The breakout star in the cast of hopefuls was undeniably Londynn B. These wins felt cheap, and unfulfilling, like eating an entire bag of candy, then wondering why your stomach hurts. This felt unfair when the greener challengers were paired against people with 10 years of rap-battle experience, including one contestant who had been on another televised competition. This pushed out any potential winners who were more introspective, and had never done a rap battle before. The strict adherence to the mini-challenges favored aggressive, seasoned battle-rappers (as there was a strict knock-out round). It felt like the tired trope of pitting female performers against each other that's played out, again and again, over the past few decades. This was particularly apparent with Savannah Hannah who had a red-carpet ready look, which she'd assembled on her own, and a performance at or above the level of other artists who moved forward. Her very occasional digs at talented female contestants were sad, given Cardi's leadership in the industry. Overall, Cardi B is a charming judge with catchy, memorable one-liners that dominate the highlight reel. This group included some who had never rap-battled before. The front-runners made quick work of these cuspy candidates in the following round, and we missed seeing the more interesting folks that were excluded: Kay Makavel, Kaylee Crossfire, Rae Khalil, Beanz and Felisha George a.k.a. When things were close between contestants, the judges invariably returned to the music genre's defaults, favoring predominantly male rappers advancing traditional styles.Ī number of promising and original artists would advance only to be cut for far more conventional challengers. ![]() TV may be saturated with music competitions, but Rhythm + Flow is one of a kind.For all its signature strengths, the show was not without its shortcomings. The magic of songwriting suffuses every episode. ![]() Judges push contestants to put their whole selves into their lyrics. It honors black culture and regional history, incorporating traditions like the rap battle. But for the most part the show works because-on top of recruiting a more distinguished panel of judges than any of its broadcast competitors-it captures what makes hip-hop unique. Varied episode formats sometimes yields clunkily paced hours my eyes glazed over during the cypher round, in which all 30 contestants perform and get critiqued. also offer solid advice, Cardi brings the charm and the punchlines, lending a party vibe to every shot she’s in. While Chance and, to a lesser extent, T.I. She has an intuitive understanding of the role persona plays in pop stardom and little patience for contestants who don’t have stage presence. In fact, as anyone who’s followed her rise from VH1’s Love & Hip-Hop to chart-topping hitmaker could have predicted, Cardi is the show’s most dynamic presence-a rap-game Lucille Ball with impeccable timing and a bubbly, girlish drawl. She’s full of these blunt but good-natured reads. ![]() “You look like you build computers,” Cardi B tells one guy, “but you did good.” We meet a glamorous queer mom, a socially conscious teacher giving back to the neighborhood where he grew up, a nerdcore wordsmith who cites Cab Calloway as an influence. ![]() Hip-hop stereotypes are casually shattered. Viewers quickly get a good sense of who each MC is-not just through the interview segments, but because they put so much of themselves into their raps and songs. Rhythm + Flow really distinguishes itself once the field is whittled to 30, with a series of challenges that test a range of rap-superstar skills, from collaboration and one-on-one competition to incorporating samples and making music videos. In place of Simon Cowell-style nastiness, the preliminary rounds hold your attention with fly-on-the-wall footage of animated conversations between the would-be contestants and stellar guest stars: Killer Mike, Snoop Dogg, Anderson. In an improvement on American Idol, the four audition episodes are filmed at real clubs with live audiences, providing a sense of not only the hopefuls’ raw talent, but also their charisma in front of a crowd. to America’s hip-hop capitals-Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Atlanta-on the hunt for the next big rapper. 9, the show sends judges Cardi B, Chance the Rapper and T.I. In a 10-episode season that will roll out over three consecutive Wednesdays starting Oct. But its most direct challenge to network prime-time to date is Rhythm + Flow, an uncensored alternative to popular family-friendly singing competitions like The Voice and The Masked Singer. So far this fall, the streaming giant has disrupted their premiere season with flashy new scripted series like Ryan Murphy’s The Politician and the elevated police procedural Unbelievable. Like a battle rapper tearing into a weakened opponent, Netflix is gunning for the broadcast networks.
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