Discussing the differences and similarities between poetry and rap music is quite a popular thing recently. I personally think that they are basically the same and that RAP means “Rhythm and Poetry”.
Rap is one of the most popular and most selling music genres in this day and age. Many rap artists are considered modern day poets by themselves, the media and their fans. No matter which one of these two art forms you might prefer, they do have their similarities and their differences.
1. Rhythm
Rhythm can be found in both art forms. In poetry, it’s a combination of words that will make a rhythm, for example, iambic pentameter. With this kind of rhythm, the first word is an unaccented syllable which is followed by an accented syllable and there is a total of 10 syllables per line. The rhythm in rap works in combination with the beat. Even though the phrasing is quite different, both have a certain flow of the words and type of rhythm.
2. Rhyme
Sometimes, rhyming isn’t even a part of rap or poetry. However, it’s very common. In different types of poems there are different rhyme schemes, in some the words which are at the end of two consecutive lines, rhyme; sometimes it’s the end words of the second and fourth line. Some writers make variations of their own when writing a poem. Rap also rhymes, however, it’s the beat the will dictate the placement and the phrasing of the rhyming words.
3. Message
The main similarity between a rap song and a love poem is the desire of the artist to convey a message. The content of the message is often different, but the need to invoke an emotional response from the reader or listener is the same. This need is usually driven by the artist’s view of society, the world around them and wanting for everybody to see from their point of view. To convey the message, both rappers and poets us metaphors, some of it is written in a way that allows the listener or reader to make their own meaning.
4. Differences
The main and biggest difference between poetry and rap is the music. Rap is words put to music and poems are obviously not. A couple of other things that should be considered in rap music are the groove and the beats. While, in poetry there isn’t much to be considered except for the words, and maybe the rhyme and rhythm. However, sometimes in rap music some rappers overshadow the conveying of the message, put the beat in the top position and are concerned whether people will be able to dance to the song or not. There aren’t a lot of poets out there being concerned if readers will dance to their poems while reading them.