Contemporary Poetry: Hip Hop Analogies and Rain Comparative Essay

This essay provides a comparative analysis of Tara Betts' "Hip Hop Analogies" and Don Paterson's "Rain," exploring their distinct approaches to contemporary poetry. The essay highlights the contrasting styles, with "Hip Hop Analogies" reflecting the energy of hip-hop culture through its slang and rhythmic structure, while "Rain" employs a more structured rhyme scheme to convey themes of purification and the acceptance of the past. The analysis delves into the literary devices, cultural contexts, and intended audiences of each poem, ultimately arguing that while both hold a place in the modern literary world, their purposes and aesthetics differ significantly. The essay examines the role of music and beats in hip-hop, and how it differs from traditional poetry. Works cited include scholarly articles and the poems themselves, providing a comprehensive overview of the subject matter.

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Connection between contemporary texts and art, history, and culture
Art, poetry, and literature are essential components of creative experimentation that
reflect the society from a historical and cultural perspective. The two contemporary pieces
chosen for discussion include “Hip Hop Analogies” by Tara Betts and “Rain” by Don Paterson.
While both poems are contemporary, and aesthetic innovations of the culture, Rain is serious
poetry while Hip Hop Analogies offers an experience of being alive in that just very moment.
Tara Betts’s works reflect her interests in creative writing, poetry, and African American
literature. Hip Hop Analogies was part of her The Hip Hop Project when she wrote for hip hop
magazines (Sounding Out). Don Paterson is a leading contemporary poet who is largely self-
taught and has won many accolades for his works.
The earliest period of hip-hop writing focused on the emergent party music of the late
1970s and early 1980s. The pulsating rhyming words and music was intended to bring the
audience to their feet (Woldu 10). The crowds get animated by the rhythm, beats, and music. Hip
Hop reflects the youth culture, and the Hip-Hop artists revolutionized their genre and generation.
They wrote poems only for those who love Hip-Hop and redefined the meaning and purpose of a
poem. Figuratively, hip hop is defined as a culture of deejaying, rapping and graffiti, and
breakdancing. (Jenkins 4). There are a specific verbal artifact and aestheticized oral
communication in the musical expression of hip hop.

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Although both “Hip Hop Analogies” and “Rain” are examples of contemporary poems,
there is a particular slang and language in the hip hop favors. In Hip-Hop Analogies, for
example, “If you be the backspin, I be the break” or “If you be boy, then I be girl” simply pulsate
with energy. There is no connection between one line to the next, and the lyrics are just a
mechanical continuation. Still, they would come to life with a pulsating music and beats. ‘Rain’
utilizes a structured rhyme scheme where the poet describes the equalizing force of Rain that
allows him to wash away the concern for the past. The poet loves the presence of Rain, and as
long as it is there in his life, his past doesn’t matter. The Rain is like a purifying and unifying
force in his life, which he symbolizes with a film.
Although both hip-hop and poetry use literary devices and words, both are different. Hip-
hop artistry is, indeed captivating and intriguing. Its subject matter is artistically heightened and
covers a wide range of topics. Hip-hop is now many decades old and cannot be considered real
poetry in modern, literate societies. Sometimes, hip-hop sounds just like a conversation and is
less serious. On the other hand, poetry has always enjoyed a stable definition across cultures and
genres, even in different times periods. It has always had some stable generic characteristics, that
are innate with poetry. While hip hop may have impressive lyrics, the musicality of those words
remains incomplete without the music or beats. The words are crafted to go with the external
rhythm, and thus, in that sense, Hip-hop can be seen as incomplete poetry.
In the twenty-first century, hip-hop is indeed at interesting crossroads. The quality of hip-
hop at times declines in quality, and the intended use of slang and street language is to raise the
readership (Woldu 37). There are no fixed rules for hip-hop lyrics that undergo rapid
transformations to suit the needs and range of writing. Modern poetry portrays a dramatic
diversity, and what makes them timeless are the poetic qualities and aesthetics such as figurative

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language, descriptive imagery, sound, and tone. These literary works are to be read in peace and
for the satisfaction of the mind and soul. “Hip Hop Analogies” and “Rain” carry a secure place in
the world of literature, but both have been written with a different purpose and for different
readers. While there is a simple and free expression in both poems, there is a deeper meaning and
purpose in “Rain.” On the other hand, “Hip Hop Analogies” relies on external beats to become
meaningful.
To conclude on the above subject, while both hip hop songs and modern poems hold a
certain presence in contemporary world pf poetry, hip hop cannot be seen as serious poetry. The
term poetry indeed carries higher aesthetical value in an honorific term. Hip hop lyrics favor a
particular kind of flamboyant rhymes that distinguishes them from contemporary poetry. Based
on the definitions of poetry, hip hop may not be poetry. However, in being so, it carves a
powerful niche for itself in the modern literary world.

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Works Cited
Betts, Tara. " Hip Hop Analogies." poetry foundation, 2015,
www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/58059/hip-hop-analogies.
Jenkins, Candice M. "Introduction: "Reading" Hip-Hop Discourse in the Twenty-First Century."
African American Review, vol. 46, no. 1, 2013, pp. 1-8.
Paterson, Don. " Rain." newyorker, 2008, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/05/26/rain-
poems-don-paterson
Sounding Out. "Tara Betts." Soundstudies blog, 2019, soundstudiesblog.com/sound-studies-
blog/writers/our-guest-writers/tara-betts/
Woldu, Gail H. "the Kaleidoscope of Writing on Hip-Hop Culture." Notes, vol. 67, no. 1, 2010,
pp. 9-38.