Hip Hop, Rhyme, and Sex
Hip-Hop is a poetic form that consists of rhyming patterns and flow, which is the way words fit with the music or beat. In “Hip-Hop Rhyme Formations: Open Your Ears” by Tracie Morris, hip-hop can be described as having its “own distinctive sound, development, and offshoots” (Morris 223). While hip-hop is typically made up of the abab or abcb pattern of the blues, differences in generations and music genres cause it to evolve continuously. Various rhyming techniques such as internal rhyme, slant rhyme, assonance, and consonance are implored by rappers to deliver their message consisting of flow.
Though there is a lack of academic appreciation and value for hip-hop artists’ manipulations of language, it is undeniable that rappers are utilizing poetic tools in a voice relevant to their generations that explore unconventional topics. This can be seen with rappers such as Rakim, as his lyrical manipulation and strategic use of rhyming devices explore sexual themes that express the perspective of a new generation.
It’s our first time together / and I’m feeling kind of horny, / conventional methods of / making love kinda bore me(Morris 224)
In the first verse, Rakim implements the poetic technique of assonance with a rhyme to describe getting intimate for the first time with a specific individual. “Making love” is a more romantic and intimate phrasing for intercourse. Despite this more affectionate phrasing, MC Rakim refers to the sexual experience in an uninterested way, claiming conventional methods “bores” him. The strategic use of assonance can be seen when Rakim repeats the vowel o in the words “love” and “bore”. This conveys the perspective of newer generations’ idea of intimacy and sexual performance, which differs from the “conventional methods” of older generations.
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I wanna know ya black off / get ma rocks off / Blow ya socks off, / Make sure ya G-spot’s soft (Morris 224)
Rakim further manipulates rhyme and lyrics in the second verse by using consonance. This is clearly shown by the repetition of words ending in the letters ‘ck’, such as black, rocks, and socks. The phrase “Make sure ya G-spot’s soft” refers to the act of pleasurable sex. The G spot is an area of increased sensitivity and pleasure within women that when aroused can cause orgasms. While Rakim states that while he wants to engage in pleasurable sex or “get his rocks off”, he wants his partner to also find it pleasurable or have her socks “blown off”. While the notion that sex can also be pleasurable for women and mutually beneficial may seem like common sense in today's world, the older generation may find it vulgar and unheard of.
Rakim uses specific phrasing along with assonance and consonance to deliver his message that the new generation's definition of “making love” is passionate and pleasurable for both parties.
Morris, Tracie. “Hip-Hop Rhyme Formations: Open Your Ears.” An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art. Edited by Annie Finch and Katherine Varnes, U of Michigan P, 2022, pp. 223–227.
