Wednesday, April 22, 2015

The Evolution of Choate Rosemary Hall’s Rap Game


It all started on September 17th when Kid Greg released his diss track “King Kwabs,” dissing the eponymous Choate rapper (http://goo.gl/1Kc8ru). Since then, the Choate rap game has expanded to students all around campus. Free-styling and ciphering were activities that only Choate’s underground rappers took part in. Founders Jay Chizzle, the Rosemary Rejects, and Fly Swatter of Choate’s rap club, “Rap it Up,” became the true pioneers of Choate’s “spit me a verse” culture when they started this club. Since then, students have been seen free-styling in common social areas such as the Hill House steps, Mem field, and even the Hill House dining hall.



Multiple tracks have been released, including King Kwab$’s “Kiddie Greg (ft. J. Ro$e)” (http://goo.gl/q5BXD4)  in response to Kid Greg’s diss track,  and “Hillraq,” (http://goo.gl/JlJLYB) a jubilant response to April 17th’s President’s Day. This mass influx of the popularization and campus-wide acceptance of free-styling and rapping leads one to question why it hasn’t gone out of style. Expressing oneself musically is known to relieve one’s mind. Rapping is a form of expression bearing a likeness to poetry.

Poetry's capacity for complexity has often made it unappealing to most students. Rap, however, is perfectly set at the focal point of today’s teenagers’ interest in music. Musical icons such as Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, and Iggy Azalea have extended rap's sphere of influence. 

Poetry still has the connotation of being something you do in school, but Rap is cool. Well, rap is basically poetry. Rhythm, rhyme, and other literary tools are simultaneously fundamentals of both poetry and rap. Poetry is a unique tool that has been historically used for self-expression, for self-reflection, and most importantly, for fun. If one cannot see the rhyme or reason as to why Choate’s rap game has evolved, one cannot see that Choate students were unconsciously seeking the poetry their lives needed. Choate students simply need a break from time to time from wanting high GPA’s, fitting in with the crowd, and stressing about getting into a good college.

4 comments:

  1. I like your choice to include photos as they keep the reader interested. The style of writing is informal and thus, more relatable and intriguing. Good Job!

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  2. This is a beautiful analysis of everything I believe in. LONG LIVE KinG QUAB$$!

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  3. Awesome post!! This post is very engaging because it is an interesting, yet previously unexplored blog post topic, and an activity that many people don't know a lot about. I like how you included specific references from people at Choate and included links for people to listen to the songs. This allow for readers to understand the topic to a greater level because they are actually experiencing the music. I also feel like your voice came out in this post, it was obviously something you are passionate about and put a lot of thought into. Not only does this grab readers attention,but it teachers readers about the growing rap game at Choate and promotes it to allow for further exploration.

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