Warm-Up: Listen to the song Billie Holiday – “I Got a Right to Sing the Blues” I got a right to sing the blues I got a right to moan and sigh I got a right to sit and cry Down around the river A certain man in this old town Keeps draggin' my poor heart around All I see for me is misery I got a right to sing the blues I got a right to moan and sigh Right to sit and cry Down around the river Soon that deep blue sea Will be callin' me It must be love say what you choose I got a right to sing the blues What do you think the song is about?

Poetic Devices

Similes and Metaphors Simile: comparison of two unlike things, where a subject is said to have the qualities of another thing without being the other thing. Metaphor: comparison of two unlike things, where the subject is said to be another thing – comparison without “like” or “as”

Similes in Hip-Hop “When I travel through the town, I roll with the squadron / RAWR RAWR, like a dungeon dragon” – Busta Rhymes, “Scenario” “In battles I rip it and it gets hectic after / I flip the script like a dyslexic actor / you ain’t a factor” – Tajai, “Disseshowedo” “I got a question, it’s serious as cancer: / who can keep the average rap dancer / hyper as a heart attack, nobody smiling / ‘cause you’re expressing the rhyme that I’m styling?” – Rakim, “I Ain’t No Joke”

Metaphors in Hip-Hop “Hov got flow, though he’s no Big and Pac but he’s close / how am I s’posed to win? They got me fighting ghosts.” – Jay-Z, “Most Kingz” “Yes, I call the shots, I am the umpire / I sprinkle holy water upon a vampire” – Nicki Minaj, “Moment 4 Life” “Arthritis in my hand from writing / but I’m a doctor, they don’t understand my writing!” – Lil Wayne, “Dr. Carter”

Hyperbole Deliberate exaggeration – Make a point – Emphasize – Humorous or dramatic effect

Hyperbole in Poetry and Hip-Hop "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No. This my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red." William Shakespeare, Act II, Scene II of Macbeth “I just bought me a platinum football field” – Birdman, “#1 Stunna” “A lot of MCs today really know how to please / but I gave birth to most of them MCs!” – Roxanne Shante ”

Lupe Fiasco American rapper, from Chicago. Became known in 2006 with his album Food and Liquor and the single “Kick, Push” Outspoken about anti-establishment political views as well the conflict between artistic expression and commercialization of music Single “Superstar,” released in 2007, became his biggest hit (until 2011’s “Show Goes On”)

“Super Star” Listen to the song and read along with the lyrics. Find examples of simile, metaphor, hyperbole in these lyrics.