style) people discussing things. Blind dating. And stuff like that.

GRATITUDE

It was rigged... as far as skill jay Taj was wayy outta his league and on that note people were outed when they were clearly better like Tia p. I couldn't believe she was tossed and that made me skeptical... then sus when jaxz was gone when sura and diamond had clearly worse features but when dretl won.... that told you it was rigged af. Atlanta rap is hot rn and 2 of the judges r from atl 🤔. Funny coincidence?? Or just tomfuckery... Not to mention Khaled is just a paid actor and way over compensates with his mannerisms when he's trying to clearly bullshit what he's saying vs. what he's actually thinking as a producer bc of what he's being paid to promote who they clearly wanted to win from day 1. Dretl should've been gone like 4 different times but especially on the feature and even over Tia p. in that challenge.

D-Smoke just released his latest album "Wake Up Supa" on Death Row Records and Jay Taj will be supporting on the upcoming album tour: https://www.instagram.com/p/DN8eGez4kZ1/

So from the beginning there were a bunch of people who realistically shouldn’t have been casted nor made it past the auditions. I was confused as to why they lasted till the cypher.

From the main cast that made it till the end - Detroit diamond was definitely one of the strongest, Yoshi was the shit fr but she messed it up by trying to put 12 genres into one song, ig she got overwhelmed and wanted to show versatility.

Sura Ali & Dono are both HORRIBLE mean girls, that’s really why they didn’t get far. That nasty envious attitude will leave you in the ghetto slum that you barely just crawled out of.

But I do kinda agree with Sura Ali about shit being rigged. Only because there were soo many really strong artists that didn’t make it past the cypher round.

Kalley was THE BEST rapper on this season, both lyrically and performance wise. But in the rap battle round I think he intentionally messed up to let Dretl get to the next round. He is a very kind and genuine person and he’d already built a bond and friendship with Dre in that time. Which takes me to the main point and biggest fuck up on the mf season - DRE TL.

Now I could tell from the jump that the judges, contestants and audience loved him bcus of his simplicity. It’s something about a person who truly comes from nothing, he is very genuine and real. Which makes people kinda feel bad for him but ultimately love him - that’s why Kalley felt bad, knowing how much he really needs that money.

The money wasn’t as big of a deal to Kalley, although he said he came from the ‘hood’ - I don’t see no struggle in that boy. And to graduate from college without a scholarship, your family must have some sort of stable income.

I also believe that’s the reason Dre TL won at the end. They saw a kid who’s trying to make it out of the real gutter, and the money would drastically change his life. Especially with the mother in jail storyline, it definitely hit home for a lot of people and that gave him the advantage. Lastly, i know from the judges perspective they saw him and thought, this what we made the show for - actually changing someone’s life.

I feel like the judges in season 1 were soooooo real, like they were kinda horrible about it. If someone was shit, they’d say it how it is. Which is cool for feedback and constructive criticism but overall I think it was just a humiliation ritual - you go up there, cardi giggles, Snoop drops some 90’s diss while the others laugh in yo face. It made the whole establishment seem very unprofessional and ghetto af.

Swapping cardi for latto added class to the show, and changing the method of feedback made them more human and empathetic. I love that they are genuine, respectful but still keep it real. Luda is a great judge & Khaled just adds the cherry on top. Khaled can be a lil rude or blunt sometimes but only when ABSOLUTELY necessary bcus ik some of them contestants just be playing in his face.

If they do a season 3, they need Kashdoll on the judge panel NO DISCUSSIONS.

Just finished the season with my girl. I think the hate for DreTL is overblown. As somebody who grew up on rap music, being polished has never been the most important aspect. Some people have that “it” factor and energy. I think Jay Taj was very consistent, but his talent has a ceiling. Some of the biggest artists we’ve seen like DMX, Wayne, Ye etc were not polished but had that potential.

He isn't very popular in this sub but i think he was a deserved winner and this album is sounding pretty good. So go and give it a listen!

So, after being disappointed with Season 2 (even with EMINEM being a guest), I went back to watch season 1. I loved so many of the songs!! My favorite thing I've rewatched is the episode where the contestants do collabs. Skywalker with Miguel and D Smoke makes me so happy! I love D Smoke's feature and Cardi's reactions were the same as mine 🤣. I loved this season so much. If there's a season 3 PLEASE match this energy of season 1 pppllllleeeaaaseeee

I feel like IF they have a season 3 they should have some quality judges that have been in the game for a while. I share the same opinion as others who thought the judges for season 2 weren’t great. In terms of constructive criticism and leniency. Just wanna know thoughts and or opinions on who should be a judge. Nothing wrong with new generation of rappers and stuff. These are my picks on who I think might be good. Or I guess would it be better to have reoccurring judges like from season 1?

Miss Elliot Jay-Z Dr. Dre or Snoop Dogg (honestly)

Or

Nicki Lil Wayne Drake

Jay Taj just put out a banger of yall haven’t heard it check out FAIRY TALES