Hip Hop

Hip hop is a popular musical art that was created by the black community. It may be seen as just simple music by some, but it actually contains many poetic roots. One aspect is its intricate rhyme, and another being the “flow”, otherwise knows as how the words fit the music/beat. Early hip hop songs typically contained raps which followed an abab or abcb rhyme pattern. These rappers were considered to be part of “a long line of ports using conventional poetic forms to explore unconventional themes” (Morris 223). The previously mentioned abab or abcb rhyme most hip hop rappers used was changed in 1986 when artist MC Rakim entered the scene. He challenged that pattern by including internal rhyme, slant rhyme, assonance, and consonance along with the classic end rhyme patterns all in one song. Using the assonance and consonance along with internal rhyme then became a staple for future hip hop artists to include in their music. Another influential artist known as B.I.G., focused on different scansion methods, which was also followed by many artists after him. He would “manipulate the stresses or accentuation of words” to help create more consistent end or internal rhyme patterns (Morris 225). All this pattern, flow, and rhyme helps keep the listeners attention, more specifically described as “the ear, sensitive to patterns, and searching for them, is one step ahead of conscious absorption” (Morris 227). Hip hop is also heavily based on “free styling” which is when rappers improvise lyrics that rhyme to a beat, flow is an important aspect of this form of the art. If the lyrics don’t fit the flow, it is not seen as good free styling, even if the lyrics themselves are good — the music and lyrics must work well together. Many of these lyrics consist of pop culture references including expensive alcohol brands, and different slang terms. There are also specific sounds used like alarms to allude to the urban culture which surrounds the art. All these literary tools being used in such a popular art form has brought more people to have an interest in poetry even if they don’t realize it.

Morris, Tracie. “Hip-hop rhyme formations.” An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art. Eds. Anne Finch and Kathrine Varnes. Ann Arbor: U. of Michigan Press, 2002.