Many people debate whether the lyrics of Public Enemies, JayZ Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne are actually a form of black poetry. Some people think rap music is just ramblings about money, sex, drugs and violence. Others view it as sophisticated commentary on the issues facing African Americans living in urban areas. This raises the question, Is rap music the new black poetry?
To answer this question, we must look at the characteristics found in traditional poems. Poetry means different things to different people. However, when we think of poems, we usually think of lines of text that have meter, have a rhythm and tell a story. Poems rely on figurative language, strong verbs and sensory details like smell and taste. Interestingly, rap music often has many of these traits.
Let’s look at an example. Tupac Shakur rapped, “I see no changes all I see is racist faces / misplaced hate makes disgrace to races.” The song continues with Tpac asking listeners to help change the widespread racist opinions. The end-rhyme is very clear in these lines. Ending the lines with “faces” and “races” gives them a poetry feel even before the content is analyzed. Next, the lines let you see what the rapper is seeing. Tupac reveals the truth of about racism and its affect on people. Like most poetry, these song has a purpose and should be considered black poetry. The artist, Tupac, was even a published poet before he became a rapper!
So if rap music shares so much with poetry, why is it so far removed from traditional forms of black poetry? The truth is, black poetry and rap music are closely related. In fact, rap music evolved from poetry! Modern rap and hip-hop music is often traced back to a group of poets called The Last Poets.
When The Last Poets formed a group in 1968 in Harlem, there were three poets and a drummer. In 1969, the group expanded with more Harlem writers and a percussionist. The group would perform spoken word poetry set to a beat. The drum and percussion instrument made the poetry sound much different from traditional black poetry. The result still wasn’t quite music. It couldn’t be defined as pop, rock, jazz or other form. It was something new! It blatantly addressed issues that were once ignored or suppressed. The poems talked about racism, drugs, poverty and other important issues.
Impressed by the success and style of The Last Poets, musicians started to draw from them for their own work. The efforts created what is now known as rap. There is some debate about who was the first rapper. DJ Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa are often considered the first rappers.
Since black poetry and rap music share similar history, there isn’t any reason why the two should be kept separate. Rap music should be considered black poetry. Not all rap songs are good. Poetry is the same way: there are good poems and there are bad poems. The few bad rap songs are not enough to reject rap music as a form of black poetry. The popularity of rap music has allowed it to grow into the new black poetry.
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