all rapped up
By Ricky O'Bannon
Getting a well-rounded education
often means surviving classes that just
aren’t your forte. You might have gone
to college assuming that you would learn
the finer points of business, engineering or
agricultural sciences, but sooner or later
you’ll find yourself in an English literature
class where a poetry analysis exam is
standing between you and that coveted
degree.
Never fear. We here at Stilly have your
back.
Though your textbook would have you
believe otherwise, poetry didn’t cease
existing around the time old white men
stopped using “thou” in daily conversation.
It has adapted and changed, but the core
Who said learning isn't fun?
elements are all the same. Today’s rappers
use poetic elements and wordplay in ways
that would solicit a fist bump even from
Shakespeare.
Speaking of Shakespeare, the biggest
knock on hip hop is the raunchy subject
matter. Shakespeare - or the “original Big
Willy” as he’s called around the Stilly
office – was no stranger to the risqué, but
his intended dirty jokes are lost on most
of today’s readers because he wrote in the
vernacular of another era. Your high school
English teacher might have used the term
“bawdy,” but make no mistake, that’s just
another example of language gentrifying
what was in its day quite profane.
The lyrics of Bob Dylan are already
Alliteration – Also called head rhyme or initial rhyme, the
repetition of the initial sounds (usually consonants) of stressed
syllables in neighboring words or at short intervals within a line
or passage, usually at word beginnings
I be the big, bad body rockin’ Bombay to boulevard bully
back / Better bring a bomb to the battlefield / Bloody black beats
bringing bottoms that boom / Basically, build barriers, bewilder
buffoons
Blackalicious – “A to G”
Allusion - A reference to something that is assumed to be
known, such as a historical event or person, a well-known
quotation from literature or a famous work of art. Rappers have
made their living making surprising and obscure references for
purpose of comparison. Take this example that references the
untimely demise of Lot’s wife from the Biblical story of Sodom
and Gomorrah.
If you’re weak, it ain’t my fault / Just take a kick in the a** and
get turned into a pillar of salt
MC Ren of NWA – “Grand Finale”
Analogy – A comparison between two word pairs based on
a relationship. If you happened to take the SAT prior to 2006,
you’ll remember this as the bane of your existence.
The way Kathie Lee needed Regis / That’s the way y’all need
Jesus
Kanye West – “Jesus Walks”
studied as poetry in many college English
classes.
The fact that a recent publication of a
book called “The Anthology of Rap” by
Yale Publishing has made media waves
only reinforces this writer’s longstanding
belief that the verses of Rakim or Mos Def
will be studied as poetry by our children.
I’m hoping that Soulja Boi doesn’t make
the cut.
But in the meantime, we’ve compiled
a guide to traditional poetic devices with
hip hop verses as examples. If you can
understand Lil Wayne, you can understand
Yeats.
Enjoy, and we hope you learn
something.
Anaphora – The repetition of the same word or expression at
the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences or lines
for rhetorical or poetic effect.
Maybe it’s hatred I spew, Maybe it’s food for the spirit, Maybe
it’s beautiful music I made for you to just cherish
Eminem – “Renegade”
Aphorism – A brief statement containing an important truth or
fundamental principle.
From the womb to the tomb, presume the unpredictable
Raekwon – “Verbal Intercourse”
Assonance – Basically repeating a vowel sound that comes
inside the word. In this example the long “I” sound is repeated
13 times in two lines.
It’s real, grew up in trife life, did times or white lines / The
hype vice, murderous night times, and knife fights invite crimes
Nas – “Memory Lane”
Ellipsis – The omission of a word or words necessary to
complete a grammatical construction for the sake of rhythm, but
which is easily understood by the reader. In this case, Chuck D
omits the word “with” from “with no delay.”
What we got to say, power to the people no delay / To make
everybody see, in order to fight the powers that be
Chuck D – “Fight the Power
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Euphemism – The substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive
expression to replace one that might offend or suggest something
unpleasant. This is another mainstay of rap. In case you are
confused by the below example, the man is not talking about
M&Ms.
I melt in your mouth, girl, not in your hands
50 Cent – “Candy Shop”
Extended Metaphor – A metaphor that is drawn-out beyond
the usual word or phrase to extend throughout a stanza or an entire
poem, usually by using multiple comparisons between the unlike
objects or ideas. Similar to a conceit. This example compares a
rap lyric to a gun for several lines.
Yo, I got one lyric pointed at your head for start / Another one,
is pointed at your weak-a** heart / Now if I pull the trigger, on
these fully loaded lines / You’re gonna wish I woulda pulled a
black nine, I mack dimes
Guru – “Moment of Truth”
Hyperbole – A bold, deliberate overstatement, not intended to
be taken literally, it is used as a means of emphasizing the truth
of a statement
And I’m so muthaf***in high I could eat a star
Lil Wayne – “Upgraded”
Interior rhyme – Also called middle rhyme, a rhyme occurring
within the line. This line has an interior rhyme of “illin” and
“fillin.”
That type of illin that be fillin up the cemetery
Mos Def – “Thieves in the Night”
Metaphor – A figure of speech in which a word or phrase
literally denoting one object or idea is applied to another, thereby
suggesting a likeness or analogy between them.
You’re not ill / And if you are, my notepad’s full of medicine /
Plus my freestyle is Excedrin / Take two hours and call me back
with a new style
Blueprint – “Final Frontier”
Neologism – The use of new words or new meanings for old
words not yet included in standard definitions. Shakespeare was
famous for inventing new words to serve his purpose. Language
in rap evolves at such a rapid pace that many listeners take a
while to catch up. Take this example from Lil John where radio
censors edited out one term they knew was profane but let the
neologism “skeet” pass.
To all skeet skeet motherf***er / All skeet skeet god damn
Lil John – “Get Low”
Onomatopoeia – The formation or use of words that imitate
sounds
6’n the morning’ police at my door / Fresh Adidas squerk
across the bathroom floor
Ice-T – “6’n The Mornin”
Paronomasia – A play on words in which the same word is
used in different senses or words with slight differences in sound
are used in opposition to each other for a rhetorical contrast; a
pun. This example by Jay-Z plays with various meanings of the
words “common” and “sense.”
Truthfully, I wanna rhyme like Common Sense / But I sold 5
mil, I ain’t been rhyming like Common since / When you sense
got that much in common / And you been hustlin’ since / Your
inception, f*** perception / Go with what makes sense / Since I
know what I’m up against
Jay-Z – “Moment of Clarity”
Parallelism – The repetition of words or phrases in passages
for rhetorical effect
It was love for the thing that made me wanna stay out / It was
love for the thing that made me stay in the house
Mos Def – “Love”
Personification – A type of metaphor in which distinctive
human characteristics, motivations or actions are attributed to an
animal, object, or idea
So much on my mind, I just can’t recline / Blow holes in the
night till she bled sunshine
Mos Def – “Respiration”
Simile – A figure of speech in which an explicit comparison is
made between two essentially unlike things, usually using like, as
or than. This is basically the bread and butter of clever and funny
rap lyrics. Rap group Binary Star uses three similes mixed in with
puns to offend just about everyone in the room.
Walk while we keep it rollin’ like paraplegics / Whoever’s on
the microphone, let it be known / You in danger / I got next (necks)
like the Boston Strangler / You ain’t never heard an emcee speak
like this / And Rodney King, ain’t ever felt a beat like this
Binary Star – “Reality Check”
Synecdoche – A figure of speech in which a part of something
stands for the whole or the whole for a part. The most common
example of this in rap is when streets are used to refer to an entire
neighborhood and community or when rims/wheels are used to
refer to an entire car.
Still got love for the streets, reppin’ 2-1-3
Dr. Dre – “Still D.R.E.”
all rapped up
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