FFG alumni MC Fly Choppa pointed out this article on how scientific brain scan studies on freestyle MCs show that while improvising, rappers enter a “flow” state that is similar to athletes being “in the zone.” Well, we knew that.
99 problems but fMRI ain’t one: rappers help scientists study creativity
I love this quote from the next article:
What this means is that freestylers enter a “flow” state, which researchers described as a “complete immersion in creative activity, typified by focused self-motivation, positive emotional valence and loss of self-consciousness.” Their creative gate is wide open.
“It’s the absence of attention,” said Braun. “When the attention system is partially offline, you can just let things fly and let things come without critiquing, monitoring or judging them.”
“It’s almost like you’re able to think faster,” said Rizik-Baer, who was also credited as co-author of the study. “You’re able to incorporate multiple perspectives without thinking about it.”