Dr. Seuss, Run D.M.C & Hip-Hop

Ever consider the connection between
Dr. Seuss, Run D.M.C. & Hip-Hop?

I know that it seems odd 

to compare children's author, Dr. Seuss, to a modern day rapper.

At first glance, it appears that the two have nothing to do with each other. Perhaps being a fan of poetry and the masterful use of rhythm

led me to believe otherwise.
So one evening
(when I was bored senseless)
I set out to consider Seuss' influence on Hip-Hop,

and apparently I am not the only one who sees the connection.

It turns out that other writers have already connected the dots.

...

First, consider the basic nature of rap & hip-hop.

"noun. 1. a style of popular music, developed by disc jockeys  in the late 1970s, in which an insistent, recurring beat pattern provides the background and counterpoint for rapid, slangy, and often boastful rhyming patter glibly intoned by a vocalist or vocalists. Also called rap."

and

“Hip hop music, also called hip-hop or rap music is a music genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by stylistic elements include sampling (or synthesis), and beatboxing.”

As an admirer of the great Mr. Theodor Seuss Geisel, it's no laughing matter when I say that he is one of my favorite rappers. Geisel adopted numerous pen names including Theo LeSieg (Geisel spelled backwards!), Rosetta Stone, Theophrastus SeussGeisel and the notable Dr. Seuss (because his father always wanted him to become a doctor), 
but his flow is more recognizable that Dr. Dre.

Rapper Run D.M.C. acknowledged Seuss’ influence in “Peter Piper;”

the first song on their crucial 1986 record suggests that he is the new

King of Rhyme...

"Now Dr. Seuss and Mother Goose both did their thing

But Jam Master’s getting loose and D.M.C.’s the king."

The Urban Daily (a website for a conglomerate of Hip-Hop radio stations) created a birthday shoutout for Seuss saying, 

"Literary master Dr. Seuss was hailed for the simplicity he infused into his work. Though simple, the sing-song rhyming style of his writing has had a profound effect on the genre known as hip-hop. How many rappers who have had any type of success employed a sing-song type flow? Countless. Ja Rule and Nelly owe their whole careers to Dr. Seuss for making simple raps favorable. "

In a recent Just Sayin' column for The Dispatch
"Seuss is a treasure beyond measure,"

I reviewed
"The Lorax"

and discovered that Seuss often had a social or political message in his rhymes.
He was quite the rebel, you see...

Theodor Geisel drew over 400 cartoons about war, Adolf Hitler, and a few controversial images about Japan. After a stint in the world of journalism, the former war correspondent responded to "Life" magazine’s 1954 report regarding declining literacy among school children. Geisel concluded that children were not learning to read because their books were boring, and the political cartoonist turned illustrator accepted the challenge to “bring back a book that children can’t put down” using a list of 348 words recognizable to first-graders.

Like most rappers, Seuss wrote about issues that bothered him.
For the most part, he did not hide his frustrations. He once explained in an interview that The Lorax "came out of my being angry.”
Another critic called it a "gloomy" book and doubted it was good for young children, but she obviously underestimated Dr. Seuss' ability to pull in another generation of readers. "In 'The Lorax' I was out to attack what I think are evil things and let the chips fall where they might.” In 1988, a school small town in California debated keeping the book on the reading list because some thought it was unfair to the logging industry.

Several of his other rhymes had strong social and political implications.

The Cat in the Hat

The Cat in the Hat is said to represent dictators.

When the Cat recognizes the potential of the working people, he sees the need for democracy.

Yertle the Turtle

Yertle the Turtle was published with connections to the rise and fall of Hilter. The book is famous for the quote, "A person is a person, no matter how small."

The Sneetches

The Sneetches has many undertones of opposition to anti-Semitism, along with religion bigotry.

Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!

Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! was a cleverly disguised anti-Nixon story. It appears to be about Marvin K. Mooney, a young child who needs to go to bed but later Dr. Seuss crossed out "Marvin K. Mooney" and replaced it with "Richard M. Nixon."

Just something to consider the next time you're reading the lyrical MC 
Dr. Seuss.