I’ve been seeing this trend for years.
Connecting Slam Poetry (other types of poetry included though) somehow as an expression of hip hop. We’ve got the def poetry slam on HBO. Colleges trying to incorporate poetry and claim it as hip hop as a way to seem all multicultural.
Does being an urban poet somehow make you hip hop? Because you’re from a minority ethnicity and you write poems denouncing “the man” does that make you hip hop? Because your poem follows a harsh beat like structure and you nearly yell it at listeners with a gruff voice does that make you hip hop?
It all seems like a way to try and be “safe” by replacing rapping with poetry and “scary black people” with bourgie multi culti grad students then giving yourself a pat on the back for being hip hop.
Opinions?
And is it only me, or do poems that don't rhyme reflect a fundamental lack of effort?
Connecting Slam Poetry (other types of poetry included though) somehow as an expression of hip hop. We’ve got the def poetry slam on HBO. Colleges trying to incorporate poetry and claim it as hip hop as a way to seem all multicultural.
Does being an urban poet somehow make you hip hop? Because you’re from a minority ethnicity and you write poems denouncing “the man” does that make you hip hop? Because your poem follows a harsh beat like structure and you nearly yell it at listeners with a gruff voice does that make you hip hop?
It all seems like a way to try and be “safe” by replacing rapping with poetry and “scary black people” with bourgie multi culti grad students then giving yourself a pat on the back for being hip hop.
Opinions?
And is it only me, or do poems that don't rhyme reflect a fundamental lack of effort?