Words Like Fire: The Birth of Rap in the Jamaican Dancehall

Based on extensive fieldwork this book offers an in-depth analysis of the origins, social context, musicality, rhythm, and performance patterns of what the author terms electro-oral poetry-a dynamic form of spoken word performed over rhythms supplied by a record player or digital device.

Originally written in German as a dissertation at the University of Zurich in 1986, this work is now finally available to English-speaking readers. To this day Words Like Fire shows in unmatched detail the art form of dance hall poetry and how it laid the foundation for what would become rap.