Sonnets and Rap Music

Reader Warning: This post is long, but it is in-depth and proves something that people have denied for many years. Read on to find out what I am talking about.

When I was reading definitions and examples of sonnets (incidentally the word sonnet is derived from an Italian word meaning "little song") I was mildly surprised at the length - 14 lines. I had previously thought that sonnets were of haiku size. Then it got me thinking, and I went off on one of my crazy tangents of thought that has no logical connection to anything. This time, however, it has a logical connection.

Is rap considered poetic? What, by definition, is poetry? I had to scour the internet for a proper definition, and the one I found most fitting is this:

Definition: Poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response.

By this definition (and many others) rap would indeed be poetry. Let me clarify what rap I am talking about. I'm not talking about crappy top 40 dance music like little wayne and soulja boy (notice how I didn't capitalize those). I am talking about true rappers, guys that made real music that has a meaning and expresses thought. I am talking about rappers like Blue Scholars, Jurassic 5, Immortal Technique, Dr. Dre, among others. Now that we have this minor detail ironed out, lets take a look at an example of a sonnet by John Milton, one of the most renowned poets in literary history:

On His Blindness.

"When I consider how my light is spent

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,

And that one talent which is death to hide

Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

My true account, lest he returning chide,

"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"

I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent

That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need

Either man's work or his own gifts: who best

Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state

Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed

And post o'er land and ocean without rest:

They also serve who only stand and wait."

This is a poem that describes many abstract emotions, concepts, and beliefs. It can mean many different things to different people, it all matters how you read and how you relate. As stated before, rap doesn't have to suck. It doesn't have to be about big-assed black women, gold chains, spinning rims, and other shows of stupidity and wasteful uses of money. Personally, I have listened to rap since I was about 10, and my favorite rap group is Jurassic 5. They are a chill group that doesn't focus on the money or the fame. Their lyrics and flow is unmatched and their message is that of going back to the roots, being real, and unity. This is a clip from one of their songs called "What's Golden":

Check it out now...
I work the pen to make the ink transform
On any particular surface the pen lands on
Zaakir is hands on, what's the beef?
The Cooley High cold chief high post techniques
I drape off poetic landscapes and shapes
Illustrate the paper space off the pens that paint
Then design what have a National Geographic a magic
With tailor-made status and plus flavor that's automatic

The title "What's Golden" is a play on words because it focuses on the artistic side of rap music (which is what they consider golden) rather than the gold jewelry those kids that call themselves rappers wear. This part of the song is where Zaakir explains that his craft is that of taking emotions, landscapes, and the visual arts and attempting to express them through his songwriting. If that's not poetry then I don't know what poetry is. Need more proof? Here's a clip from their song "High Fidelity":

My words have been connected to the poets of old
The way I utilize the pen and turn ink to gold
Keep it overly creative
Innovator of soul
Now check the flavor from the fader
Which my DJ holds

Argument over. Rap is definitely poetry, and anyone who denies this listens to the wrong kind of rap.