Can Rap Be Considered Poetry?

Rob Norris

Rap has always operated in an undefinable grey area, half in poetry, half in music. Its roots can be traced back to Africa, centuries before hip-hop existed, when the griots of West Africa would deliver stories rhythmically over a simple instrumental compromised of traditional drums and sparse instrumentation. Rap has since evolved, incorporating jazz and other genres before modern hip hop was born.

Here is the first argument as to why rap can never be poetry. Since its conception, rap has always been paired with the musical backing. Had the music been added later, then there is an argument to be made that rap is just a natural evolution of pure poetry. However, since there has been a clear separation from the beginning, there remains a distance between the art forms. A rapper cannot write a song and remove the music and call it poetry, in the same way a poet cannot add music to a poem and call it rap.

This is probably the most common argument against calling rap poetry - after all, how can it be when the music is a defining feature of rap? My answer would be that it is the music that makes it rap, not just the lyrics. The music is essentially part of the performance of rap and are a different beast from the lyrics themselves. Focusing only on the words on the page, the definition of poetry applies perfectly to rap as well. The Oxford English definition defines poetry as: 'a piece of writing in which the expression of feelings and ideas is given intensity by particular attention to diction (sometimes involving rhyme), rhythm, and imagery.' There is no arguing the fact: rap can express feeling and ideas just as well as poetry, one needn’t look further than Kendrick Lamar to see this. I would argue that songs such as u and The Blacker The Berry do it better than most pure poems, regardless of the power of the delivery. The second part of the definition perfectly applies to rap. Rhythm is the name of the game in rap. The greatest rappers rise to the top because of the great flow and rhythm in their songs. The Notorious B.I.G.’s Hypnotize exemplifies this. Biggie’s lyrics pound to a non-existent beat in your head when you read them, something that all poems strive to achieve.

“But what about the imagery?” you might be screaming. Rap is normally extremely simplistic with its imagery. You could listen to hundreds of rap songs before you come across a profound metaphor that evokes a savoury image. Songs by Eminem, for instance, are often gratuitously vulgar, but just because a song's uncouth doesn’t mean it lacks any sort of imagery.

The biggest differences between rap lyrics and poetry are the common themes and language. Poetry tackles a wide variety of issues, far more than rap. Ranging from death to love, there is a poem that almost anyone can relate to. Rap is somewhat more exclusive as a result of its connections with African American communities. Racism and socio-economic issues are extremely common themes in rap songs given the struggles that black communities go through in our modern era. Additionally, it is almost impossible to find a rapper who doesn’t swear, the most famous exception being Unkle Adams. I attribute this to rap being a more casual art form than pure poetry. Most rappers aim to portray their pure emotions which more often than not includes their cusses. There is also the practical reason that swear words can help to alter the rhythm of a line without changing the meaning dramatically.

One of my favourite things about poetry is the intimacy. There is nothing better than getting to experience another viewpoint on a situation. For example, Shakespeare’s sonnets express something about love that could never be rivalled by any film or book, especially given the relatively short length of a poem (in almost all cases). No other medium can give such a detailed, meaningful and often beautiful view into someone else’s life, whether that be the poet or a character. I’m not going to claim that any rap artist can achieve the heights of these emotions as Shakespeare can, but there’s something that rap can provide that often poetry cannot, and that’s brutal honesty. It’s extremely hard to find a rap song that isn’t written in the first person. For me, this really grounds rap. You never get the impression that this was written coming from anywhere other than the heart and real experiences.

Take for example Florence by Loyle Carner. The raw love for his sister is so accessible that you can’t help but share his fraternal admiration. Now you may think that this is an argument that poetry and rap are separate and have perceivable differences. It is true that this is a difference, but it is a difference that favours rap as it makes it more relevant to the definition of poetry than poetry itself. By being more direct, rap makes the feelings and ideas required for it to be considered poetry more intense. It could be said that poetry is subjective (any opponent of rap being considered poetry would have to agree with this since rap meets all the requirements of poetry and yet the opponent would ignore this) meaning that it is possible that someone who does not understand the meaning of a poem might not agree with its categorisation as a poem. This would be less likely to happen with a rap song given their general transparency and accessibility compared to most poems.

The way I see it, these themes only show the current trends, rather than defining features of either poetry or rap. Was it not the case that during war time war poems were written? This sudden surge of a particular theme did not alter the definition of poetry or create a new art form, simply a sub category at most. The same should be said of rap. Given the current state of racism and discrimination in the world, it is unsurprising that there have been thousands of songs on these extremely relevant issues. As for the language, to object to rap on the basis of the language used is frankly ridiculous. Poetry is an expression of feelings and ideas, regardless of the language used. After all, one of the most famous poems ever written, 'This Be The Verse' by Philip Larkin, contains equally detestable language.

Having said all of this, I hope you will agree that the lyrics of rap are a certain type of poetry. More emphasis is put on the rhyme and rhythm, yet all of the criteria are met so that it can be considered poetry. Simply put, rap is a type of poetry plus music.