Rap, like poetry, is oral and traditionally set at a specified meter, maintains a consistent thought and is created to please the ear as well as the mind. I contend that rap music, just as traditional poetry, stands as not only as a means to express creativity on the part of African-Americans, but it also stands as an art-form that addresses an agenda that would stand to spark meaningful dialogue. In Richard Wright's essay, \"Introduction: Blueprint for Negro Writing,\" he explicitly expresses that the untraditional means through which black literature has evolved and is not identical to European-based literature. He also insists that much black writing that existed through the mid-20th century stemmed directly from the sharing of jokes or through \"burnt-out white Bohemians\" producing stolen or purchased material from needy blacks.2 Whichever the case, I assert that because of these modest beginnings, black literature has had to choose a different path to legitimacy than \"white\" literature. Black literature is sprinkled with unconventional characteristics that have helped itself gain a status of legitimacy and cultural reverence, and therefore is compelled to maintain some aspects of those characteristics to retain some black arts authenticity.
","abstract_html":"<p>Rap, like poetry, is oral and traditionally set at a specified meter, maintains a consistent thought and is created to please the ear as well as the mind. I contend that rap music, just as traditional poetry, stands as not only as a means to express creativity on the part of African-Americans, but it also stands as an art-form that addresses an agenda that would stand to spark meaningful dialogue. In Richard Wright's essay, "Introduction: Blueprint for Negro Writing," he explicitly expresses that the untraditional means through which black literature has evolved and is not identical to European-based literature. He also insists that much black writing that existed through the mid-20th century stemmed directly from the sharing of jokes or through "burnt-out white Bohemians" producing stolen or purchased material from needy blacks.2 Whichever the case, I assert that because of these modest beginnings, black literature has had to choose a different path to legitimacy than "white" literature. Black literature is sprinkled with unconventional characteristics that have helped itself gain a status of legitimacy and cultural reverence, and therefore is compelled to maintain some aspects of those characteristics to retain some black arts authenticity.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Farr, Albert"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Department of English","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2002,"date_issued":"2002-01-01","date_published":"2002-01-01","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:37:49Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.31274/rtd-180813-5225"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://doi.org/10.31274/rtd-180813-5225","href":"https://doi.org/10.31274/rtd-180813-5225","code":true}]},{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["archive/lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/182/"],"render_values":[{"text":"archive/lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/182/","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/72097","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Department of English"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Farr, Albert"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2018-08-24T18:18:41.000"]},{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2020-06-30T08:06:01Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-06-30T08:06:01Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2002-01-01"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["archive/lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/182/"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.31274/rtd-180813-5225"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/72097"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Rap, like poetry, is oral and traditionally set at a specified meter, maintains a consistent thought and is created to please the ear as well as the mind. I contend that rap music, just as traditional poetry, stands as not only as a means to express creativity on the part of African-Americans, but it also stands as an art-form that addresses an agenda that would stand to spark meaningful dialogue. In Richard Wright's essay, \"Introduction: Blueprint for Negro Writing,\" he explicitly expresses that the untraditional means through which black literature has evolved and is not identical to European-based literature. He also insists that much black writing that existed through the mid-20th century stemmed directly from the sharing of jokes or through \"burnt-out white Bohemians\" producing stolen or purchased material from needy blacks.2 Whichever the case, I assert that because of these modest beginnings, black literature has had to choose a different path to legitimacy than \"white\" literature. Black literature is sprinkled with unconventional characteristics that have helped itself gain a status of legitimacy and cultural reverence, and therefore is compelled to maintain some aspects of those characteristics to retain some black arts authenticity.
"]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The socio-political influence of rap music as poetry in the urban community"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.department":["Department of English"],"dc:creator":["Farr, Albert"],"dc:date":["2018-08-24T18:18:41.000"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2020-06-30T08:06:01Z"],"dc:date.available":["2020-06-30T08:06:01Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2002-01-01"],"dc:description.abstract":["Rap, like poetry, is oral and traditionally set at a specified meter, maintains a consistent thought and is created to please the ear as well as the mind. I contend that rap music, just as traditional poetry, stands as not only as a means to express creativity on the part of African-Americans, but it also stands as an art-form that addresses an agenda that would stand to spark meaningful dialogue. In Richard Wright's essay, \"Introduction: Blueprint for Negro Writing,\" he explicitly expresses that the untraditional means through which black literature has evolved and is not identical to European-based literature. He also insists that much black writing that existed through the mid-20th century stemmed directly from the sharing of jokes or through \"burnt-out white Bohemians\" producing stolen or purchased material from needy blacks.2 Whichever the case, I assert that because of these modest beginnings, black literature has had to choose a different path to legitimacy than \"white\" literature. Black literature is sprinkled with unconventional characteristics that have helped itself gain a status of legitimacy and cultural reverence, and therefore is compelled to maintain some aspects of those characteristics to retain some black arts authenticity.
"],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["archive/lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/182/"],"dc:identifier.doi":["https://doi.org/10.31274/rtd-180813-5225"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/72097"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:title":["The socio-political influence of rap music as poetry in the urban community"],"dc:type":["thesis"],"thesis:degree_level":["thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:37:49Z"}