Rap Music: Is It Poetry? Essay Example

Introduction

Poetry is a form of Art that uses sounds to create and design unique works. Poetry is an Art that uses sounds to express what it intends (Ntozake 1). Poetry is a unique form of Art because it has many distinctive features. Poetry is known for its use of rhyme, stress, and meters (Ron 150). These elements play an important role in improving sound patterns. This expression is brought out when the poem is read aloud (Randall-60). It is now a question of poetry or rap music.

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Rap Is Poetry

Rap music, just like poetry, uses sound to convey the message. Rap artists use their words to create sounds that convey the message (Alan56). Rap uses poetry's same process to reach its ultimate goal.

Rap is also classified as poetry because of its verses and stanzas. Rap music is made up of beats within a line. These lines form a verse (Jace 2). The same applies to poetry. Both genres are visually identical, so it is easy to conclude that rap poetry is also poetry.

Poetry can be described as lyrics, such as the 'lyric poetry’ of American poets (Timpane 20 and Watts 20). Just like poetry, Rap takes its lyrics from the lyre (a well-known instrument that poets used in ancient times) Rap is music that has lyrics. This creates rhyme.

Rap is poetry that is made from the happenings of daily life (McIver 219). This is similar to poetry, which portrays the literature and culture at a particular time (Jimmy 478). Poetry is a language that expresses a particular idea. It can tell a lot about the culture and age of those who are delivering the message (Bertice 12).

Rap Is Not Poetry

Rap music is not poetry from a linguistic perspective. Rap music is not poetry. Rappers often manipulate the words they use to create a metrical pattern (Mel43). A poem with blank verses will also result in blank verse poetry, not a rap (Alonzo 602.

Perkins 1 says that rap music repeats the same phrase in order to create rhyme. This is particularly true for mediocre rap music. Even the best rap music has complex lyrics that provide a single rhyme pattern. This is usually done to emphasize the message (Language Arts Higher Standards 6,).

Linguists argue that rap doesn't use Standard language in terms sentence structure and wording (Toni 3,). They argue that Fifty Cent, a rapper, pronounces "fifty" as "fitty". They say that 'f' can't be replaced with 't'.

Conclusion

Rap music can be described as poetry. Even the arguments against it, such as the non-standard use of language in Rap music, don't hold water. Poetry was a form of poetry that used poetic devices, which is not a standard language. Rap music can be described as poetry, with the opposition lacking viable support.

Works Cited

Ash, Mel. Beat Spirit: The Way of the Beat Writers as a Living Experience. Penguin, 1997.

Berry, Bertice. The Haunting of Hip Hop. Broadway Books, 2002.

Blackman, Toni. “The Influence of Rap on Spoken Word.” 2001. Web.

Clayton, Jace. “Hip-Hop’s Radical Roots.” 1999. Retrieved from https://www.infoplease.com/hip-hops-radical-roots

George, Nelson. Hip Hop America. Penguin, 1998.

James, Jimmy. “The History of Rap.” 2005. Web.

McIver, Denise L. Droppin’ Science: Straight-up Talk from Hip Hop’s Greatest Voices. Crown, 2002.Language Arts Higher Standards. New Haven Public Schools, 2002.

Light, Alan, ed. The Vibe History of Hip Hop. Three Rivers Press, 1999.

Padgett, Ron. Handbook of Poetic Forms. Teachers and Writers Collaborative, 1987.

Perkins, William Eric, ed. Droppin’ Science: Critical Essays on Rap Music and Hip Hop Culture. Temple University Press, 1995.

Randall, Dudley, ed. The Black Poets. Bantam, 1971.

Shange, Ntozake. Nappy Edges. St. Martin’s, 1978. 50-51.

John Timpane and Maureen Watts. Poetry for Dummies. Hungry Minds, 2001.

Westbrook, Alonzo T. Hip Hoptionary: The Dictionary of Hip Hop Terminology.Broadway Books, 2002.