The Greeks occasionally employed assonance for the sake of its aesthetic effect but took no pains to avoid it when no effect was intended, even when the repetition of sound seems to us displeasing. (Answers.com)

While the bling of rhyme and meter are exciting, sometimes what a poem needs is the soft power of assonance. (The Fix)

In more modern verse, stressed assonance has become the main literary device in modern rap, starting with gangsta rap like 2Pac in the 1990s, departing from rap's foundations in the 80's rapper like Slick Rick when rhyme at the end of each line was the cornerstone of poetic expression. (Wikipedia)