as a kid i never really understood poetry. when we had to read and
analyze it in school it always frustrated me because poets never just said what
they wanted to say. it was full
of innuendos and similes and so many other indirect ways of
saying things. aint nobody got time for that. i didn't start appreciating
poetry until i got older and realized that it was all around me. music is
poetry, in particular rap and hip-hop. shout out to my brother and cousins for
listening to rap when i was kid. but once i started looking at rap as poetry my
whole perception of poetry changed. there was beauty in it.
one of my
favorite raps/poems is common's i used to love h.e.r, released in
1994. its about the change of hip hop during the late 80s and early 90s. if
you haven't listened to the song or any of common's music you're missing out.
it has to be one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time. its beautiful, its poetic. common is
writing a love letter to hip-hop; about all the changes she's been through and
despite all the changes at her purest forms she's beautiful. well at least
that's my interpretation of it, you never really know with poetry. in 2010 murs and 9th wonder redid the song, i used to love h.e.r (again). again if
you haven't listened to murs and 9th wonder you're missing out. their
collaboration is one of my favorite things to have happened in hip-hop.
grossly under-appreciated. they took the song and adapted it to the time
and the changes that were going on in hip-hop 16 years after common wrote his song. like other forms
of poetry rap and hip-hop are an ever changing landscape. each artist is
experiencing something different and each generation has something different to
say. and that’s what i used to love h.e.r represents; an ode to the changes hip-hop has gone through.
a couple of years ago, i too
decided to dabble in the remixing of i used to love h.e.r. and here is my
appropriation of the song. its titled i used to love h.e.r too and it
was written years ago on 2/10/11.
i
met this girl, when i was told 10 years old
And
what i loved, she had so much soul
i’m
sorry to say that i’m not that girl anymore.
i
aint straight out of compton not even from 8 miles away
i
don’t got 99 problems or a record
i’m
just a kid from the burbs spitting my game
born
in the concrete jungle where dreams are made of
headed
towards the wild west with attitude and did it doggy style
rolled
out to the atl where the playas play and parties don’t stop til 8 in the
morning
and
now I’m chillin in dorm rooms loving college
i
aint dropping out of college like ‘nye
but
don’t get me wrong, i still have no idea what i’m doing in college
that
major i majored in don’t make money.
you
say i lost my flow, the poetry
that
i’ve lost my afrocentricty
but
what’s with all the homies trying to get it just wright on the big screen
why
we running on and lending our flava to vh1
you
just have me asking are we done yet?
now
i know this isn’t ghetto gospel
but
you can still see me at the house parties.
you
say it’s all party and bull shit
you
can’t deny that this shit still hypnotizes you
and
gets your money maker shaking like a polaroid picture.
they
say i’m just not the same anymore
that
you miss her, the creative chick
i
miss her too
but
don’t forget i’m still the best you’ll ever have.
thank you for reading; i’ve never really shared any of my poetry with anyone.
