Critique on the Anthology of Rap

Anthology of Rap by Adam Bradley and Andrew DuBois sets out to illustrate how rap can be analyzed from a literary standpoint, and traces the development of the genre from the late 1970s to contemporary interpretations of the genre. Throughout the book, Bradley and DuBois offer interesting insights into how the music movement developed and evolved, and while they provide some insight into the development of the genre as a movement, they overlook significant factors that influenced rap.

In the introduction, The Anthology of Rap establishes that it will focus primarily on rap as poetry, yet the focus frequently shifts to other influencers. The book's introduction is full of promise and offers a definition of rap that allows the rapper to be considered a poet and helps to create a distinction between rap and the overarching genre of hip hop. KRS-One states, "Rap music is something we do, but hip hop is something we live" (Bradley and DuBois xxix). In this context rap can be defined as the poetry of hip hop where hip hop is a way of life and rap is the commentary that accompanies the lifestyle. With this distinction, the reader can proceed to analyze the structure of rap. This definition outlines the premise of The Anthology of Rap and positions Bradley and DuBois elaborate on the evolution of both rap and hip hop and how they were influenced by each other.

As The Anthology of Rap intends to discuss rap as poetry, it is important to explain how rap lyrics are structured. Bradley and DuBois write, "Every rap lyric must fulfill certain demands, the dominant ones being the listener's expectation of the rhyme and the rhythmic strictures of the beat" (xxxiii). This claim raises the question of what determines the beat. Is the beat determined by lyrical structure or is the beat determined by the music? Bradley and DuBois begin by explaining how early representations of rap appear to indicate that lyrics were independent from the beats established by music. Furthermore, it can be argued that these early representations of rap align with William Wordsworth's definition of poetry, which claims "Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings," yet Bradley and DuBois do not make any sort of connection to traditional poets to help support their claim that rap should be interpreted as poetry (Wordsworth). These early rappers did not care about the rhythmic strictures of the beat, but rather were inspired by the beat without conforming to it. In these early forms of rap, sound and music served as a backdrop for rapping, something to fill in the empty silences and support "the sonic environment" (3). It would be beneficial for Bradley and DuBois to elaborate on the relationship between lyrics and music, and place an equal emphasis on this relationship as they do on the dynamic between the DJ and MC. By supporting their claims with statements from influential rap groups and individuals, Bradley and DuBois add credibility to the purpose of The Anthology of Rap, however, their inability to connect those claims to traditional poets despite expounding on the rhythm, structure, and rhyme schemes of rap.

Some of The Anthology of Rap's triumphs in explaining the relationship between traditional literature and rap take place within the introductory sections of the book that divide rap history into various eras. In "Old School," Bradley and DuBois masterfully explain the evolution of rap and not only how words and music adapted to each other, but also how the poetic structure of rap evolved and inadvertently conformed to classic poetic structures. However, Bradley and DuBois fail to elaborate on how rap's poetic structures evolved past the Old School era and instead focus on the imagery created through these lyrics. What is more, in "Rap Goes Mainstream," Bradley and DuBois no longer focus on rap as poetry, but rather shift their focus to the rapper as an individual, the formation of his persona, and how hip hop, in general, was changing in relation to the music business as a whole and how hip hop impacted society because of its commercialism. "Rap Goes Mainstream" instead focuses on the poet's delivery of lyrics and not the lyrics themselves.

Bradley and DuBois also excel in explaining how the rapper image transformed from being to an underground, independent figure to formation of an individual persona and finally the embodiment of rap culture as a whole. The transition into the Golden Age from the Old School era of rap both complicates and expands upon the definition of rap as poetry. One of the most confounding aspects of this section is Bradley and DuBois's presentation of gangsta rap and the development of the persona and the failure to connect this to any aspect of traditional literature. Bradley and DuBois continuously treat the development of rap and the rapper as a phenomenon, and while they briefly mention writers that had a significant influence on society, such as Langston Hughes, the authors do not explore the relationship between these types of poets and rappers. By failing to do so, Bradley and DuBois miss an opportunity to further explain why rappers should be recognized for the lyrics they write instead of simply being recognized for the image they convey and the music they create.

Bradley and DuBois's discussion of the Golden Age of rap ends on a low note because of its complete disregard for the role that women played during this time. The authors simply mention, "Whereas before, the best female lyricists crafted lyrics that were indistinguishable in essence from those of their distinguished male counterparts, figures such as MC Lyte, Roxanne Shante, Salt-N-Pepa, and Queen Latifah began to speak on themes provoked by a sense of gender disparity and the untapped power of women" (129). Bradley and DuBois ignore women's roles in rap throughout The Anthology of Rap, and while they mentioned that women rappers at this time wrote lyrics that were initially indistinguishable from their male counterparts, the authors do not elaborate nor explain how these women were affected by rap's evolution or how they contributed to rap as poetry. Throughout the book, Bradley and DuBois place focus on one singular female, M.I.A. And praise the impact she had on American hip hop, specifically citing her song "Paper Planes," which is heavily influenced by The Clash's 1982 song "Straight to Hell," which Bradley and DuBois do not cite nor recognize in applauding M.I.A.'s contributions to hip hop.