Zora Neale Hurston: the writer who invented the language of rap – Far Out Magazine

No genre exists in a vacuum. For every single style of music that seems to come out of nowhere, there will always be pieces that artists draw from to make their dreams a reality on the page. Although rap may seem singular in its history, one of the founding faces of the genre came from the world of literature.

Then again, the genesis of hip-hop was never that focused on the lyrics. Coming out as an offshoot of disco in the late 1970s, songs like ‘Rapper’s Delight’ by Sugarhill Gang were about keeping the beat going for as long as possible, stretching out their multisyllabic bars for however long they could think of different rhymes.

Though the genre may have been known as a novelty at that point, the sound of ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash had a massive impact on where hip-hop would go later, chronicling the street-wise vernacular that was going on whenever someone walked out of their New York apartment. Despite the massive influence of disco, Zora Neale Hurston was doing the same thing decades before any of those beats.

Coming up as a part of the Harlem Renaissance alongside fellow poets like Langston Hughes, Hurston quickly developed her unique language for what traditional poetry was supposed to be. Twisting the words in every one of her phrases, her authority of speech in works like Their Eyes Were Watching God would be a huge step forward for the poet community, speaking of the real troubles that followed people every day.

Compared to the standard verse structure that poetry fans were used to, Hurston’s way of turning a phrase over would become increasingly familiar. When talking about spitting the truth, Hurston’s articulating lines like “I’m crackin’, but I’m fackin’” would go on to leave an indelible mark on where hip-hop was going to be going.

Whereas most old-school hip-hop artists tended to follow the beat and fill out their rhyme scheme with Dr Seuss-level rhymes, Hurston’s way of bending the words to suit her would become the norm. Although the words of acts like Public Enemy later on didn’t necessarily rhyme in the traditional sense, there was no questioning the legitimacy of songs like ‘Fight the Power’ when it was treated with this much authority.

That rapping style began to plateau from there, with artists as varied as Denzel Curry and The Weeknd adopting a similar mindset when working on their verses. In terms of poetry linked with rap lyricism, though, Kendrick Lamar may be the ultimate example of where Hurston’s approach to language has taken the genre.

On a song like ‘For Free?’ from To Pimp a Butterfly, Lamar is practically approaching his words like a jazz musician might work through a solo, twisting every syllable in his mouth and spitting it back out with a variety of different emotions, either sardonic in one line and humorous in the next. Every rapper may have been looking to say what was in their heart, but a figure like Hurston walked so modern rap giants could run today.