Hip-Hop and Rhyme

Hip-hop and rap are types of songs that originated from the African Diaspora in North America. The rhyme scheme these songs follow is very simple — usually something like abab or abcb. However, because the tempo at which they spoke the words was very fast — so fast that when these poems first came to be, most people couldn’t understand what they were saying. Like the blues, which was also created in North America, the words and rhyme scheme used in rap songs is super important to the songs as a whole. While the The words, where they are placed and what they rhyme with, etc. contribute a lot to the song’s meaning.

For instance, in a stanza from rappers The Sugar Hill Gang’s song “Rappers’ Delight”, it states:

What you hear is not a test,

I’m rapping to the beat

and me, the groove and my friends

are gonna try to move your feet

(Morris, 223)

This abcb stanza is a perfect example of how the words contribute highly to the meaning of the song. While this stanza may not seem as deep and meaningful as other songs may be, that is very on-brand for this song. Based on the fact that the abab rhyme scheme is abcb, we can conclude that the second and fourth line are supposed to rhyme, meaning that these lines are super important to the song’s meaning. They say “I’m rapping to the beat…are gonna try to move your feet” (Morris, 223). Based on these two lines, this song is definitely a party and dancing song. The words moving (move) and grooving (groove) really make people get in the mood to dance and move their feet, which is exactly what Sugar Hill Gang was trying to get across with their song.

Morris, Tracy. “Motherless Child Blues.” An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art. Edited by Annie Finch and Kathrine Varnes. U of Michigan P, 2002, pp.223

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