Literature has long shaped and reflected the lives of people across the globe.  Rap music, on the other hand, is a relatively young form of expression, gaining popularity primarily in the last fifteen years.  Though the histories of the two greatly differ, analysis of rap and literature indicate striking similarities.  The same techniques used in literary works are also present in rap, and the focus of the two differs only due to changes in culture.  Many around the music industry considered the late Tupac Shakur to be a poet.  However, it would be safe to assume that few intellects would share that opinion.  Rappers embody the same elements that their predecessors in literature did.  Henry Wordsworth once said that poetry is merely a Man among men, speaking to men (Jones).  Rappers, by this definition, are the most pure form of poets.  They speak of things that are only considered acceptable statements amongst men.  The similarities between rap and poetry are elucidated after analyzing both. 

            Perhaps the greatest similarity between rap and literature is that they are both forms of expression.  Literature has long been a means by which writers express their beliefs on everything from women to politics.  Rap is also used for the same purpose, to express opinions and a way of life.  Rap and literature tend to share common subject matters, depending primarily on the period of literature being examined.  They are both often concerned with women, drugs, and material objects.  Rap is highly noted for dealing with these subject areas.  However, many people do not recognize literature as having these recurring subjects.  For instance, Ivanhoe has large drug influences throughout the story (Garcia).  As for women and drugs, there are an innumerable number of stories containing these.  For instance, Marlowes The Passionate Shepherd to His Love possesses both while depicting a shepherds attempt to get a woman by offering her material goods.  The shepherd in the poem says, A gown of the finest wool, / Which from our pretty lambs we pull (Bowler 216).  The Big Tymers, similarly say, And go straight to the mall and tear down the inside / Do that Prada, Gucci, full-length leather (OHHLA Big).  Both of these works are appealing to material desires, with the latter differing solely by its modernization.   

There are significant differences between growing up in the projects of Compton, California and growing up in the situations that famous authors have.  These cultural differences influence the style in which rappers write their music.  It is generally accepted for them to explicitly state ideas about sex, violence, and drugs in their culture.  In the end though, they are chastised for expressing this through their music.  The only difference is that authors generally use innuendoes to reveal sexual desires or experiences.  As Chaucer says, Although perforce I cannot take a ride / Because, alas, our perch was made too narrow, he is making a sexual reference, but he does it in a different manner than rappers (Bowler 150).  In a rap song, a discussion involving sex would be significantly more graphic.  Furthermore, why isnt the work of Beowulf criticized for depicting Beowulf, a hero, ripping off Grendels arm? (Bowler 31).  That is certainly a more gruesome scene than the shootings described in rap.  Yet, the violence is rap condemned and the scenes of Beowulf are recognized as being heroic.

  Also, there are famous writers who have questionable morals.  The greatest example would be William Shakespeare and his illegitimate child (Shakespeare).  The backgrounds of many rappers contain the same blemish.  The difference lies in that many people do not even know that Shakespeare impregnated a woman before marrying her, and if they did know, probably would consider that irrelevant in relation to his writing.  However, for a rapper possessing the same background, many readers would allow that to taint their view of the rappers work.  There is a double standard that rappers are being held to, and they are unable to conquer it.  With this double standard, rappers are not given just recognition for their works.

            When reading literature, intellects across the world are amazed by the way writers use literary techniques to clearly make their points.  Rappers, wishing to express their points, do much of the same.  William Shakespeare, considered by most to be the greatest author ever, used many puns to create humor in his works.  For instance, in Julius Caesar, the cobbler refers to himself as a mender of bad soles (Seidenbecker).  This is a pun as it has a meaning for both soles and souls.  Similarly, Kyjuan, Nelly, Murphy Lee, and Ali of the St. Lunatics use puns in their songs to add effect to their descriptions.  On the Free City album, Ali says, So many karats in the ring, Im half-man, half-rabbit.  Ali uses the word karat to describe his jewelry, and then he proceeds to use the connotation of the word carrot and its relation to rabbits.  This is a more effective way of claiming to have a large amount of jewelry than just directly stating the fact.

The St. Lunatics do not stop at that with the use of puns to present their ideas.  The song Icey is a conceit between ice and diamonds.  Kyjuan creates part of this conceit by saying, Bombed Antarctica, now a ***** wearing it.  The entire song maintains this comparison between the apparently dissimilar objects of ice and diamonds.  Ali also utilizes this situation as he says, They didnt know that Iceland was just my jewelry box (OHHLA St. Lunatics).  By saying this, Ali conveys the large number of diamonds, or ice, that he possesses.  The use of conceits in rap, however, differs from conceits in literature because of the subject matters.  Edward Taylor, perhaps the most well known writer of conceits, generally centered his around religion.  A perfect is example of one of his religious conceits is Huswifery, which draws comparison between a spinning wheel and how Taylor wishes to be used by God (Wyrick).  This is due to the cultural differences between the lives of modern-day rappers and Puritan authors such as Taylor.  Modern-day rappers live in a world in which material goods are a measure of success.  Taylor, on the other hand, lived in an age that accepted nothing less than complete dedication to religion. 

Both Mark Twain and Emily Bronte used regional dialect to help create atmospheres in their works.  The St. Lunatics have used the same technique to create a different atmosphere in their rap.  The St. Lunatics particularly alter words that end with the letters ere.  For instance, instead of here, they would be inclined to write it as herre (OHHLA St. Lunatics).  This change not only slows the pronunciation of the word, it makes the last syllable stressed in their pronunciation.  This is not different from the Jim saying, de family founit out bout half an hour ago in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Twain 114).  Also, it is not any different from Josephs speech in Brontes Wuthering Heights.  Joseph makes comments such as, Yon lad gets war un war (Bronte 65).  These dialects are an indication of the worlds that the characters live in, and provide insight into the characters lives.  By using regional dialect in rap, the same thing is being accomplished.

Allusions are commonplace in great literature due to their ability to more effectively create descriptions.  Particularly effective are allusions to characters from Greek mythology.  In Sir Walter Raleighs A Nymphs Reply to the Shepherd, the response corresponds with a reply that would be given by a nymph in Greek mythology.  The nymph, being a woman of short-term relationships, ties in with the response in which the nymph claims that all of the objects offered by the shepherd are temporary (Bowler 217).  To have full understanding, it is necessary to understand the mythological background of nymphs.  Rap, however, looks to sports at most times for subjects of allusions.  In the song Icey, Ali mentions George Gervin in passing.  Ali does this because Gervin came to be known as the Iceman during his days as a basketball player.  Without this background knowledge, it would be impossible to understand the use of Gervins name in the song.  In another instance, Ali says, Been packing twenty-twos like Emmitt did.  In this line, Ali is referring to Emmitt Smiths jersey number in football: twenty-two.  He is using Emmitt Smiths jersey number as a way of describing his possession of rims, which are twenty-two inches in diameter.  Rappers are not limited to allusions to just sports, though.  Once again, the song Icey can be used to prove this point.  In this song, Kyjuan uses the phrase, How you want it, the man or the mice way.  This is an obvious allusion to John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men (OHHLA St. Lunatics).

            Enjambment, a lesser-known tool, is also used in rap.  The Big Tymers use it when they say, Up and down and up they go and, / Bodies on the roadster, Lexus, you know what (OHHLA Big)?  The sentence is continued between verses without a break.  Another of the literary tools that is commonplace in rap is hyperbole.  Exaggeration is used in rap primarily in an effort for a rapper to glorify himself.  In literature, it is often used to achieve the same effect.  In the song Bling Bling, BG states, man, I got the price of a mansion round my neck and wrist (OHHLA BG).  In Beowulf, it describes Beowulfs descent to the lair of Grendels mother by saying, For hours he sank through the waves (Bowler 36).  This is an extreme exaggeration just as having the price of a mansion around ones neck and wrist.  BG does not wear that much jewelry.  Also, people are unable to stay underwater for hours at a time.  These are both used to catch the audiences attention and make the subjects seem greater than they actually are.

            Imagery is a basic element of rap, as it is in literature.  Rappers vividly describe women, cars, jewelry, and other things that they value.  This can be seen in the Big Tymers line in which they say, Four thirty Lex with convertible top / And the rims keep spinning every time I stop (OHHLA Big).  They are describing their car and even go into detail about the rims.  Imagery can also be seen in the St. Lunatics music as Murphy Lee says, Flossing in my icey Vokal, varsity letterman / Icey headband to hold my baby-dreads in (OHHLA St. Lunatics).  This imagery is used to describe his clothing.  It can be gathered that he is wearing a Vokal jacket and a headband.  These images give insight into rappers the same way that imagery gives insight into characters in literature.