Essays on Rap and Slam Poetry in Contemporary São Paulo aims to analyze some of the transformations that have happened within the hip-hop movement in São Paulo in regards to the realm of the sung word or palavra cantada, namely rap and slam poetry, during the last twenty years - from the release of Racionais MC s Sobrevivendo no Inferno to the present moment. As the contemporary hip-hop scene in São Paulo is defined by its multiplicity, this dissertation is composed by separate essays that discuss and analyze different artistic productions. The respect for the fifth element of hip-hop culture - knowledge and its ideals of community-building, collectivity and citizenship - is what brings these productions together. Each of them deal with these matters differently, sometimes inside an independent circuit, other times fighting to occupy spaces within the mainstream. The works analyzed here, namely the work of rappers Racionais MC s, Criolo, Emicida, Karol Conka and Rico Dalasam as well as the poetry slam Slam Resistência, point to the strong interconnection between poetry and technique in São Paulo s hip-hop culture. These works want to be poiesis, in the sense that they want to produce not only poetry but also life. The thesis presented here is that such a poetic process entails the use of new languages and the creation of new logics and paths for the systems of production, reception, curatorship and promotion of art today.