Analyzing Rap through Poetry: “zen scientist” by milo & Kenny Segal

Authors

Mason S. Jensen, Portland State UniversityFollow

Subjects

Rap (Music), Kenny Segal (1979 - ), Hip-hop, Poetry -- Analysis, Literary criticism

Abstract

milo, now known as R.A.P. Ferraria, has described his music as synonymous with poetry. This article examines his song “zen scientist,” testing the linkage of poetry and rap through poetic analysis. Jensen analyzes the song through metrical systems, marking it in scansion, poetic feet, and rhyme to delineate rhythm and to show how rhythm is created and experimented with. Jensen then applies Vendler and Chan’s methods for deriving poetic meaning, providing potential interpretations of “zen scientist.” Jensen argues these poetic methods dissect the rap song into perspicuity. The article concludes that poetic analysis can be used effectively to analyze rap and that future research should investigate the relationship between rap and poetry by using their analytic frameworks interchangeably.

DOI

10.15760/anthos.2025.14.1.13

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/43934

Recommended Citation

Jensen, Mason S. (2025) "Analyzing Rap through Poetry: “zen scientist” by milo & Kenny Segal," Anthós: Vol. 14: Iss. 1, Article 13.
https://doi.org/10.15760/anthos.2025.14.1.13