Rap Vs Poetry Essay example -- essays research papers

"When I first started rapping, me and a couple brothers would all sit around my place freestyling while person beat boxed. I even used to tell all the girls that I was a poet. They seemed to find it a little more touching than a rapper" (Prince Paul, The Source 16) The lyrics of rappers are truly similar to the words of benighted poets. It is argued as to wether or not rap is a viable be of poetry. Both discuss similar subjects, write in the same bolt and use the same type of language in their writings. When looking at a verse or registering rap lyrics, distinguishing between the twain can be difficult, if not impossible.Both s downhearted rappers and Black poets write more or less the same subjects. For example the rap group NWA, and the poet Alice Walker, both cover the outlet of being from a minority race. Alice Walker states in one of her verse forms that " in that respect is no planet stranger than the one im from" (Walker, "Note Passed To Superm an" 18-19). What Alice is facial expression is that the world is strange because people judge others by their skin cloak. The address NWA takes is a more presumptuous one. In the song "Fuck Tha police force", NWA says " Young nigga got it bad cuz im brown / And not the other color so police think / They corroborate the authority to kill a minority" (NWA "Fuck Tha Police" 3-5). Another common subect between Black poets and rappers is "ghetto emotional state". Nikki Giovanis song called "For Saundra" is about how she is going to write a poem about trees and somber skies. Then she realized that she was living in a "concrete jungle".      i wanted to write / a poem / that rhymes / but revolution doesnt lend / itself to bebopping / then my neighbor / who thinks i detest / asked -do u ever write / tree poems- i like trees / so i thought / ill write a beautiful geen tree poem / peeked from my window / to impa irment the image / noticed the school yard was cover / with asphalt / no green - no trees grow / in Manhattan / then, well, i thought the sky / ill do a big blue sky poem / but all the clouds have winged / low since no-Dick was elected / so i thought again / and it occurred to me / maybe i shouldnt write / at all / but clean my gun / and check my kerosene supply (Giovanni "For Saundra")What all this is about is simply the reality of the urban ghettos. Gangstarr als... .... To all my brothers in the streets / I know u feel you have to hustle cause your peeps gotta eat / Makin moves right and exact dont wanna see you layin flavourless / Dont wanna see ya catch a bullet black / If we dont build well be destroyed / Thats a challenge we face in the race of pitiful and unemployed (Gangstarr "In Memory Of")This song by Gangstarr is about life on the streets and what one must do to survive on the streets. The messages name in theses rap songs and poems are important mess ages that must be listened to. They babble out about what is happening in society and what we have to do to convert it or in some cases stop it.     In conclusion, the lyrics of rappers are very comparable to the spoken words of Black poets. There can be comparisons made in the style of writing, the subjects, language and the messages behind the writings. All of these similarities affect rap a viable form of poetry that is enjoyed and understood by young people in todays society. Todays teenagers, in many cases, would, not read poetry and comprehend the message, but, they would listen to rap and be able to say the idea the artist is trying to get across.