I'm finding different definitions online, and am wondering what you guys think demarcates the three. It seems like Hip-Hop is defined by a rigid rhyme scheme, and generally conforms (but not always) to hip-hop culture. Is it then that spoken word and slam can be freeverse, because I thought that they too could also rhyme.
I think slam poetry doesn't have music. Spoken word has music in the background (like a piano for example), so the emphasis is on the words. And hip hop is more focused on the music than the other two. Haha. That sounds idiotic when I read it back, but that's the best I can do. At a certain point these things become so similar that trying to differentiate them simply becomes a matter of opinion.
