What do black rappers of today have in common with literature writers of the harlem ranaissance?
The literature of the Harlem Renaissance was characterized by its experimental forms. A common theme for the literature of the period was the development of the “black identity”,and the effects of institutional racism. Rappers make use of this also. They identify their experiences with those of all African-American people. They use this to form a racial identity, and to examine the experiences and influences that have formed this identity. Rap (and I freely admit that I cannot stand to listen to it) makes use of experimental forms of poetry, rhythm and expression just as widely as the poets, writers and musicians of the Renaissance did. Interesting to note, also, is that those who used this form of expression during the Harlem Renaissance, especially the artists who depicted what was called “low culture” or “low life” through their art came under fire from the African-American “intelligentsia”, just as rappers do today from the community of their peers who feel that they are promoting
