"When I first started rapping, me and a couple brothers would all sit around my place freestyling while someone beat boxed. I even used to tell all the girls that I was a poet. They seemed to find it a little more touching than a rapper" (Prince Paul, The Source 16) The lyrics of rappers are very similar to the words of Black poets. It is argued as to wether or not rap is a viable form of poetry.
Both discuss similar subjects, write in the same style and use the same type of language in their writings. When looking at a poem or reading rap lyrics, distinguishing between the two can be difficult, if not impossible.Both Black rappers and Black poets write about the same subjects. For example the rap group NWA, and the poet Alice Walker, both cover the topic of being from a minority race. Alice Walker states in one of her poems that "there is no planet stranger than the one im from" (Walker, "Note Passed To Superman" 18-19). What Alice is saying is that the world is strange because people judge others by their skin color. The approach NWA takes is a more presumptuous one.
In the song "Fuck Tha Police", NWA says " Young nigga got it bad cuz im brown / And not the other color so police think / They have the authority to kill a minority" (NWA "Fuck Tha Police" 3-5). Another common subect between Black poets and rappers is "ghetto life". Nikki Giovani's poem called "For Saundra" is about how she is going to write a poem about trees and blue skies. Then she realized that she was living in a "concrete jungle". i wanted to write / a poem / that rhymes / but revolution doesnt lend / itself to bebopping / then my neighbor / who thinks i hate / asked -do u ever write / tree poems- i like trees / so i thought / i'll write a beautiful geen tree poem / peeked from my window / to check the image / noticed the school yard was covered / with asphalt / no green - no trees grow / in Manhattan / then, well, i thought the sky / ill do a big blue sky poem / but all the clouds have winged / low since no-Dick was elected / so i thought again / and it occurred to me / maybe i shouldn't write / at all / but clean my gun / and check my kerosene supply (Giovanni "For Saundra")What all this is about is simply the reality of the urban ghettos. Gangstarr als...
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...;. To all my brothers in the streets / I know u feel you have to hustle cause your peeps gotta eat / Makin moves right and exact; don't wanna see you layin' flat / Don't wanna see ya catch a bullet black / If we don't build we'll be destroyed / Thats a challenge we face in the race of poor and unemployed (Gangstarr "In Memory Of")This song by Gangstarr is about life on the streets and what one must do to survive on the streets.
The messages found in theses rap songs and poems are important messages that must be listened to. They speak about what is happening in society and what we have to do to change it or in some cases stop it. In conclusion, the lyrics of rappers are very comparable to the spoken words of Black poets. There can be comparisons made in the style of writing, the subjects, language and the messages behind the writings. All of these similarities make rap a viable form of poetry that is enjoyed and understood by young people in today's society. Today's teenagers, in many cases, would, not read poetry and comprehend the message, but, they would listen to rap and be able to understand the idea the artist is trying to get across.
In Adam Bradley’s “Rap poetry 101” he shows us how rap is more than just songs being sung, it is poetry; it is something that has an empowering ability to make the familiar unfamiliar.In this chapter Bradley creates a new viewpoint too rap. Bradley shows us how rap and poetry has become a very similar piece of art that should be further appreciated. In the chapter poetry 101 Bradley describes how rap is a form of public art, and how rappers have become our greatest public poets. The importance of rap as poetry is shown throughout Bradley's book as well as the evidence behind the reasons rap is poetry.
When people hear the word rap, they think money and drugs. Unfortunately, every rapper falls in to that category however some rap can be more meaningful than any song could every be. Today, I’m going to show you one rapper who falls into this stereotype.
A man by the name of Charles Simic once said, “Poetry is an orphan of silence. The words never quite equal the experience behind them”(Quote Land). Poems have been written for thousands of years. When most people think of poetry, they either think of a sonnet, limerick, all the way down to a haiku. They also think that a poem is something that must be recited, but in reality a poem can also be sang as a song. Lately more and more songs that are being released have a story behind them, trying to express feelings of loneliness, death, or past experiences. One of the best examples would be rap. Rappers love to tell about “their” life in the city; when the times were rough because they were poor and all the violence going on. But rap isn’t the only type of music that can be interpreted as a poem.
Gil Scott-Heron is known for his powerful and meaningful music. During his time, he has gone through numbers of trials and tribulations but overall, Gil Scott-Heron’s way of words has inspired many. “One of the most important progenitors of rap music, Gil Scott- Heron's aggressive, no-nonsense street poetry inspired a legion of intelligent rappers while his engaging songwriting skills placed him square in the R&B charts later in his career, backed by increasingly contemporary production courtesy of Malcolm Cecil and
Music can be reflection of our life experience. Each genre of music invokes different emotions and reactions in it's listeners. Rap has become a very popular genre in today's society. Is today “Gangster rap” and rappers exploiting society, introducing drugs and instigating violence? In the mid-1980s Gangster rap came to be portray images of violence, guns, gangs, drugs, and sexism. By the 1990s rap music became a major part of the industry and topped the charts. As people begin to operate different things; different music was engendered and that contributed to the variety of music that we have today. This is one of the many things that makes America different but is astringently under looked by everyone. There are many types of different raps
If you go to a hip hop concert nowadays you will almost always see a mixture of races. Groups such as A Tribe Called Quest, and The Roots welcome this ethnic mixing in their music. On the contrary, most “gangster rappers” do not promote this mixture. Th
Rap is about giving voice to a black community otherwise underrepresented, if not silent, in the mass media. It has always been and remains … directly connected to the streets from which it came. (144)
With poetry coming in many different styles today, writing comes easy for some. One way that poetry is written today is in the form of rap. The artist known as "J Cole" is one of the best rappers of the 21st century. J Cole went double platinum with top hits such as "Wet Dreamz" and "Love Yourz". In both of these songs Cole connects the listener's with relatable stories and scenarios. Both of these songs are forms of poetry somehow.
The most popular new music to emerge from the ‘80’s was rap music. It first developed in the mid ‘70’s in New York City, and soon in other urban areas, primarily amongst African-American teen-agers. It became very popular with the urban public that it soon began to spread throughout the United States and much of the world. It replaced rock music as the creative force in music of the ‘80’s and ‘90’s. However, as popular as it was then and it is now, the lyrics of many rap songs have caused controversy. Many believe and have charged that these lyrics promote racism and violence and show contempt for women.
In todays society poetry is all around us, we use it in music to deliver messages to the average radio listener. According to SelectUSA (The creative Media industry in the United States) The United States music industry in 2011 reached 15.2 billion dollars. With the information given a person can tell that a lot of time and money goes into music in today’s society. The music people listen to have many different elements that an average listener would not pick up. Many songs have poetic techniques that give great meaning to the song that makes the song unique. The song I Love the way you Lie by Eminem and Rihanna and the song Airplanes by B.o.B are similar in ways they use poetic devises and how the over all message of the two songs can relate to the average person that listen to the song.
Jeffries, M. P. (2011). Thug Life: Race, Gender, and the Meaning of Hip-hop. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Poetry is very difficult to interpret because everybody has a different approach, understand, meaning and point of view. My next writer is an African Americans whose poem is” Black Art” by Amiri Baraka “Black Art”. In the poem “ Black Art “, the poem is dedicated to African American to wake up and reverse the situation , by taking control over everything . The author urges the audience to be conscious and unconscious about African-American. Amiri is saying I need to see all the hardworking of the African American not just word but reality, proof, demonstration, and action been taking. In addition, in a poem the author express his anger; frustration to the audience how he feels and the action need take
Rap has been around since 1973, when Kool DJ Herc introduced this new mash of jazz, soul, gospel, and reggae. This culture has been focused around African Americans, and since has served as a voice for the underrepresented, that is spreading violence, alcohol, and drugs. In this genre the most popular and successful boast about who has murdered more foes as breezily as other artists sing about love. Rap music tells stories of drugs, violence, and alcohol. The youth of America is constantly exposed to this kind of music, and our teenagers are being desensitized to the effects of these stories.
Have you ever wondered what was making that horrible racket coming from a teen’s car. The odds are that it would be some type of rap song, yet the beat was too loud for you to hear the lyrics. Based off what the mass knows about rap music, you were lucky to not hear the lyrics right, wrong. Rap lyrics have many senses of great poetry and life lessons that should be heard. At least some of rap songs relate to struggles, deaths they have suffered, or even respect of women that many do not believe that rappers would ever do. Rap music is becoming increasingly meaningful for not only adults but for older youth as well to comprehend about respect and an improved understanding of life with struggles and oppressions.
While Nas's rap seems to be pure entertainment contributing to violence and negativity, his rhythm and poetry is an art in itself contributing to positivity in the world. His positivity arises by helping people in hardships have a greater outlook of life, looking beyond history for a better future, and inspiring the art of rap. Firstly, rhythm and poetry tends to have a negative stigma that roots from the depths of the ghettos to