Book of Rhymes (28 page)
Authors: Adam Bradley
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136
“the language of a poem is constitutive of its ideas”:
Terry Eagleton,
How to Read a Poem
(Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing), 2.
“the language of a poem is constitutive of its ideas”:
Terry Eagleton,
How to Read a Poem
(Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing), 2.
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137
“It's like if you wanna rap like Jay[-Z]”:
Jake Brown,
Kanye West in the Studio: Beats Down! Money Up!
(Phoenix: Amber Books Publishing), 40-41.
“It's like if you wanna rap like Jay[-Z]”:
Jake Brown,
Kanye West in the Studio: Beats Down! Money Up!
(Phoenix: Amber Books Publishing), 40-41.
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140
“I didn't know what I was doing”:
50 Cent and Kris Ex,
From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens
(New York: MTV Books, 2005), 163.
“I didn't know what I was doing”:
50 Cent and Kris Ex,
From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens
(New York: MTV Books, 2005), 163.
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141
“I wasn't a good writer”:
And You Don't Stop.
“I wasn't a good writer”:
And You Don't Stop.
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142
“My style of writing”:
Breihan, “Status Ain't Hood Interview: Rakim.”
“My style of writing”:
Breihan, “Status Ain't Hood Interview: Rakim.”
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142
“But as far as what makes me unique”:
Cedric Muhammad, “Hip-Hop Fridays: Exclusive Q&A with Ludacris,”
blackelectorate.com
, May 9, 2003.
“But as far as what makes me unique”:
Cedric Muhammad, “Hip-Hop Fridays: Exclusive Q&A with Ludacris,”
blackelectorate.com
, May 9, 2003.
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143
“I was speeding”:
Kelefa Sanneh, “Uneasy Lies the Head,”
New York Times
, November 19, 2006.
“I was speeding”:
Kelefa Sanneh, “Uneasy Lies the Head,”
New York Times
, November 19, 2006.
144
“I honestly never sat down”:
Caramanica, “Bun B.”
“I honestly never sat down”:
Caramanica, “Bun B.”
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144
“Style is almost unconscious”:
William Butler Yeats,
Yeats' Poetry, Drama, and Prose
(New York: W. W. Norton & Company), 308.
“Style is almost unconscious”:
William Butler Yeats,
Yeats' Poetry, Drama, and Prose
(New York: W. W. Norton & Company), 308.
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144
“characteristic words and images”:
Mayes, 375.
“characteristic words and images”:
Mayes, 375.
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145
“Today we take rhyme styles for granted”:
Brian Coleman,
Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkie
s (New York: Villard, 2007), 91.
“Today we take rhyme styles for granted”:
Brian Coleman,
Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkie
s (New York: Villard, 2007), 91.
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149
“I wish there could be some control of it”:
Ellison, “Ellison: Exploring the Life of a Not So Visible Man,” Hollie I. West (1973), published in
Conversations with Ralph Ellison
, eds. Maryemma Graham and Amritjit Singh (Jackson: University of Mississippi Press, 1995), 251.
“I wish there could be some control of it”:
Ellison, “Ellison: Exploring the Life of a Not So Visible Man,” Hollie I. West (1973), published in
Conversations with Ralph Ellison
, eds. Maryemma Graham and Amritjit Singh (Jackson: University of Mississippi Press, 1995), 251.
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149
“I'm not a separatist”:
Ellison,
Conversations,
235.
“I'm not a separatist”:
Ellison,
Conversations,
235.
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151
“Writing for Biz was in a whole different style”:
Coleman, 37.
“Writing for Biz was in a whole different style”:
Coleman, 37.
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153
“I really pride myself on being a vocalist”:
Rikky Rooksby,
Lyrics: Writing Better Words for Your Songs
(San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 2006), 107.
“I really pride myself on being a vocalist”:
Rikky Rooksby,
Lyrics: Writing Better Words for Your Songs
(San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 2006), 107.
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FIVE Storytelling
159
“I come from a literary background”:
Ken Capobianco, “Lupe Fiasco Accepts the Outsider Label as a Positive Rap,”
Boston Globe
, November 13, 2006.
“I come from a literary background”:
Ken Capobianco, “Lupe Fiasco Accepts the Outsider Label as a Positive Rap,”
Boston Globe
, November 13, 2006.
160
“It was almost like a diary”:
Coleman, 419.
“It was almost like a diary”:
Coleman, 419.
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163
“The first is the poet talking to himself”:
T. S. Eliot, “The Three Voices of Poetry” (1955), reprinted in
Lewis Turco's The Book of Forms: A Handbook of Poetics
(Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2000), 120.
“The first is the poet talking to himself”:
T. S. Eliot, “The Three Voices of Poetry” (1955), reprinted in
Lewis Turco's The Book of Forms: A Handbook of Poetics
(Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2000), 120.
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164
“poems spoken by a character”:
John Drury,
The Poetry Dictionary
(Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books, 2006), 78-79.
“poems spoken by a character”:
John Drury,
The Poetry Dictionary
(Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books, 2006), 78-79.
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164
“On 99 percent of the songs”:
Spady, “Interview with Pharoahe Monch,”
The Global Cipha
, 141.
“On 99 percent of the songs”:
Spady, “Interview with Pharoahe Monch,”
The Global Cipha
, 141.
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165
“In both Stagolee and the dramatic monologue”:
Cecil Brown,
Stagolee Shot Billy
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003), 221.
“In both Stagolee and the dramatic monologue”:
Cecil Brown,
Stagolee Shot Billy
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003), 221.
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166
“It may be of great interest to discover”:
“Persona,”
The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993), 900.
“It may be of great interest to discover”:
“Persona,”
The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993), 900.
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166
“The same respect is often not extended to hip-hop artists”:
David Banner, “David Banner's Speech to Congress Over Hip Hop Lyrics,”
ballerstatus.com
, September 27, 2007.
“The same respect is often not extended to hip-hop artists”:
David Banner, “David Banner's Speech to Congress Over Hip Hop Lyrics,”
ballerstatus.com
, September 27, 2007.
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167
“In hip-hop, the whole âkeep it real'”:
Jay-Z,
Stop Smiling
No. 33, 2007, 45-46.
“In hip-hop, the whole âkeep it real'”:
Jay-Z,
Stop Smiling
No. 33, 2007, 45-46.
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167
“I'd say 60 percent is really”:
Jason Newman, “Everybody Plays the Fool (Sometimes): Devin the Dude is Hip-Hop's
Court Jester,”
Wax Poetics
, No. 28, December-January 2008, 52.
“I'd say 60 percent is really”:
Jason Newman, “Everybody Plays the Fool (Sometimes): Devin the Dude is Hip-Hop's
Court Jester,”
Wax Poetics
, No. 28, December-January 2008, 52.
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172
“Narrative is a verbal presentation”:
“Narrative Poetry,”
New Princeton Encyclopedia
, 814.
“Narrative is a verbal presentation”:
“Narrative Poetry,”
New Princeton Encyclopedia
, 814.
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SIX Signifying
176
“The ability of the live performer”:
Derek Collins,
Master of the Game: Competition and Performance in Greek Poetry
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005), x-xi.
“The ability of the live performer”:
Derek Collins,
Master of the Game: Competition and Performance in Greek Poetry
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005), x-xi.
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177
“People compare rap to other genres of music”:
Cobb, 79.
“People compare rap to other genres of music”:
Cobb, 79.
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Â
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178
“When you write a rhyme”:
The Art of 16 Bars.
“When you write a rhyme”:
The Art of 16 Bars.
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178
“All the lyrics on there were written down”:
Coleman, 384.
“All the lyrics on there were written down”:
Coleman, 384.
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179
“I think in freestyle”:
Spady, “Interview with N.O.R.E. a.k.a. Noreaga,” 92.
“I think in freestyle”:
Spady, “Interview with N.O.R.E. a.k.a. Noreaga,” 92.
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181
“the rhetorical principle in Afro-American vernacular discourse”:
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.,
The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African-American Literary Criticism
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), 44.
“the rhetorical principle in Afro-American vernacular discourse”:
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.,
The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African-American Literary Criticism
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), 44.
188
“In hip hopâand inside the broken histories of black men in America”:
Cobb, 80.
“In hip hopâand inside the broken histories of black men in America”:
Cobb, 80.
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190
“âSignifying Rapper' . . . is a tour de force”:
William Eric Perkins,
Droppin' Science: Critical Essays on Rap Music and Hip Hop Culture
(Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996), 17.
“âSignifying Rapper' . . . is a tour de force”:
William Eric Perkins,
Droppin' Science: Critical Essays on Rap Music and Hip Hop Culture
(Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996), 17.
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191
“an outsized hero that has more sex”:
And You Don't Stop.
“an outsized hero that has more sex”:
And You Don't Stop.
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191
“The persona overshadows”:
And You Don't Stop.
“The persona overshadows”:
And You Don't Stop.
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191
“Exaggerated and invented boasts”:
Robin D. G. Kelley,
Yo' Mama's Disfunktional! Fighting the Culture Wars in Urban America
(Boston: Beacon Press, 1997), 37-38.
“Exaggerated and invented boasts”:
Robin D. G. Kelley,
Yo' Mama's Disfunktional! Fighting the Culture Wars in Urban America
(Boston: Beacon Press, 1997), 37-38.
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192
“When my dad would teach me lessons”:
Coleman, 241.
“When my dad would teach me lessons”:
Coleman, 241.
Â
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196
“I just think in general our society limits”:
Byron Hurt,
Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes
(2007).
“I just think in general our society limits”:
Byron Hurt,
Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes
(2007).
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196
“is allowed to be introspective”:
Scott Thill, “Eminem vs. Robert Frost,”
Salon.com
, March 18, 2004.
“is allowed to be introspective”:
Scott Thill, “Eminem vs. Robert Frost,”
Salon.com
, March 18, 2004.
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199
“to start with the stereotype”:
Ralph Ellison,
Shadow & Act
(New York: Random House, 1964), 43.
“to start with the stereotype”:
Ralph Ellison,
Shadow & Act
(New York: Random House, 1964), 43.
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199
“Rap is really funny, man”:
Vibe
, 93.
“Rap is really funny, man”:
Vibe
, 93.
200
“Hip hop doesn't place as high a premium on irony”:
Cobb, 24.
“Hip hop doesn't place as high a premium on irony”:
Cobb, 24.
Â
201
“The blues is an impulse”:
Ellison, 129.
“The blues is an impulse”:
Ellison, 129.
Â
201
“Timeless music”:
Jay-Z,
XXL
, 2006.
“Timeless music”:
Jay-Z,
XXL
, 2006.
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202
“All I know is I wanted to feel a certain way”:
Jason Genegabus, “Mos Def: From Film to Fashion to Music, He's a Tough Act to Follow,”
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
, February 18, 2005.
“All I know is I wanted to feel a certain way”:
Jason Genegabus, “Mos Def: From Film to Fashion to Music, He's a Tough Act to Follow,”
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
, February 18, 2005.
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EPILOGUE
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209
“The way you do that”:
Tom Breihan, “Status Ain't Hood Interviews Rakim,”
VillageVoice.com
, June 6, 2006.
“The way you do that”:
Tom Breihan, “Status Ain't Hood Interviews Rakim,”
VillageVoice.com
, June 6, 2006.
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210
“Rappers should always remember”:
KRS-One, 247.
“Rappers should always remember”:
KRS-One, 247.
Index
“6 'N the Mornin'” (Ice T)
Ab Liva
Accentual meter .
See also
Meter
See also
Meter
“Adventures of Super Rhymes (Rap)”
“Ain't No Joke” (Rakim)
Ali, Muhammad
Ali Rap
“Alive on Arrival” (Ice Cube)
Alliteration
Altered pronunciation
Alternate reality
American Gangster
(Jay-Z)
(Jay-Z)
American Idol
“Amongst Kings” (Nas)
Anaphora
Andre 3000
Annabel Lee
(Poe)
(Poe)
Antanaclasis
Apocopated rhyme
Aristotle
As You Like It
(Shakespeare)
(Shakespeare)
Assonance
Authenticity
Autobiography
AZ
“Baby Don't Go” (Fabolous)
Bad Lieutenant
(film)
(film)
Badu, Erykah
Baldwin, James
Ballad form
Ballad meter (common measure) .
See also
Meter
See also
Meter
Banner, David
“Barry Bonds” (Kanye West)
Battle rap.
See also
Signifying
See also
Signifying
Beastie Boys
Beat and flow
“Beat Street” (Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five)
Beowulf
Beyoncé
Bible
Big Bank Hank (Henry Jackson)
Big business
Big Daddy Kane
Big Noyd
Big Punisher
Biggie.
See
Notorious B.I.G.
See
Notorious B.I.G.
Biggie/Tupac debate.
See also
Notorious B.I.G.; Shakur, Tupac
See also
Notorious B.I.G.; Shakur, Tupac
Biting (co-opting)
Biz Markie
“The Bizness,”
The Black Album
(Jay-Z)
(Jay-Z)
Black English
Black Thought
“Blaze a 50” (Nas)
“Blue Magic” (Jay-Z)
The Blueprint
(Jay-Z)
(Jay-Z)
Blues
Boasting.
See also
Braggadocio; Signifying
See also
Braggadocio; Signifying
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Borrowing
Braggadocio
and autobiography
See also
Boasting; Signifying
Boasting; Signifying
Break
Breath control
“Brenda's got a Baby” (Shakur)
“Bring the Noise” (Chuck D)
“Broken Language” (Smoothe da Hustler with Trigga Tha Gambler)
Broken rhyme (split rhyme)
Brown, Cecil
Brown, H. Rap
Browning, Robert
Bryant, Kobe
Bun B
Busta Rhymes
Byron, Lord
Â
Cadence
“California Love” (Shakur)
Campion, Thomas
Cam'ron
“Can I Get A. . . .” (Jay-Z)
“Can't Tell Me Nothing” (Kanye West)
Capping
Carey, Mariah
Cee-Lo
Chain rhyme
Chamillionaire
Chang, Jeff
Chic
Childhood songs
“Children's Story” (Slick Rick)
“Childz Play” (Cee-Lo with Ludacris)
The Chronic
(Dr. Dre)
(Dr. Dre)
Chronicles
(Holinshed)
(Holinshed)
Chubb Rock
Chuck D
Cipher.
See also
Signifying
See also
Signifying
Clarity
Clark Kent
Clinton, George
Clipse
CNN
Cobb, William Jelani
Coercive rhyme
Coke La Rock
Cold Crush Brothers
Coleman, Brian
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor
Coles, Dennis.
See
Ghostface Killah
See
Ghostface Killah
The College Dropout
(Kanye West)
(Kanye West)
Collins, Derek
Comedy
“Coming into Los Angeles” (Guthrie)
Commercialism
Common
Common measure.
See
Ballad meter
See
Ballad meter
Competition.
See also
Signifying
See also
Signifying
Conceit
Concept
Consonance
Content, and style
The Cool
(Lupe Fiasco)
(Lupe Fiasco)
Co-opting.
See
Biting
See
Biting
Cormega
Corn, Alfred
The Cosby Show
Couplet
Cowboy (Keith Wiggins)
Craig G
“Crank That (Soulja Boy)” (Soulja Boy)
“Crazy” (Gnarls Barkley)
Criminal Minded
Crooked I, xxi-xxii
Cultural heritage
Culture of animosity
Â
“Dance with the Devil” (Immortal Technique)
De La Soul
dead prez
“December 4
th
” (Jay-Z)
th
” (Jay-Z)
DeCurtis, Anthony
“Déjà Vu” (Jay-Z with Beyoncé)
Devin the Dude
D4L
Dickinson, Emily
Diddy
Digital Underground
Dilated Peoples
Diplomats
Dipset
“Disseshowedo” (Tajai)
Dissing.
See also
Signifying
See also
Signifying
Disyllabic rhyme
DJ Hollywood
DJ Khaled
DJ Kool Herc
DJ Premier
DJ Spooky (Paul D. Miller)
DMX
Don Juan
(Byron)
(Byron)
The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
(Shakur)
(Shakur)
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