How To Rap: Connection Between Rap & Poetry

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How To Rap: Rap’s Connection with Poetry

I’ve been asked to speak about the connection between rap and poetry. A handful of people don’t think they’re related, why is that?

My guess is that it’s rooted in stereotypes regarding the type of people who like each form of art. If you think about a rapper, you think about urban culture, gangster rap, and possibly even a characterization towards braggadocio, violence and maybe a touch of civil rights. Poetry, on the other hand, is often stereotyped as more emotional, elitist and introverted. The stereotyped demographics behind the two forms couldn’t be more different.

But, don’t get me wrong, I don’t agree with any of these characterizations in the least. I, do, however think this is the divide many people draw in their minds. If you think about the two art forms this way, you might even think they’re opposites, but there’s major problems with this type of thinking.

The first is that both rap and poetry run the gamut when it comes to topic choice. If you expose yourself to more styles and artists, you’re going to find work that covers every and any topic. You’ll find urban poets and suburban rappers, that are good. Both art styles are a means to self-expression and the common thread is that both poets and rappers are verbal thinkers. They like ideas and the ability to express themselves through the power of language.

Which leads into the another factor these art forms have in common. High level talent in both are deeply rooted in similar skills. The most pronounced aspects being rhyming, rhythm and figurative language. Once you master these aspects you’ll have a good baseline to perform the other art form.

The biggest differences are in structure. You might even consider rap to just be a particular form of poetry, instead of a completely different topic. Rap tends to be a little more uniform with rhyme, while poetry expands out into a lot more categories like haikus,

If you’re still not sold, check out the def poetry slam. You may not have heard of this before, but you’re going to find major rappers like Kanye west and Mos Def reciting poetry. There are some really great pieces in the lineup and I highly recommend checking it out. In addition, if you’re serious about improving your rap skills, I think it’s worth reading at least a little poetry. If you don’t like it, you can skip over it, but you may find it a lot more engaging than you originally thought. You can also find poetic techniques to borrow from for your own work.

That’s all for this video, feel free to ask questions in the comment box below. You can also check out http://www.RapBetter.com, which is a community dedicated to creating better rappers.

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