Rap Music

Rap (or Hip-Hop ) is the musical genre that popularized the terms bling, grill, dis, and shizznet.

Hip-Hop is also known for being an off-shoot of the Blues, which often expresses melancholic lifestyle situations of poverty, crime and despair (mostly indicative of Rap's cousin, gangsta rap). Early hip-hop (and much of the hip hop of today) celebrates block party funk music and/or the pursuit of wealth.

Hip-hop music began in the early 1970s in New York (when block parties became common, especially in the South Bronx). This time spurred the advent of breakbeat DJing with emcees including DJ Kool Herc  and Grandmaster Flash,  who extended the breaks (short percussion interludes) of funk records, creating a more "danceable" sound. This use of extended percussion breaks led to the development of mixing and scratching techniques, and later to the popularization of remixes.

The two main historical eras of are the old school hip-hop  era (1970 to 1985), which spanned from the beginning of hip-hop until its emergence into the mainstream, and the golden age of hip-hop (1985 to 1993), which consolidated the sounds of the East Coast and the West Coast and transitioned into the modern era with the rise of gangsta rap and G-funk. The years after 1993 are considered the modern era of hip-hop, which has transcended into popular music.

Learn more about Rap Music's historical progression at Wikipedia.com

Genres within Rap

• Crunk: a form of Southern rap with roots primarily from eastern Atlanta, Georgia and Memphis, Tennessee.
• Get Crunked Up  by the Iconz 
• Salt Shaker  by the Ying Yang Twins 
• Lil Jon 
• Gangsta
• Ice T 
• Dr. Dre 
• N.W.A 

Fusion Genres

• Hip Hop Soul
• Mary J. Blige  (the Queen of hip Hop Soul)
• Neo soul: mix of contemporary R&B, 1970s style soul, and hip hop
• Tony! Toni! Toné! 
• Lauryn Hill 
• Jazz rap: fusion of alternative hip hop and jazz.
• De La Soul 
• A Tribe Called Quest 
• Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)  by the Diggable Planets 
• Latin rap
• Mean Machine 
• The Beatnuts 
• Fabolous 

• Freestyle: a house and hip hop amalgamation deriving from New york and Miami.
• Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam 
• TKA 
• Jocelyn Enriquez 
• New jack swing: a combination of (improvisational) hip hop and R&B.
• Al B. Sure! 
• Pebbles 
• Karyn White 
• En Vogue 
• Keith Sweat 
• SWV 
• Tevin Campbell 
• Babyface 
• Country rap
• Cowboy Troy 
• Bubba Sparxxx 
• Miami bass: sexually explicit lyrics with a sustained kick drum and slightly higher dance tempos.
• 2 Live Crew 
• Electro hop: dance and hip hop fusion.
• Knights of the Turntable 
• Afrika Bambaataa 
• Ghettotech: tencho and hip hop marriage, often featuring pornographic lyrics.
• Ignition Technician 
• Rap rock
• Kid Rock
• Linkin Park 
• Reggaeton
• Tego Calderon 
• Daddy Yankee 
• Urban Pasifika: a mix of American style hip hop or R&B rhyming and beats with Pacific Island or Maori instrumentation and language singing/rapping.
• King Kapisinew
• Che Fu
• Deceptikonz

Essential Artists in Rap/Hip Hop

"Old School" Artists

• Kool DJ Herc 
• Grandmaster Flash 
• Kurtis Blow 
• Rapper's Delight  by The Sugarhill Gang 

Golden Age Artsists

• Run-D.M.C. 
• Walk This Way  featuring Aerosmith
• Salt-N-Pepa 
• The Show Stoppa 
• Ice T 
• 6n' Da Mornin 
• LL Cool J 
• Public Enemy 

Modern Artsists

• 50 Cent 
• Eminem 
• The Notorious B.I.G.  by Biggy Smalls 
• Sean (Puff Daddy/ Puffy/ P. Diddy) Combs 
• Queen Latifah 
• Missy Elliot 
• Da Brat 
• Lil Kim 
• The Wu-Tang Clan 
• Nas 
• Mobb Deep 
• Busta Rhymes 
• Bone Thugs-N-Harmony 
• Noreaga/N.O.R.E. 
• Big Punisher 
• Fat Joe 

International Artists

• Africa
• X-Plastaz
• Asia
• Michael V.
• Rap Asia
• MC Lara
• Lady Diane
• Canada
• Michee Mee
• The Rascalz
• Cuba
• Anonimo Consejo
• Doble Filo
• Papa Umbertico
• Krudas
• Dominican Republic
• Santi Y Sus Duendes
• Lisa M
• France
• Dee Nasty
• IAM
• Manau
• MC Solaar
• Germany
• Die Fantastischen Vier
• Cartel
• Italy
• Jovanotti
• PM Cool Lee
• Articolo 31
• Japan
• M-Flo
• Mic Banditz
• Heartsdales
• Soul'd Out
• Mexico
• Calo
• Cypress Hill
• Control Machete
• Phillippines
• Dyords Javier
• Vincent Dafalong
• Puerto Rico
• Vico C (the father of reggaeton)

Essential Albums

• Public Enemy: It Takes a Nation to Hold us Back 
• Eminem: Curtain Call: The Hits 
• LL Cool J: Mama Said Knock You Out 
• Missy Elliot: Suppa Duppa Fly 
• Lil' Kim: Notorious K.I.M. 
• Da Brat: Unrestricted 
• Busta Rhymes: Total Devastation: The Best of Busta Rhymes 
• Snoop Dogg: Death Row's Snoop Doggy Dogg Greatest Hits 

International Resources

For this resource in your home country, please see:
DE: Hip Hop