[New Books] 'Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop' by Adam Bradley (Basic Civitas Books)

The conventional “wisdom” of hip-hop-haters is that the lyricism of its MCs is so devoid of artistic integrity that “anyone can rap.” Literary scholar/rap aficionado Adam Bradley rejects such notions in his work, Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop, in which he argues that rap has become the most revolutionary innovation in contemporary poetry.

Bradley’s book offers an in-depth analysis of the rhymes that drive hip-hop’s poetic pulse, breaking down what an MC says and how he says it from yesteryear’s Sugar Hill Gang to today’s most polished wordsmiths such as Immortal Technique.

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More About

• Adam Bradley
• Immortal Technique
• The Sugarhill Gang
• Hip-Hop and Rap

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The fundamental concept Bradley sets forth is the “dual rhythmic relationship” of rap that allows for creative variations in an MC’s delivery. In this, the consistency of hip-hop’s 4/4 beats allows for a rapper’s verbalizing to become a dynamic instrument. At times obscured in the lexicon of academia, Bradley nevertheless conveys how an MC uses slant rhymes, enjambments and stressed syllables in a manner akin to how a guitarist employs bends and amplifier feedback.

Book of Rhymes also succeeds in conceptualizing rap’s art of storytelling. Similes, metaphors and wordplay are key components of hip-hop. The genre offers more stories than any other form of music; however, as Bradley notes, the message is subservient to the poetic skill with which it is delivered.

Coming at a time when the commercialization of hip-hop has led to the monotony of auto-tune atrocities and the thematic usurpation of clubbing over the street’s sociology, Book of Rhymes helps cultivate an understanding of hip-hop’s rightful place as an art form. As Bradley succinctly writes, “For those who care to look, rap rewards the effort with the beats and rhymes of new life.”