Amidst controversy from conservatives, Common performed a spoken word piece at the White House in celebration of American poetry and prose.
Common Performs Poetry at the White House
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Brooke & Rolleston: Treasury of Irish Poetry, Macmillan, 1932
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@regentry549 hhahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@regentry549 that was the DJ with the record
That was wonderful POETRY. luisdrum, ignorance may be bliss but when you go public with being a moron, hope it comes back to bite you. Just because he puts emphasis on the rhythm, and because he’s black, doesn’t make it rap..
FYI
Poetry: 1. Literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm
2: The art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts
@luisdrum
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning (wikipedia). Categorize it anyway you want, it is what it is.
@DcR0fT No, actually, what I said was that GOOD art makes it possible for one to empathize with people in other situations, whether the beholder has been through that situation or not. Rap, for example, is not very good at making people empathize in that manner.
Also, I didn’t mean to say any ONE certain person was or was not familiar with a given lifestyle; no, my point was that many SUBURBAN blacks still are major fans of rap music, despite clearly not growing up in the ghetto.
@RonQE Well you agreed with what I said straight after disagreeing.. =) for one to feel empathy for the situation surely means to somehow relate to it… meaning that if you haven’t experienced anything close to what the artist is Rapping about… you’ll have very little empathy towards it… It is also a poor statement to say that the person you see on TV has lived as much struggle as you… when you only know them from occasionally seeing them on TV…Not everybody is a “wannabe” thug…lol
So Keep on! Peace…
@luisdrum … that sounds like good poetry to me from a very good rapper.
Er, “that LIFE than I have”.
Not to mention I should have written “rapped” not “sung”. LOL! Shame on me!
@DcR0fT I disagree somewhat. I find that good art is art which makes one feel empathy for the situation. Not to mention the fact it seems to be more a racial cultural issue, as I see a number of suburban young blacks blasting rap, when they haven”t faced any more of that like than I have.
Common may not be as “thug glorifying” as others, but still, his rhymes are poor, his language “ghetto”, and he HAS written tributes about known criminals and sung against police.
America is a very funny country. Look at the people who have been to the white house way before common did — /watch?v=y3f9mlUQzJA
@RonQE You’re right, long topic indeed, I will say that in my opinion Common is far from glorifying “thug life” or praising ghetto crime culture, not just in this performance but in his career in general. Urban Music in general can only be fully appreciated by somebody who has somehow got something in common with the matters approached. Somebody who has always lived a good financial life, problem free, from really good wealthy families, will not ever have anything in common with RAP or Hip Hop
@DcR0fT You’re right about most “rock”, if, by “rock”, you mean “metal” or certain sub-genres. After all, Elvis and Pink Floyd are “rock”, but, even though PF has written about descent into drug abuse, it was done artistically and not the way the “acid rock” does.
But the bottom line is, true, I don’t enjoy the acid rock which glorifies drug culture any more than I enjoy the rap which glorifies crime culture.
Sometimes the difference is the approach taken, not just the subject matter. Long topic
@DcR0fT “Enjoying” some rap vs finding it poetic can be two different things. I can envision finding some rap, about ghetto life, which could be poetic, even if I didn’t enjoy the subject matter. I just haven’t heard any which rises to the level of “poetry”.
Maybe it’s poetic, in the sense rhymes made by 2nd graders are “poetic”, but not compared to the mastery of language exhibited by true poets.
I’d actually be curious to see some genuinely poetic rap, even if I didn’t enjoy it, per se.
@RonQE lol OK.. With that said.. In all honesty, I don’t think you will ever enjoy RAP, or see it as Poetic.
Furthermore, RAP as you probably well know, did originate from the ghettos of America, so the fact that it mirrors the harsh realities still today found in the ghettos, is one we’ll have to live with for as long as RAP exists.
The same way most Rock songs are metaphors around Drugs and Drug relates stories, also well known true facts and stories of today’s society
@luisdrum
RaP = Rhythm and Poetry
@DcR0fT LOL, ok, I understand, but I never hear most women called “bitches”.
No, I’m not a big rap fan. So I don’t know of any which I really like. I imagine there is SOME out there which might be “poetic”, since there’s SOME good in almost anything which is big enough, but I have yet to hear any.
Rap could potentially be better, but it’s mostly become very closely tied with ghetto culture and, unfortunately, the worst aspects of ghetto culture, so it’s hard to wade thru the bad to find the good
@RonQE lol… Perhaps I didn’t explain myself well, I meant “…just because all women are (called bitches)”
If you can pinpoint Common, out of all RAP artists in the US, and class him as not Poetic… I think its safe to say you’re not a big RAP fan… Can I ask you which RAP artist you WOULD invite to the white house to quote Poetry? bearing in mind you’ve finally assumed that RAP can be poetic… Give me your RAP educated choice… I’m interested to know… lol
@DcR0fT LOL, what a misogynistic statement to lead it off!
Hey, I would never say *ALL* rap is “non-poetry”, or that NO rap ever COULD be poetic. My objection is with those who are saying, unilaterally, “rap IS poetry”. Which is even more absurd than if someone were to say “NO rap is poetry”.
Rap, like any other genre, could be poetic or not, but the common expression of rap is far, far from “poetry”. And Common, here, is an example of “NOT poetry”.
@RonQE Should your girlfriend / wife be called a bitch just because the majority of women are… No…right? same concept… Listen to good RAP music, learn to appreciate it, and try not to put a negative banner on a music gender as a whole, simply because the artists YOU choose to see on TV are quoting children book rhymes over instrumentals. I think the confusion comes when people such as yourself put people like Soulja Boy under the RAP artist bracket…lol
@luisdrum rap is a form of poetry. poetry + rhythm = rap. stop trying to pick hairs.
@abuse721 Rather, those with intelligence, wisdom strength and talent create POETRY and MUSIC.
Those without, create RAP!
LOL
@DcR0fT “Rap is poetry”, you claim?
While it’s possible SOME rap COULD be “poetry”, the vast majority is NOT.
If anything, most of it is almost the polar opposite of poetry.
@eugenerichard You’re comparing Common’s babbling to JAZZ?
LOL! Jazz, and to a lesser degree, rock n roll, is not a product of “trash society”. Rebellious, at times, yes, sometimes a but unrefined, but it’s not just wallowing in vileness without even having redeeming qualities.
Jazz and rap are vastly different in ways it would take too long to describe
And if you really are what you say, and rap actually enriched you, congratulations. That would make you a very rare exception – NOT the norm.
@RonQE Hey Ron. I’m fluent in what you call “Trash Language” and I love the art and culture that arose from the “Trash Society”. Jazz, Rock and any American music worth listening to along with their associated “Jive Talk” and slang originated from an earlier version of that society. I’m an Ivy League grad and I *probably* make more than you. These things didn’t impede me. They enriched me.