Cypher (freestyle rap circle)

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Here is yet another commonly used definition for the word cypher. It is a musical term related to rap music and hip hop culture.

Cypher n. 1. A circle of emcees (rappers) take turns freestyling. (Freestyling - spontaneous real time rhyming that has not been written prior to the cypher) 2. One emcee carries on after another and so on continuing the rhyme pattern. e.g. 1st rapper: I was raised in that T-dot where cats get slain. 2nd rapper: Now I'm levitatin' cyphers like I'm David Blain 3rd Rapper: Spittin' magic on this street - recognize my name 4th rapper: Been slangin' weed from fourteen - now I run this game. 3. See also battle. Two emcees hurl vitriolic insults and comedic punch lines at each other for a predetermined amount of time. A winner is selected by judges, applause or a combination of the two.

There is or was a Canadian rap group called cypher that charted breifly with the song: my peeps. The term is used throughout the English speaking hip hop world and is not regional.