Is hip hop classified as Poetry?
Some songs are, yes, because they are written from the heart to convey real thoughts and feelings and to document real life experiences. The lyrics seem to have their own rhythm and beat, any make you feel exactly what the artist is talking about. There is a lot of overlap between hip hop and poetry – someone who was considered one of the best lyricists ever, Tupac, was also an avid poet, and if you simple read the lyrics of his songs out loud then you will realise that, to a different beat, they could be poems – for example, Baby Dont Cry, Keep Your Head Up, Brenda’s Got A Baby, Unconditional Love, and so on. An sample of his lyrics (just to further back up what I am saying) are: I hear Brenda’s got a baby Well, Brenda’s barely got a brain A damn shame Tha girl can hardly spell her name (That’s not her problem, that’s up ta Brenda’s family) Well let me show ya how it affects tha whole community Now Brenda never really knew her moms and her dad was a junky Went in debt to his arms, it’
