--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Rap isn't poetry, not least because it…" description: "\"Rap isn't poetry, not least because it involves music and often other elements that aren't words. But the way poets in English use things like rhyme an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/andrew-hoberek-66289_artist_rap-isn-t-poetry-not-least-because-it-in_2660717.jpg" --- # Rap isn't poetry, not least because it involves music and… ![“Rap isn't poetry, not least because it involves music and often other elements that aren't words. But the way poets in English use things like rhyme and meter, and the ways these conventions both do and don't apply to rap we try to lay out the rules for rap, in order to understand the techniques…” quote by Andrew Hoberek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/andrew-hoberek-66289_artist_rap-isn-t-poetry-not-least-because-it-in_2660717.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/andrew-hoberek-66289_artist_rap-isn-t-poetry-not-least-because-it-in_2660717.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/andrew-hoberek-66289_artist_rap-isn-t-poetry-not-least-because-it-in_2660717.jpg) > “Rap isn't poetry, not least because it involves music and often other elements that aren't words. But the way poets in English use things like rhyme and meter, and the ways these conventions both do and don't apply to rap we try to lay out the rules for rap, in order to understand the techniques that artists like Jay-Z and Kanye employ.” Andrew Hoberek ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rap differs from traditional poetry because it blends music, rhythm, and lyrical flow, requiring distinct analytical frameworks. **In simple terms:** Rap mixes music and words, unlike pure poetry. Key Takeaway Study rap’s unique structures alongside poetry. Themes music poetry culture language Mood educational analytical Type academic musical When to use this quote - music education - creative writing - cultural studies - songwriting Key Concepts rhythm meter sampling performance art Questions to Reflect On - How does music shape lyrical meaning? - What poetic techniques appear in rap verses? A Different Perspective Rap can convey poetic depth despite different forms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Rap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rap/) [Rapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rapper/) [Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technique/) ## Related quotes > [she thinks I'm psycho cause I like to rhyme her name with things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/she-thinks-i-m-psycho-cause-i-like-to-rhyme-her-name-with-things/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [I like rhyme because it is memorable, I like form because having to work to a pattern gives me original ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-stevenson/i-like-rhyme-because-it-is-memorable-i-like-form-because-having-to/) [Anne Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-stevenson/) > [My son, O'Shea. He looks like me, and he can rhyme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-cube/my-son-o-shea-he-looks-like-me-and-he-can-rhyme/) [Ice Cube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-cube/) > [Poetry involves the mysteries of the irrational perceived through rational words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/poetry-involves-the-mysteries-of-the-irrational-perceived-through/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [I like to think that the best poetry is or involves a contest between ordinary conversation and ritual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miller-williams/i-like-to-think-that-the-best-poetry-is-or-involves-a-contest-between/) [Miller Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miller-williams/) > [I think poetry involves heightened noticing or imagining as well as creating a certain made shape. On the other hand, that shape can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-think-poetry-involves-heightened-noticing-or-imagining-as-well-as/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [Rhymes, meters, stanza forms, etc., are like servants. If the master is fair enough to win their affection and firm enough to command their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/rhymes-meters-stanza-forms-etc-are-like-servants-if-the-master-is/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [It is a shallow criticism that would define poetry as confined to literary productions in rhyme and meter rhythm. The written poem is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-a-shallow-criticism-that-would-define-poetry-as-confined-to/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [By denying people's sense of visual beauty in painting and sculpture , melody in music , meter and rhyme in poetry , plot and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/by-denying-people-s-sense-of-visual-beauty-in-painting-and-sculpture/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Don't be married to a line or verse if it can't rhyme, fit the meter, or doesn't fit the outline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/don-t-be-married-to-a-line-or-verse-if-it-can-t-rhyme-fit-the-meter/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [The first line is the DNA of the poem; the rest of the poem is constructed out of that first line. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-first-line-is-the-dna-of-the-poem-the-rest-of-the-poem-is/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Life is tons of discipline. Your first discipline is your vocabulary; then your grammar and your punctuation Then, in your exuberance and bounding energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/life-is-tons-of-discipline-your-first-discipline-is-your-vocabulary/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Rhyme and meter force gaps in meaning so the muse can enter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/rhyme-and-meter-force-gaps-in-meaning-so-the-muse-can-enter/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“…but Zoe, your bitch meter is hitting a twelve. I need you at a six, okay?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-d-ficklin/but-zoe-your-bitch-meter-is-hitting-a-twelve-i-need-you-at-a-six-okay/) [Sherry D. Ficklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-d-ficklin/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Andrew Hoberek > [Those who dismiss rappers as vulgar outsiders miss the way that Jay-Z and Kanye embody the American dream: starting from humble beginnings, both rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hoberek/those-who-dismiss-rappers-as-vulgar-outsiders-miss-the-way-that-jay-z/) Andrew Hoberek > [The history of modern culture is a history of popular entertainments evolving into art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hoberek/the-history-of-modern-culture-is-a-history-of-popular-entertainments/) Andrew Hoberek > [One of my goals as a professor of English is to teach students to recognize and think critically about what makes something art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hoberek/one-of-my-goals-as-a-professor-of-english-is-to-teach-students-to/) Andrew Hoberek Explore all 4 Andrew Hoberek quotes ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Rap isn't poetry, not least because it involves music and often other elements that aren't words. 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