The influence of poetry on rap and contemporary music

Rap is poetry for the modern world, writes Sandra O’Donoghue

WHO KNEW THAT STORMZY AND GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS WERE BEST BUDS?

How many times have you suffered the indignity of a teacher who says, “Hey kids! Poetry is cool! Did you know that rap is poetry?” I’m not going to lie to you, the scene I just described is one that has happened in my own classroom. I can’t help myself! I’ll do anything to spark student interest in poetry. I literally have no shame. And anyway, it’s true! Rap is poetry for the modern world. Indulge me a little here.

When I think about poetry and its influence on rap, the first poet that comes to my mind is Gerard Manley Hopkins. His influence on 20th Century poetic rhythm was phenomenally important. And what is rap, if not poetic rhythm? Consider the fact that Hopkins was so insistent that his verse mimicked the rhythms of natural speech and convey a sense of joy, that he created his own poetic technique called sprung rhythm. This is rhythm that literally bounces off the page once it is read aloud.

Example:

‘Glory be to God for dappled things— For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;’ Follow this sprung rhythm: |Glory | be to| God for| dappled| things— For |skies of| couple-|colour as a| brinded| cow;

Now, let’s see sprung rhythm at work in Stormzy’s ‘Big for your Boots’

You’re getting way too big for your boots You’re never too big for the boot

I’ve got the big size twelves on my feet Your face ain’t big for my boot

Follows this sprung rhythm:

You’re getting| way too| big| for your| boots You’re never| too big| for the boot

I’ve got| the big| size twelves| on my| feet Your face| ain’t big| for my |boot

See! Who knew that Stormzy and Gerard Manley Hopkins were best buds? (Cue more groans of absolute mortification from the class.)

Another excellent example of poetry as rap/hip hop music is evident in the music of Drake. As a rapper and songwriter, he loves using techniques that have their genesis in poetry. Look at some of the words of ‘Keep the Family Close’

‘Always saw you for what you could’ve been Ever since you met me Like when Chrysler made that one car that

looked just like the Bentley

I always saw you for what you could’ve been And even when it’s business with you it’s

personal again

I knew you before you made ends meet and

now we’re meeting our end’

This contains a plethora of poetic language. Find the repetition of ‘Always saw you for what you could have been’, the similes in ‘Like when Chrysler…’, juxtaposition between ‘business’ and ‘personal’ and inventive verbal games in the final line.

I can’t think of a better example of how poets in the past have influenced songwriters and rappers today than John Donne. He too used skillful verbal games in his poetry. Indeed, it was his wit and use of inventive conceits that placed him head and shoulder above his contemporary metaphysical poets. Examples of this are to be seen in his poem ‘The Flea’ where he uses the unlikely symbol of a parasitic flea in order to persuade his lover into bed with him.

‘Mark but this flea, and mark in this, How little that which thou deny’st me is; It sucked me first, and now sucks thee, And in this flea, our two bloods mingled be;’ He uses the fact that they have already been united inside the flea as proof that they have nothing to fear by being united sexually. If that’s not an inventive argument, I don’t know what is! He also uses repetition and contrast in ways that today’s rappers continuously strive to emulate.

One of the most interesting rappers to emerge over the last ten years is Akala. He is an English rapper, poet and political activist who uses his skill with words in order to effect change. In fact, he styles himself as a modern version of Shakespeare who uses words to, as seen in ‘Hamlet’, “hold, as ‘twere, the mirror up to nature, to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image.” This desire to reflect the realities of modern society is evident in Akala’s song, ‘Shakespeare’,

‘I’m similar to William but a little different I do it for kids that’s illiterate, not Elizabeth Stuck on the road, faces screwed up

Feel like the world spat ‘em out and they chewed up’

I’d highly recommend watching Akala’s TED talk, ‘Hip Hop & Shakespeare?’ if you’d like to discover more about how today’s modern hip-hop and rap artists find much inspiration from poetry and the writers of the past.