You can count the pioneers of hip-hop as fans of J Noa as well. On Tuesday (July 11), the rising Dominican rapper wowed legends like DMC and Grandmaster Caz with an impromptu freestyle performance.

In the past year, J Noa has become an artist to watch out for in the Latine rap scene. With her fierce flow, the self-proclaimed “La Hija del Rap” often speaks out against the injustice and inequality faced by people in underserved parts of the Dominican Republic. J Noa also speaks to her resilience as a Black Dominican woman breaking through in the empowering “No Me Pueden Parar.” J Noa’s success is not just limited to the Latine market; she is making her mark in hip-hop.

Earlier this week, J Noa visited the place where hip-hop was born in the Bronx, New York. She found herself in the company of pioneers in the genre like Run-DMC’s DMC, Grandmaster Caz, Fearless Four’s Mighty Mike C, and the Funky 4 + 1’s Sha-Rock. J Noa took advantage of the spontaneous moment by spitting a freestyle verse before the rap icons. For nearly two minutes, she unleashed her fiery flow completely in Spanish.

Among her knockout bars, she rapped, “I’m not Natti, but I have a very criminal flow / I’m versatile / I’m not a copy / I’m original.” Grandmaster Caz, Mighty Mike C, and Sha-Rock watched her performance in awe while DMC had a big smile. After the rap pioneers applauded J Noa’s freestyle, Mighty Mike C pointed at her and said, “This is what hip-hop does!” 

This was an exciting moment to watch ahead of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary on Aug. 11. Back in May, J Noa released her debut EP Autodidacta. The EP also included her singles “Qué Fue?” and “Betty.”