Critique on the Anthology of Rap Term Paper

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Anthology of Rap by Adam Bradley and Andrew DuBois sets out to illustrate how rap can be analyzed from a literary standpoint, and traces the development of the genre from the late 1970s to contemporary interpretations of the genre. Throughout the book, Bradley and DuBois offer interesting insights into how the music movement developed and evolved, and while they provide some insight into the development of the genre as a movement, they overlook significant factors that influenced rap.

In the introduction, The Anthology of Rap establishes that it will focus primarily on rap as poetry, yet the focus frequently shifts to other influencers. The book's introduction is full of promise and offers a definition of rap that allows the rapper to be considered a poet and helps to create a distinction between rap and the overarching genre of hip hop. KRS-One states, "Rap music is something we do, but hip hop is something we live" (Bradley and DuBois xxix). In this context rap can be defined as the poetry of hip hop where hip hop is a way of life and rap is the commentary that accompanies the lifestyle. With this distinction, the reader can proceed to analyze the structure of rap. This definition outlines the premise of The Anthology of Rap and positions Bradley and DuBois elaborate on the evolution of both rap and hip hop and how they were influenced by each other.

As The Anthology of Rap intends to discuss rap as poetry, it is important to explain how rap lyrics are structured. Bradley and DuBois write, "Every rap lyric must fulfill certain demands, the dominant ones being the listener's expectation of the rhyme and the rhythmic strictures of the beat" (xxxiii). This claim raises the question of what determines the beat. Is the beat determined by lyrical structure or is the beat determined by the music? Bradley and DuBois begin by explaining how early representations of rap appear to indicate that lyrics were independent from the beats established by music. Furthermore, it can be argued that these early representations of rap align with William Wordsworth's definition of poetry, which claims "Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings," yet Bradley and DuBois do not make any sort of connection to traditional poets to help support their claim that rap should be interpreted as poetry (Wordsworth).

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These early rappers did not care about the rhythmic strictures of the beat, but rather were inspired by the beat without conforming to it. In these early forms of rap, sound and music served as a backdrop for rapping, something to fill in the empty silences and support "the sonic environment" (3). It would be beneficial for Bradley and DuBois to elaborate on the relationship between lyrics and music, and place an equal emphasis on this relationship as they do on the dynamic between the DJ and MC. By supporting their claims with statements from influential rap groups and individuals, Bradley and DuBois add credibility to the purpose of The Anthology of Rap, however, their inability to connect those claims to traditional poets despite expounding on the rhythm, structure, and rhyme schemes of rap.

Some of The Anthology of Rap's triumphs in explaining the relationship between traditional literature and rap take place within the introductory sections of the book that divide rap history into various eras. In "Old School," Bradley and DuBois masterfully explain the evolution of rap and not only how words and music adapted to each other, but also how the poetic structure of rap evolved and inadvertently conformed to classic poetic structures. However, Bradley and DuBois fail to elaborate on how rap's poetic structures evolved past the Old School era and instead focus on the imagery created through these lyrics. What is more, in "Rap Goes Mainstream," Bradley and DuBois no longer focus on rap as poetry, but rather shift their focus to the rapper as an individual, the formation of his persona, and how hip hop, in general, was changing in relation to the music business as a whole and how hip hop impacted society because of….....

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