Nope, I still don't get hip-hop.

I got this as part of our Secret Santa project over at The True Meaning of Life forums from the guy I was Santa to. I do appreciate the chance to expand my horizons, but I don't think it really helped me to "get" hip-hop any more than I do already, which is to say not at all.

I think the reason I don't get hip-hop, or at least one of the reasons, is that I'm not lyrically focused. When I hear a song, the lyrics are not usually the first thing I catch on to. I like melodies and harmonies, interesting sounds and sound combinations, drumbeats, bass lines and so on. The vocal melody itself usually takes precedence over lyrics, so they have to be pretty powerful to catch me right from the beginning. Since hip-hop is more lyric-centered - it's basically poetry set to music - it's much harder for me to actually care enough to stick around and find out what the words are saying.

Which brings us to this book. Williams is a longtime fan of hip-hop and rap, though he's fallen out of love with its current materialistic, misogynistic incarnation, and in this book tells the story of finding a secret cache of coded hip-hop lines rolled up into a spray paint canister. The first part of the book is his "decoding" of the scrolls, which he swears are incredibly powerful and significant.

Unfortunately, more often than not poetry perishes on the printed page, and hip-hop is especially vulnerable to ink and paper's effects. It's a spoken art form, relying on the poet's sense of rhythm and rhyme to convey the message that he or she wants. Once you put it down in indelible ink, the rhythm and the rhymes are left up to the untrained reader - i.e. me - to figure out, and I'm not all that good at it.

If I were attending a live reading of these poems, I might find them powerful, moving and inspired. In fact, I went to Williams' web site and listened to a few tracks, and he does indeed have a nice speaking style, with a good sense of samples and rhythms to put underneath the words he's written. I would probably enjoy a live performance, or even a recorded one, much more. On paper, however, and in my inexpert hands, the words turn to dust.

Pity.

the poetry of hip hop...i can't imagine this guy putting out anything less than a 5 stars...check out his music too...his next album is being produced by Trent Reznor of NIN...

You may think this book is only about hip-hop by the title. This is my favorite artist. He will let you know that he is a poet first. He is the real deal from rock to rap. Saul Williams is ahead of his time. If anyone mentioned a true artist, this man is.

RIP muMs

IF you haven't listened to Rakim on a green mountaintop then you heavn't heard hip-hop. The Ginsburg of Hip-Hop.

Whether or not you buy Saul Williams' story of how he came across these poems (read the introduction, it is pretty wild), the poems themselves are true to the literary essence of hip-hop lyrics (hyperbole, intense alliteration, and extensive use of metaphor). You'll find yourself hearing a beat under your internal monologue as you read.

The best book he has written. Essentially reading for any hip-hop head.

impressive insight about music and poetry. This guy is amazing.

This book is a really clever look at hip hop culture told only how Saul Williams could tell it. Fabulous.

One of my favorites. Definitely would recommend.

Another great one by Saul Williams. It offers a social commentary on the importance of hip-hop in the African-American community in particular, and the unfortunate misogynistic turn hip-hop has taken (the main reason I don't listen to it anymore). Most of the poems in this book are hip-hop inspired, so perhaps a little knowledge on the history of hip-hop from the 80s onwards would be beneficial.

Many of the poems are also activist and political in nature.A few are very personal. Some bemoan loss in culture and the unfairness in society. They also talk about self-discovery, which I found to be quite inspirational.

As always, Williams' word choice and word play is brilliant.

A great book to finish 2012 with.

One of the single most enlightened people writing today. He's poetry is deep and moving, and the themes are complex and intelligent. Our politics may differ, but the things we want do not. An amazing book, and even better when listening to The Rise and Fall of Niggytardust (An amazing album that is something of a compliment to the book, even utilizing some lyrics from passages in the Dead Emcee Scrolls.)