Lit hop (also Lit-hop) is a hybrid art form that combines themes from traditional literature and storytelling with the music and poetics of hip-hop. The term is sometimes used to describe literature that is influenced by hip-hop music and culture,^[1][2] and sometimes used to describe highly literate or lyrically sophisticated hip-hop music.^[3] "Lit hop" is also used as a shorthand for any perceived thematic link between literature and hip-hop.^[4]

The coining of "Lit hop" is credited to the Canadian writer and performer of turntable-based sound poetry Wayde Compton^[1][5] and independently to the Rutgers University professor and novelist Adam Mansbach.^[2]

"Lit-hop" is also the title of a 2006 solo album by the Canadian rap artist Baba Brinkman. Canada's Exclaim! Magazine calls it a "boring album title" but praises the album as a "versatile, skilled debut".^[6] Brinkman has also attempted to define "Lit-hop" as a highly literate subgenre of hip-hop through his live performances and recordings, including rap adaptations of Beowulf, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.^[7][8]

Post-punk Nerdcore rapper MC Lars rapper has used the term numerous times. He uses it in the hook of his song "Flow Like Poe."^[9] MC Lars does lectures where he uses modern rap to teach classic literature. During the Covid-19 pandemic, MC Lars used Facebook's live streaming feature to teach literature in a series he calls "Lit-Hop Lockdown Live."^[10]

References