Listen to these spoken word pieces and consider how we might trace the roots of hip hop to deeper black oral traditions (across the black diaspora) and American folk traditions.
What elements of rap and hip hop culture to you hear in these older pieces? Think about content (subjects) and form (rhythm, rhyme, style)? What do these tell us about the roots of hip hop? How can we use John Szwed's article to help us interpret these pieces? Can we
hear any of the musical effects that we think of as rap/ hip hop innovations in
these earlier rhymes/musical speech?
Toasts and Folk Songs
Stagolee
The Last Poets:
Muhammed Ali:
