Common and the Roots‘ Black Thought faced off in a “Wheel of Freestyle” rap battle on Friday’s Tonight Show, with the two hip-hop veterans forced to craft songs out of three completely random words.
Common, who was visiting Jimmy Fallon to promote his role in John Wick 2, was tasked with weaving together the words “blender, snowplow and Keanu” into a freestyle, which the rapper skillfully did (even though he butchered the vowel emphasis on “snowplow”).
Black Thought, a veteran of two Wheel of Freestyle battles against Hamilton‘s Lin-Manuel Miranda, fired back with a killer verse that included the terms “blanket,” “IMAX” and “cheeseburger.” Common closed out the battle with a freestyle that featured “kangaroo,” “limousine” and “virtual reality.”
It’s been a busy week for Black Thought on the Tonight Show as the rapper was also employed to spout a Valentine’s Day-themed freestyle that featured elements of Frank Sinatra, Christopher Cross and Chic.