Freestyle rapper Harry Mack has been entertaining random strangers online with freestyle raps. To celebrate his rising success on YouTube, he plans to do a 10-hour freestyle livestream.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

OK, here at NPR News, we are familiar with live coverage. When there's big breaking news, we may spend hours in front of the microphone talking to you.

NOEL KING, HOST:

A man in Los Angeles is planning a daylong live show of his own. But it will not be breaking news; it will be this.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NPR FREESTYLE")

HARRY MACK: (Rapping) Check it out. Listen. I said, straight up off the mental, how I send these bars. H. Mack tapping in live on NPR. Yeah. I'm known for blowing people's minds with the crazy flows, and now I'm on National Public Radio, here to break it down for the people across the planet. I'm coming through with other vibes that are so gigantic. I'm here to make it happen. I perform with vision. I'm tapping in for the MORNING EDITION.

(LAUGHTER)

KING: That's freestyle rapper and YouTuber Harry Hack. Today he's doing 10 hours of improvised rap on his livestream.

MACK: It's a pretty insane thing to do.

INSKEEP: Well, he said so. The livestream is to celebrate Mr. Mack's YouTube channel reaching 1 million subscribers.

MACK: What's so cool about freestyling is once you master the basic techniques of it and become very comfortable with these techniques, it's kind of infinite, you know? I mean, as long as somebody is constantly feeding me something to incorporate, I can kind of do it forever.

INSKEEP: He kind of has been. He grew his fan base during the pandemic. Couldn't rap in public, so he started connecting with random strangers on a video chat site and freestyling for them.

MACK: I thought that's all it was going to be, that it was going to be maybe, like, a gimmick or something that I do once or twice for fun. I've been blown away by the reception to it and also by the potential for, like, making real, emotional connections with other human beings.

KING: He says what he enjoys most about performing is the energy he gets from people's reactions.

MACK: I mean, it lifts me up, you know? It inspires me to no end. It's so exciting. It makes me feel like I'm doing what I'm meant to do. It makes me feel like I'm living out my purpose. It makes me feel complete as a human being.

INSKEEP: He's in good condition while rapping about MORNING EDITION.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NPR FREESTYLE")

MACK: (Rapping) On Zoom, I bring the energy. For these freestyles, there's no remedy. So much vibe, would have thought that there was 10 of me. Here for my people, you know I'll never lose. All up in the cypher session, Harry Mack will peruse. And the dopest freestyles is the ones that I choose. Ladies and gentlemen, people, this is NPR News. Peace. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.