So something interesting was recently brought to my attention. Hip-hop vs. Shakespeare. When given the task of determining whether a line is from a famous rap song or from one of the playwright's works, the answer is quite difficult to come to.
You see, Shakespeare was a self-educated man who spoke with deep meaning. Rappers (although not always) do the same thing. They take their feelings and modern day issues and address them in their raps, but do so with a lot of emotion.
So, I thought we would play a little game. I am going to give you a line from either a work of Shakespeare or a line from a contemporary rap song and you will have to guess what it is from. No cheating!!! Ready? Let's go.
1. "And I rest again peacefully."
2. "Hell is empty and all the devils are here."
3. "I must be cruel only to be kind."
4. "Then I hope this take away from my sins."
5. "May the Lord protect me as the world gets hectic."
6. "To destroy the beauty from which one came."
7. "The most benevolent king communicates through your dreams."
8. "I was not born under a rhyming planet."
How do you think you did? Well, you had a 50/50 chance, right? Let me explain the answers.
First, let's look at number one. Hip-hop or Shakespeare? Hip-hop. This line is from Eminem's song "The Way I Am." Number two is...Shakespeare. "Hell is empty and all the devils are here" is from Act I, Scene ii of his play The Tempest. Number three should have been a piece of cake! It was from Act III, Scene iv of Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Know Kanye West's song "Jesus Walks?" That was the answer to number four. "May the Lord protect me as the world gets hectic" sounds like a line from Shakespeare. Wrong. It's a line from Nicki Minaj's "Autobiography" which means number five is hip-hop. The answer to number six is hip-hop. It 's from Jay-Z's song "You Must Love Me." Number seven is a tricky one. If you guessed hip-hop, you are correct! It's a line from a Wu-Tang Clan song. And finally number eight, which is surprisingly Shakespeare, Act V, Scene ii of Much Ado About Nothing.
You see, Shakespeare was a self-educated man who spoke with deep meaning. Rappers (although not always) do the same thing. They take their feelings and modern day issues and address them in their raps, but do so with a lot of emotion.
So, I thought we would play a little game. I am going to give you a line from either a work of Shakespeare or a line from a contemporary rap song and you will have to guess what it is from. No cheating!!! Ready? Let's go.
1. "And I rest again peacefully."
2. "Hell is empty and all the devils are here."
3. "I must be cruel only to be kind."
4. "Then I hope this take away from my sins."
5. "May the Lord protect me as the world gets hectic."
6. "To destroy the beauty from which one came."
7. "The most benevolent king communicates through your dreams."
8. "I was not born under a rhyming planet."
How do you think you did? Well, you had a 50/50 chance, right? Let me explain the answers.
First, let's look at number one. Hip-hop or Shakespeare? Hip-hop. This line is from Eminem's song "The Way I Am." Number two is...Shakespeare. "Hell is empty and all the devils are here" is from Act I, Scene ii of his play The Tempest. Number three should have been a piece of cake! It was from Act III, Scene iv of Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Know Kanye West's song "Jesus Walks?" That was the answer to number four. "May the Lord protect me as the world gets hectic" sounds like a line from Shakespeare. Wrong. It's a line from Nicki Minaj's "Autobiography" which means number five is hip-hop. The answer to number six is hip-hop. It 's from Jay-Z's song "You Must Love Me." Number seven is a tricky one. If you guessed hip-hop, you are correct! It's a line from a Wu-Tang Clan song. And finally number eight, which is surprisingly Shakespeare, Act V, Scene ii of Much Ado About Nothing.