Interview: Kate Tempest

Teddy Ackery

I decided for my extended project to write about the poet/writer/rapper Kate Tempest, whose work I have been deeply interested in for the past couple of years. I e-mailed her management with several questions for Kate, and to my amazement she actually replied. I felt these answers should be shared as they are thought-provoking, and provide a deeper insight into her work. I highly recommend checking out any of her music or poetry if you are interested by this subject matter.

Why do you feel ancient mythology needs to be re-explored, such as in your work Brand New Ancients? 

For me, the old stories are helpful because they encourage us to situate ourselves more fully in the present. They remind us of the timelessness of the human experience. I find great comfort in remembering that we all stand on a line that goes way back to the beginning.

But I don't think they need to be re-explored. They don't need anything. To be honest with you, I just loved to read the old stories as a child and as a teenager, and when I started writing my own, they were there in the background. My internal landscape was populated with people I knew and loved from where I grew up and also the characters from the old stories that I used to read all the time. And that's why my earlier work especially is populated with so many references to mythology and South East London.

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.