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Eminem, 50 Cent, Lil' Wayne, The New Poets?


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#1
IamAshley.

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 In year 10 my school is doing a unit on poetry, and this year for the first time ever, we're looking at rap and deciding if we think it's   poetry. So do you think that the lyrics of rap/hip hop, is poetry? Why/ Why not?


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#2
EspoirTheMage

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fccbfcc7-ff5b-41b1-a865-f0fb8c1d587e_zps

 

 

 

 

depends on the lyrics really.

 

lil' wayne thinks nigga rhymes with nigga


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#3
Insane Pie

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What are you defining poetry as? Just rhyme or more?


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#4
IamAshley.

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Definition: Poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response. Poetry has been known to employ meter and rhyme, but this is by no means necessary.


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#5
Anne-Marie

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The way I see it, pop lyrics are a sub-category of poetry, so by definition you can say rap is poetry. But since it has the common name of rap, it doesn't really need to be referred to as poetry.
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#6
Crispin

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Definition: Poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response. Poetry has been known to employ meter and rhyme, but this is by no means necessary.

Please add your own opinions and thoughts, instead of quoting other sources. Sorry, but it irks me when someone starts a topic and doesn't indicate what they feel/mean when they're discussing something. It's pointless otherwise.

 

Rap, in my opinion, is a form of poetry. It's not poetry in essence, but it is spoken word - so it's an extension, if you will.

 

It has a beat, there is rhyme and movement or whatever it's called, therefore it is poetry but not in the typical sense as you know it. 

 

Excuse the font size, I have no idea what I am writing and I can't find my glasses so.. voila. 


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#7
IamAshley.

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Sorry Lavina. I saw that definition and agreed with it, I just thought it could explain it better than I could in my own words.


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#8
Insane Pie

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inb4 Ashin saying something about someone calling her by her username.


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#9
IamAshley.

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I wasn't aware that was her name...


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#10
Insane Pie

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There is a lot that you are not aware about when it comes to the dark underbelly of EC.

I do believe that rap/hip hop is a form of poetry, atleast "older" stuff is. Tupac, Notorious BIG, Run DMC, Beastie Boys, etc.


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#11
Crispin

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^Eh? :lol: She actually used my username, it made me happeh.

 

-

 

I personally quite like rap and hip hop, I grew up on a lot of it, as well as rnb. I have deep roots in the genre, I tell ya. But seriously, it's a fun style of music. It's the beat, and the fact that you can dance to it, as well as there occasionally being some witty/funny lines in there. 

 

Despite what a lot of people think, rappers do tend to poke a lot of fun at themselves. I like the music because you can just enjoy it, revel in the feeling, not worry about messages. If that makes sense? I like the music to be able to dance around in my room and just make myself feel all loose and relaxed, music as well know depends on mood. 

 

I like Kanye West, Jay Z, Prof Green.. there's more but I forget. Maybe mainstream, but I don't know how or have the time to find similar artists I may like. 

 

I don't believe that there's anything of value to be found in most radio-played "rap", the likes of 50 cent and Jay Z or whoever, all of them. I'm not even a massive fan of rap personally, so I'm not going to pretend I know a lot. Sure, it's entertaining, i'm not denying that, but if you're talking about anything that's emotionally hitting or poetic, I don't think so. Then again, not all poetry is created equal and something being poetic doesn't necessarily mean it's well-written or good, or really has any redeeming value. I suppose it's very subjective. 

 

However, there's definitely an argument for some artists, such as Immortal Technique, as I beg anyone to listen to this song and not feel their heart break. It might be poetry in the traditional sense, but it's definitely emotional, more of a social commentary I suppose.

You confused me a wee bit here. You don't think there's value to it, but you don't know about it? 

I think a lot of people confuse the fact that modern rap and hip hop, not all, aren't necessarily designed to be hard hitting or conveying a message. The theme for those genres has always fallen under a very similar category, that's what defines the genre, clearly not everyone will like that, but it's generally just that. However not to group all modern rap as meaningless entertainment, there are, obviously, rap/hip hop people who don't conform to the specific style.

 

But I'm wondering what you mean by it coming under poetry? Do you mean poetry as the form or poetry as in the traditional sense, and the meaning behind it? 

 

It may not be grouped under the latter, but anyone can deny it all they like, but rap and hip hop are forms of poetry. They employ the conventions that are found in poetry, thus indicating they are as well. (see my previous post and Iamashleys copy/paste definition)


If you don't think it's poetic in regards to 'meaning', then one should probably just label it as lacking in emotional engagement, instead. Y'know? :lol:

 

Sorry Lavina. I saw that definition and agreed with it, I just thought it could explain it better than I could in my own words.

It's fine chuck, you just missed an 'i' from my username, is all. 


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#12
Okano

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Macklemore is an amazing rapper. He only recently became famous. He's an amazing poet too. Songs like Otherside, Life is Cinema, and The End. Also One Love. He's from Seattle here.

 

For the Irish mods here... Macklemore has some music celebrating being Irish. "Irish Celebration"

 

Some of the best poets in rap stay underground and it's unfortunate. They are never heard on radio. Check out Grieves he's rap/jazz mixed. Language Arts Crew, Common Market.

 

I think the underground groups are more poetry because they aren't simply trying to please the masses of people to earn a dollar, it comes from the heart when they aren't "famous."

 

( All these groups are from where I am, rap is great here.)


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#13
Algernon

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That's why I believe it's pretty subjective, my own personal interpretation of something to be poetic is that it probably has to make some sort of emotional connection with me more so than 'this is pretty fun'. Mainstream rap doesn't make that sort of connection with me, other things might, like the Immortal Technique song. I would still primarily consider it music over poetry, obviously, but it has poetic links. 

Where do you draw the line, then? Can a single word that's sung in a particularly emotional way be considered poetry? Is a movie with a twist ending poetry? If a song is poetry, are the lyrics alone poetry as well? Or the music? Is footage of a baby animal being killed poetry? In this case, where does poetry end and sentimentality begin?

 

I like Dance with the Devil, but I don't see how it's poetry. To me, it's a cautionary tale, a story with a twist ending in song form.

 

I also don't see the point of singling out rap for this discussion and ignoring other genres of music and other artists. If you want to talk about poetry in music, there's one go-to guy and that's Leonard Cohen.


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#14
introvertedactor

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By definition, if it has meter... it is poetry; say, Shakespeare is poetic.

 

But morally, is it right to say that someone like Nicki Minaj sings poetry? 

 

Personally, I'd say no.


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#15
DDdrummerGuy

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your best bet would be emniem, his lyrics, are easily desyphed, and can be easily understood


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#16
IamAshley.

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But if you took a way the cussing it's be half the impact and quantity


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#17
Bimp

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I think a lot of people are confusing the word 'poetry' with the word 'poetic'. Similarly, 'poetry' is not synonymous with 'good'.


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#18
Two Headed Bro

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I still believe this is the finest example of poetry in rap to this day.


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#19
jenniefromtheblock

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The way I see it is the older rap, as Alex stated earlier, can be considered poetry. Now, yes there is some stuff today that could be categorized as poetry, but when all they're rapping about is "bitches & hoes, getting drunk, smoking weed" and whatever else they seem to rap about, it's not considered poetry, in my book. I honestly can even stand rap, so I can't say I know much about it, though I used to listen to older rap when I was younger.


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#20
Muse!

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I believe all lyrics could be a form of poetry. And since we're specifically talking about rap, look at some Poetry Slams. Just put a beat to that and it could be what we consider "rap"

I do not, however, believe that all rappers are poets. As stated, poetry is supposed to make you feel something.
And when all a so-called "artist" raps about is money, weed, and girls that only makes me feel like I should punch them in the face.

Looking at the big picture though, artistic standards are considerably dead so really any argument about what is or isn't poetry is subjective and can only ever be someone's opinion.
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