Rap Lyrics
Poetry is language that is more intense than the ordinary language. The
elements
of poetry make it recognizable that there are techniques and styles
that add to
this intensity. These elements can be found in the lyrics of many
rap songs,
especially within the lyrics of "What’s It Gonna Be" by Busta
Rhymes and
Janet Jackson. Rhyme is the most practiced element of poetry.
It is defined as
being the repetition of sounds in language. You can find
this repetition within
many verses of "What’s it Gonna Be". For example, in
verse one "Baby
just tell me how you feel, we livin it and just givin it to
you real". The two
ending words "feel" and "real" gives the song a rhyming
effect. Another
example of rhyme is in lines eight and nine of verse one.
These lines say, "
To my people who regulatin the dance floors, better
step in yo business and
handle yours. "Floors" and "yours" also add the
rhyming effect of this
song. The rhyme in "What’s it Gonna Be" classifies
this song as being
somewhat poetic. Poetry communicates experience, and
experience comes to us
largely through the senses (seeing, hearing, smelling,
feeling, and touching).
Imagery is a mental and visual impression that
appeals to one of the five
senses. Visual imagery is a sense thats expressed
throughout "What’s it
Gonna Be". For example, verse two line twelve says,
"Paintin a picture I see
it’s hot on the window". "See" is the keyword in
line twelve that shows
visual imagery. Hearing is another sense that’s used
frequently within this
song. For example, the chorus says "Gonna make, gonna
make, your body scream
out yeah!" This verse is very effective in expressing
the sense of hearing.
When it is read, the exclamation mark brings this
verse alive. If the
exclamation mark wasn’t there the keyword "scream" still
classifies this
as an example of imagery. Voice is another element of poetry
that this song
seems to have. The speakers in "What’s it Gonna Be" are Busta
Rhymes and
Janet Jackson. The chorus is sung by Janet and the verses are
rapped by Busta
Rhymes. The tone of "What’s it Gonna Be" is somewhat
excited and fast
paced. When you read the chorus it gives you an energetic
feeling. For example,
"Gonna make, gonna make, your body wet. Gonna make,
gonna make, your body
scream out yeah!" When reading this the commas and
exclamation mark speeds up
the pace of the song. Theme is the overall idea
expressed within a story, song,
or poem. The primary theme of "What’s it
Gonna Be" is sex. Busta Rhymes
and Janet are telling the listeners of this
song all the things they can do
sexually. An example of this is, "And makin
you women say (ahh) baby come
on". Busta Rhymes has a somewhat "cocky"
approach to sex. Janet Jackson
also has this same "cocky" approach. For
example, "Gonna make, gonna make,
your body cream". When Janet refers to
"cream" she’s saying that she can
make someone reach their sexual peak.
Overall this song’s theme has a very
strong sexual meaning. Figurative
language is defined as words that mean
something other than the actual
meaning. The majority of rap songs have a large
amount of figurative
language. "What’s it Gonna Be" has a abundant amount
of this. For example,
"full fledge hittin with Busta Rhymes and Janet and you
know its...". The
word "hittin" means sex, so in other words this verse is
saying "full fledge
sex with Busta Rhymes and Janet". Another example of
figurative language is,
"Making you people just wanna bounce and get busy".
"Bounce" refers to
leaving and "get busy" means having sexual
intercourse, so this verse says
"making you people just wanna leave and have
sex". In conclusion, "What’s it
Gonna Be" has very strong poetic
elements. This song had rhythm, theme,
imagery, and voice. Actually I couldn’t
find that many figures of speech,
such as a metaphor or a simile, but I could
find some figurative language.
Overall I feel that this assignment made me
realize how poetic some rap songs
can be. This assignment also made me become
familiar at recognizing the
elements of poetry.