The Triumph of "Triumph"

The evolution of rap music is incredible. Who would have thought that a genre originating from a handful of people would grow to top the Billboards consistently? Whether you actively follow and listen to modern rappers or only know songs from dance playlists that have been played year after year, you've probably heard Kendrick, Schmurda, Drake, Migos, and many more whether you know it or not. Our generation is living in a Hip Hop frenzy, but other generations (my parents included) can't seem to get past the nefarious lyrics or boujee lifestyles these talented artists are creating or living. When writing the poetry assignment about how I would teach a class about poetry and what poem I would include, I knew that I wanted to write about rap. People usually associate education with our generation, but I want to prove to the older generations who don't accept rap that whether you like it or not, rap is a legitimate genre containing artists with legitimate talent. Even though it isn't from our generation, there is no better song than "Triumph" by the Wu-Tang Clan.

Given that we are in a poetry class, I want to take a more traditional approach and analyze the poeticism present in the first verse. For many 90s rap fanatics, Inspectah Deck's verse was immortalized in Hip-Hop history as one of the most fire verses ever delivered. Despite such impressive and meaningful lyrics, the rhythmic patterns are quite possible the most impressive out of the whole verse. Inspectah Deck starts of with the jarring line “I bomb atomically” which testifies to the immense skill this rapper is flaunting by comparing his rhythm and flow to that of an atomic bomb. While the next bar might not seem like it continues the rhyme from the first bar, Inspectah Deck somehow manages to rhyme “Atomically” with “Socrates Philosophies and Hypothesis”. In the next line, Inspectah Deck proves how not even the great Greek Philosopher Socrates can’t understand the complexity of these lyrical “mockeries”. This line also continues the rhythmic scheme with “How I be”, “Dropping these” and “Mockeries”, all of which don’t exactly work without the expert delivery by Inspectah Deck. Inspectah “lyrically perform[s] armed robbery”, robbing his opponent with only his bars. The following line has many interpretations, however, I believe that the “lottery” that Inspectah refers to is actually his success as a rapper, and “possible they spotted me” refers to the attention of audiences who weren’t part of the Hip-Hop scene attempting to appropriate his lyrical genius. “Battle-Scarred Shogun” refers to his experience as a rapper, alluding to his veteran status in the Hip-Hop community. “Explosive when my pen hits, tremendous” refers to the explosivity of his lyrics and the dominance they have over other rappers’ lyrics. The next line is where we get a small taste of the sort of political activism that Wu-Tang utilized in their rap music, in which “Ultraviolet shine blind forensics” refers to the inability for people to see the injustice in criminal proceedings, especially among African-Americans. We are only part of the way through and the rhyming scheme is unbelievably complex, as well as the meanings and interpretations.

"Triumph" might be a bit too old for some people, as it was made in the late 90s. I picked it because of its impressive lyricism and rhyming scheme, and it's preexisting clout in the rap community. When I listen to rap, I look for the same characteristics that I look for in this song: lyricism, flow, and uniqueness. That's just me though. I would love to hear 3 things from y'all in the comments! 
1. What types of qualities do you look for in rap (or all music for that matter)
2. What is one song that you would use to exemplify those qualities
3. What do you think of this older style of rap? Do you think it would appeal to our generation?