Off-centered rhyme explained

An off-centered rhyme is an internal rhyme scheme characterized by placing rhyming words or syllables in unexpected places in a given line.[1] This is sometimes called a misplaced-rhyme scheme or a spoken-word rhyme style. Here is an example from the hip-hop group De La Soul:

Playin' wait up, with the data servin' your earswith information due to confirmation of the nation's mostwicked ways of livin', like them glassy eyed beansInhale to smoke the fiends, while bangin' a tapeRated at the high point of the massRippin' MC's at the top of a class, occasionallyrippin' some sucker's face, or some suckable ass from a girlIt's a big brother beat for the wide wide world [emphasis added]

This is a common rhyme scheme found in the spoken word form of poetry and can also be found in hip-hop to a lesser degree.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: keiseronlineuniversity.com . 2023-09-28 . 4 Kinds of Rhyming Phrases in English, With Examples . 2024-02-22 . keiseronlineuniversity.com . en-GB.