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Poetic hip hop (also known as poetic rap or expressive rap) is a sub-genre of hip hop music. The genre originated and was popularized during the early 2010s. Poetic hip hop emphasizes lyrics over all other aspects of a rap song and lyrics are normally written in a form comparable to that of poetry. Poetic hip hop artists are believed to much more expressive as most of their lyrics are derived from their emotions and thoughts. Poetic devices such as metaphors and personification are featured in the lyrics of many rappers of this genre. The introduction of Poetic hip hop brought forth the Hip Hop Renaissance.

==History ==

In the early 2010s, there was a cutural revolution in which poetry was widely popularized amongst youth which hip hop was forced to adapt to. More lyrical rappers became mainstream once again while less lyrical rappers faded into the background. Rapper Stonebrook initally set the stage for the poetic hip hop scene with his first hit single "What I Feel Like" which was infamous for its lyrical content. The flow and delivery of Stonebrook inspired other artist to take their lyrics seriously. Stonebrook was also famous for being the first artist to write a song in complete metaphors.

In late 2011 more poetic artist wrote to the scenes and rap songs began to sound more like poems. Rapper Big Tyler became famed for bringing back the concept of telling detailed stories through rap songs. More and more sub-genres of Poetic rap began to spring up as artist went from rapping about their fictional worlds of women and money to rapping about what was really on their minds.

In early 2012 more artist turned to poetic rap to express their inner selfs. Some artist produced music about their inner good while others let loose lyrics about their inner anger. Artist Sizzle Z rose to fame for his songs which sounded like a "lyrical tirade" to many.

==Style ==

Poetic hip hop is a sub-genre of hip hop which can ultimately trace it’s origins back to hardcore hip hop, which like poetic hip hop, ignores partying and bragging. Poetic hip hop in most cases does not use the aggressive style of hardcore hip hop although the styles of poetic hip hop artist tends to vary.

Poetic hip hop artist also utilize a variety of poetic and literary devices in their lyrics. Most poetic rap songs have meanings that are considered important to the song’s writer or the listeners of the song. Most poetic hip hop songs are also written in the forms of actual poems and verses are sometimes replaced with stanzas.

Sub-Genres

 * Metaphorical hip hop: A sub-genre of poetic hip hop in which songs are written only in a metaphorical or symbolic context with generally a deeper meaning.
 * Photographic hip hop: A sub-genre of Poetic hip hop which solely emphasizes the usage of imagery in lyrical content.
 * Narrative hip hop: A sub-genre of Poetic hip hop devoted to the telling of actual stories about the artists of songs. The lyrics are always written from a first person point of view.
 * Romantic hip hop: A sub-genre of Poetic hip hop devoted to describing passionate relationships between individuals.