Literary Intertextuality in the Lyrics of GZA, MF DOOM, Aesop Rock and Billy Woods

Sa？etak Rap and literature have always been intertwined with each other. To a degree, that is not surprising as rap music is an indirect successor of the Black Arts Movement of the late 1960s. The generation of children that started hip-hop as a youth movement in South Bronx was the first one after the civil rights movement. Rap developed as part of the hip-hop culture and was never at its forefront. This article describes the manner in which literature has been integrated into rap records with regard to the socio-historical circumstances at times of their development. GZA, MF DOOM, Aesop Rock, and Billy Woods are the rappers analysed as they substantially influenced contemporary rap writing. Before the analysis is made, the main concepts are defined. A short description of the origin of hip-hop is given. Allusion, intertextuality, and sampling are defined and explained in the context of hip-hop as a genre. A short overview of research on intertextuality in rap is made