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Multisyllabic rhymes

Rhymes containing two or more syllables

Rhymes containing two or more syllables

In rapping and poetry, multisyllabic rhymes (also known as compound rhymes, polysyllable rhymes, and sometimes colloquially in hip-hop as multis An example is as follows:

This is my *last race* / I’m at a *fast pace*

Multisyllabic rhyme is used extensively in hip-hop, and is considered a hallmark of complex and advanced rapping, and artists are often praised for their multisyllabic rhymes by critics and fellow rappers. This is in contrast to its use in the majority of other forms of poetry, where multisyllabic rhyme is rarely used, apart from in comic verse where it is used for comic effect by poets such as Ogden Nash.

Usage in hip-hop

Multisyllabic rhymes are one of several rhyming devices which have increased in usage throughout the history of rapping, along with such devices as internal rhymes and offbeat rhymes. Music scholar Adam Krims, writing in 2001, noted the following artists as exemplifying the increased complexity in rhyming, including use of multisyllabic rhyming: “members of the Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, AZ, Big Pun, Ras Kass, and Elzhi, just to name a few”.

Multisyllabic rapping is mostly included hardcore, gangsta or mafioso rap and is rarely included in mainstream hip-hop music. Examples of multisyllabic rhymes being included in mainstream hip-hop music include rapper AZ's 1995 single "Sugar Hill", Big Pun's 1997 single "Still Not a Player", and Cuban Link's "Sugar Daddy" single from 2005.

Some MCs have used multisyllabic rhymes consisting of five or more rhyming syllables. For example, on MF DOOM's song "Meat Grinder", from the album Madvillainy, he raps: "Borderline schizo / Sorta fine tits though."

Usage in poetry

Lord Byron (1788–1824) used multisyllabic rhymes in his satiric poem Don Juan. For example, he rhymes "intellectual" with "hen-peck'd you all".

Ogden Nash (1902–1971) used multisyllabic rhymes in a comic, satirical way, as is common in traditional comic poetry. For example, in his poem ‘The Axolotl’ he rhymes "axolotl" with "whaxolotl".

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89) is one of few poets who used multisyllabic rhymes to convey non-satirical subject matter. An example of this is ‘The Bugler's First Communion’, where he rhymes "boon he on" with "Communion".

Notes

References

  • Edwards, Paul (2009). How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC. Chicago Review Press, .
  • The craft of lyric writing. Sheila Davis 1985 Writer's Digest Books
  • "Fishing by Obstinate Isles: Modern and Postmodern British Poetry and American Readers" Keith Tuma 1998 Northwestern University Press

References

  1. Edwards, Paul, 209, ''[[How to Rap]]: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC'', Chicago Review Press, p. 87.
  2. Eminem, with Sacha Jenkins, 2008, ''The Way I Am'', Dutton Adult, p. 17.
  3. Eminem, 2004, 'Yellow Brick Road', Encore, Aftermath/Shady, Interscope.
  4. Anderson, Linda, 2006, ''Creative Writing: A Workbook with Readings'', Taylor & Francis, p. 235.
  5. Hogg, Richard M., et al., 1998, ''The Cambridge History of the English Language'', Cambridge University Press, p. 625.
  6. Edwards, Paul, 2009, ''[[How to Rap]]: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC'', Chicago Review Press, p. 87-91.
  7. Shapiro, Peter, 2005, ''The Rough Guide To Hip-Hop, 2nd Edition'', Penguin, p. 213.
  8. DiBella, Michael. (2016). "The B.U.M.S". AllMusic.
  9. Krims, Adam, 2001, ''Rap Music And The Poetics Of Identity'', Cambridge University Press, p. 49.
  10. "RapReview Of The Week".
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