smooth as...
a cab calloway blip blap big band stikkle tat riff
rolling over his process
from front to back
sliding on its knees
down the greased part
of a geechee ghetto trickster in full regalia
"Dib Dab" gives a funky jazz feel to the poem. He speaks about a variety of ideas throughout this piece but they all fall under the category of pop culture. In the eight lines I chose, he mentions Cab Calloway, a bandleader and scat singer. He held an active presence from 1930 until he died in the 1990's. Paul Beatty uses this context and as well as onomatopoeia in the line "a cab calloway blip blap big band stikkle tat riff." Beatty also uses repetition throughout the poem, stating "smooth as" before each stanza. This is also use of simile. These lines don't have a set rhyme scheme but without listening to him perform it, one can sense the rhythm used. The poem is a constant flow and is quickly said but there is a break after each stanza for him to say "smooth as." The poem is a critique. When it was written, the majority of who heard this could understand the references because it mentions all popular figures of the media.
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