Hip-hop (0)

Hip hop music, also referred to as rap music, is a music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap which is accompanied with backing beats. Hip hop music is part of hip hop culture, which began in the Bronx , in New York City in the 1970s, predominantly among African Americans and Latino Americans.[1][2] The term rap is often used synonymously with hip hop music. Rapping, also referred to as MCing or emceeing, is a vocal style in which the performer speaks rhythmically and in rhyme , generally to a beat, recently, however , a difference has developed between "rapping" and "MCing". "MCing" has been used to describe those artists who possess and exercise superior lyrical ability and prowess. Beats are traditionally generated from portions of other songs by a DJ, or sampled from portions of other songs by a producer, though synthesizers, drum machines, and live bands are also used, especially in newer music. Rappers may perform poetry which they have written ahead of time, or improvise rhymes on the spot with or without a beat. Though rap is usually an integral component of hip hop music, DJs sometimes perform and record alone, and many instrumental acts are also defined as hip hop. Hip hop arose in New York City when DJs began isolating the percussion break from funk , or rock songs for audiences to dance to. The role of the MC was originally to introduce the DJ and the music, and to keep the audience excited. The MC would speak between songs, giving exhortations to dance, greetings to audience members, jokes and anecdotes. Eventually, this practice became more stylized, and came to be known as rapping. By 1979, hip hop had become a commercially recorded music genre, and began to enter the American mainstream. It also began its spread across the world. In the 1990s , a form called gangsta rap became a major part of American music, causing significant controversy over lyrics which were perceived by some as promoting violence, promiscuity, drug use and misogyny. Nevertheless, hip hop continued to increase in popularity , and by the year 2000, it was a staple of popular music charts. In the 1990s, gangsta rap became mainstream, beginning in 1992, with the release of Dr. Dre's The Chronic. This album established a style called G Funk, which soon came to dominate West Coast hiphop. Other artists such as Tupac Shakur (a.k.a. 2Pac), who would start his rapping career in 1991, would dominate in the 90s ( before being shot and killed in a drive-by in 1996) becoming the highest selling rapper ever with over 75,000,000 albums sold world wide and played a major role in the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry having beefs with East Coast rappers The Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Biggie) and Sean "Puffy" Combs (now known as Diddy) and Bad Boy Records. Also The Notorious B.I.G. would rise to fame around the same time. Being from New York, Biggie brought the East Coast back into the mainstream at a time when the West Coast mainly dominated rap. He also played a major role in the East Coast-West Coast feud during the 90s and had beefs with Death Row Records artists. Record labels based out of Atlanta , St. Louis, and New Orleans also gained fame for their local scenes. By the end of the decade, especially with the success of Eminem, known for his controversial lyrics beginning in 1999 with his second studio album The Slim Shady LP, hip hop was an integral part of popular music, and many American pop songs had a major hip hop component. The midwest rap scene also had good achievements with unique fast rapping styles from artists such as Bone Thugs-n- Harmony and Twista. The first hip-hop song was Sugarhill Gang- Raper's Delight.