I am a professional rapper and I do it for a living, its fun, What would you like to know about it? 
What are the origins of rap?
Rap started the same time that Hip hop did, It developed in the Bronx in New York City during the late 1970s.
Do you rap acapella?
I do sometimes, But I like a good rhythm to go along with my words so I can keep on tempo with everything. 
Is rapping considered a form of poetry?
in time to an instrumental track. Rap is often associated with, and is a primary ingredient of hip-hop music, but the origins of the phenomenon predate hip-hop culture. The earliest precursor to the modern rap is the West African griot tradition, in which "oral historians", or "praise-singers", would disseminate oral traditions and genealogies, or use their formidable rhetorical techniques for gossip or to "praise or critique individuals." Griot traditions connect to rap along a lineage of Black verbal reverence
Power Peace". 
In his 1986 autobiography, Brown related the lyrical message of "Brother Rapp" to his support of hip hop music:
I admire the rap and the break dancing and all the stuff coming out of hip hop. A lot of the records are messages that express community problems. Used right, those records could help prevent the riots of the sixties from happening again. If you know how a community feels about things, then you can do something about it... That's what my song "