Rappers and Poets

My interpretation of how rappers and poet's differ. Part of the 'Lines from the train ride' series

Rappers and Poets

 

Appreciating the contrast,

Between poetry and rap.

A poet caresses the ink,

A rapper spits the track.

 

A poet opens a world of imagination,

A rapper pours out feelings through the beats and rhythm.

 

A poet challenges all cognitions,

Glues you firm to your seat.

A rapper tells you what's popping,

Gets you up on your feet.

 

A poet unleashes the senses,

Touches the soul,

Lets you hear each stroke,

While looking for an alternative road.

Provides the scent of a life that is yet to fold,

A mere taste of a recipe undiscovered and untold.

 

A rapper stimulates a movement,

Takes in the energy,

Releases the power,

Through collaborating timbres and textures,

Melodies and mixes,

While providing an escape when life is exhausting.

Reviews

[Melody]

Very exacting and wonderfully written. I can feel the contrast .. .I can hear the beat.

[3X3MPLER]

from your poem its evident you dont know much about rap. you probably know the likes of lil wayne. If you listened to real rap artist you'd realise that rap is just poetry on a beat. some rappers are more poetic than 99.9% of poets here.

[Owen Aldin]

Thank you for the comments and reflections. While I appreciate your opinion, as the title suggests, it is looking at SOME of the contrasts and appreciating them. One of the key points relates to the way it can be performed, where a poetry is often read and spoken, rap is more traditionally spoken and can often rely on the performance element. It's rare you would see someone reading the lyrics of Common, De La Soul,2 Live Crew, NWA, and even Drake, Kendrick and J. Cole. A lot of the pleasure comes from receiving the delivery and the energy that can be consumed from it.
Much poetry can often be enjoyed by simply reading. As most poets on these site are unlikely to be rappers in the performance sense, I wouldn't agree with your assertion that they are less poetic, more different and it's important to acknowledge the creative interpretations people express.
Thanks for reading.

[Gee]

I'm neither, falling into the class of simple rhymer. I like the comparisons, listen to very little rap, only the commercial stuff, but do remember the first rap song I ever heard back in the late seventies early eighties, although for the life of me can't remember the title. And to be fair the only poetry I read is that posted on here. I really should get out more

[Noiz]

Wonderful poem, I keep going back to it just to read some of the lines again and again. I find this to be a great reflection on just how meaningful both rap and poetry are. I especially love the final two stanzas. Very nice work.