How is rap originally from ancient Arabic poetry?

First, let me give you a look at satire in ancient Arabic poetry. Then modern rap

In ancient times, "satire" was an essential part of Arabic poetry. Satire is defined as devaluing an opponent or devaluing and belittling everyone. In pre-Islamic times, satire had certain rituals, as the poet followed special procedures before he began to spell. He was wearing a special suit, painting half of his head, and shaving his head, and the Arabs were pessimistic about him and tried to get rid of his harm as much as they could.

As for the methods of spelling in Arabic poetry, they varied between direct spelling and chaste spelling:
Direct satire in which the poet mentions the moral and psychological defects of the opponent, such as miserliness and treachery, and uses threats and insults.
- Chaste satire The poet resorts to the method of insinuation and comparing the opponent to others and preferring him over him, without using direct cursing¹.
Ancient Arabic poetry was also distinguished by the use of rhymes, manipulation of speech, displaying art in style, and imposing force on the opponent and in front of the audience, and the vocabulary of the Arabic language played an important role in the strength of spelling, as the Arabic language, being the language that contains the most vocabulary and multiple names for things, and also because it carries music in the pronunciation of its words, was It does not need musical instruments to be beautiful, as beauty in it is subjective and stems from the tone of its letters and the internal music in addition to that language Arabic contains various styles of rhetoric, and all of this led to the strength of poetry in it, its development, and its gaining popularity among the population at that time. Until now, there are lovers of satirical poets, and it has become taught in Arab schools and universities at that time

In America, rap appeared in the late 1990s. Rap is characterized by rhythmic composition and play with words without strict adherence to a specific melody. It dealt with social and political issues and expressed identity and culture, and the intense competition between rap artists has increased from the beginning of its appearance until now, and the popularity it enjoys is increasing, especially among young people and teenagers, as it sometimes simulates the life in which a young man and teenager lives or dreams, as the words of music in rap have a great impact on The listener's psyche feels as if it mimics his reality sometimes, and at other times it mimics his dreams

As for the development of Arab rap, it began in the late 1990s, mainly in North African countries, and then spread globally in the second millennium. The artists experimented with incorporating Arabic poetry and elements of oriental music. Some of them combine traditional instruments with rap rhythms
Arab rap has the power to manipulate words and rhymes and the abundance of words, as the Arabic language helps greatly in this field, as I mentioned previously.

Well, let us present the common points between poetic satire in

Pre-islamic Arabic poetry and modern rap, whether American or not :

1 Rhyme: Arabic poetry has a rhyme style in most poetic poems
2 A method of reducing direct and indirect slander and cursing from the opponent
3 words that are suitable to have more than one meaning
4 The extension of satire to more than one poem among poets and the possibility of other poets interfering in the competition
5 Popularity among young people
6 Manipulating speech

Divergence points :
1 Not using musical instruments in pre-Islamic poetry
2 Lack of interest in fame
3 Poetic satire is not for a strong reason


Eventually rap evolved from ancient Arabic poetry's tradition of satire into a universal art that expressed life experiences and identity. Whether in the Arab world or America, rap remains a space for creativity and expression and has become more diverse and has a larger and larger audience base. It has transformed from just a popular art into a global art that has huge audiences and a love for this great art .