POETRY VS. RAP – ONE OF A KIND?

 WORDS IN A POD: Is poetry and rap the same?

In the Art of Rap documentary, Ice T said: “Rap means something to every emcee. Whether it is writing something simple to rock the crowd, or writing something deep meant to move the world, one thing I do know is that Hip Hop requires skill – the skill of a great DJ, the ability of a great breakdancer, the style of a great graffiti writer or the flavour and technique of a talented emcee. To me, rap was always one of two things. I was either out to drop some knowledge and give the streets some game or it was straight up combat. I always look at the microphone as my weapon – my ammunition is my intelligence, and my caliber; that’s my cadence and flow. This is not a game – this is the art of rap.”

Some would say that poetry and rap is one in the same, but that is if we are looking at the structure of lyrics alone. Poetry’s home used to be in front of a microphone, with no music. Then, you come across group duos like Floetry, who took that foundation, added a beat and made people feel good. Yet still, I don’t know if that can be classified as rap.

I think what helps to classify the difference between the two word forms is the person who is actually expressing the sentences. He or she has the ability to label their own way of sharing words. What is poetry to them may berapping to another, but only they will really know.
Rapping has been divided into two categories – an emcee and a rapper. A rapper is said to just speak with no conscious thought, but an emcee aims to share a message, and impact an individual or groups of people. Either way, these words placed on top of music consist of some sort of ‘depth’ to the listeners on the other side of the stage. The same goes for poetry.
I think, like everyone, there are millions of opinions to follow, and this has changed with time and people who have chosen this career path.

Slam poetry, for instance, is where quite a few rappers began their journey with words. It was a means of taking what was written on a piece of paper and then sharing it with a crowd. Add some music and it was called a rapsong. Articles have been written saying that poetry, or spoken word, has tapped into a part of rap that Hip Hophasn’t reached yet.

When having this conversation with a friend, he raised a very strong point of what the difference really is betweenpoetry and rap, and does it matter? Words have a very strong impact on people everywhere, without even being realised.

So, how do we fair between the two medians of expression? With poetry known best for its depth and emotional nature and rapping stereotyped as hard-hitting and raw, who is to say that a bit of both isn’t necessary for our ears to understand.

- RICKY STRIKES
(rapper)