@Fade, I dig your article & respect the opinion. Judging from many conversations on this topic,You aren't alone in feeling like the off the top freestyle battles of yesteryear were superior to today's written league code of ethics.
The term "Freestyling" itself has actually been redefined in recent years to mean a rhyme that you spit on demand whether it was premeditated or not. The older heads will never except this (myself included) to be acceptable as a "freestyle" that to me will always mean you MUST come up with the rhymes right there on the spot.
But.....with the evolution of hip hop & its fanbase, as well as the ever shrinking attention span of our global population, the oldschool scribble jam esque DJ spinning instrumentals, crowd of 1000's, 2 rabid rappers hopping in circles instantly conjuring insults to hurdle via rhyme form at their opponents, is a thing of the past.
The written battle is most definitely a different form of the art, & I feel like its a step in not necessarily a 'better' direction,just simply a different direction. This new format allows both emcees to have time before the event to research & plan on what to attack their opponent with. Who can spit some shit that will make the other person hang their head in shame?
compare it to two boxers, they could have just met that day at random and been told to fight, not really knowing the other fighters strengths or weaknesses, & although it would be fun & exciting, if those two fighters had months to prepare a strategy to overcome that specific opponents styles & movements, it would appear much more professional & in most cases it would just look cleaner.
This new style is not always an advantage for the emcees as I have witnessed near mental breakdowns and complete dismantling of ego's as some people either cant remember their verses or they just get outwitted by a clearly smarter opponent.
Canibus was expected to have written for this, so the notebook wasn't like folks were all "oh shit he's not freestyling!" But to actually bust out the pad and READ? nononono, not even the new heads will play that shit. Dizaster is known (as are the best in these leagues) to blend written premeditated rhymes with freestling off the top, rebuttals to an opponents round are held with high reverence & Often times the cats that are held with high regard are the ones that still do come off the top at certain points in a battle.