Rap is a musical style characterized by rappers quickly reciting lyrics and rhymes over instrumental beats, often in quick succession. It forms part of hip-hop culture as an overall expression that encompasses break dancing, graffiti art and street fashion.
Rap is an expressive genre incorporating personal experience. Its most distinguishing features are its beats and lyrics flow.
Origins
Rap is a genre of music associated with hip hop culture. It typically involves a vocalist known as an MC reciting rhymed lyrics over an instrumental track prerecorded before its performance. Rap originated among African American communities during the early 1970s. Additionally, hip hop is linked with deejaying, break dancing and graffiti writing activities.
The initial formation of rappers can be traced back to Jamaican deejays who played recordings at dance clubs in New York’s Bronx in the early 1970s, performing “rapping” (pronounced rah-PAY) for audiences while using two turntables. DJs such as Kool Herc later created distinctive styles with longer percussive breaks between the music, using different manipulation techniques such as scratching to produce effects such as scratches or freestyle rap; this technique became a fundamental element of their sound – now known as sampling.
Over time, MCs added their own rhymed words to the beats to form what is now an established musical form: rap. Rap artists use rhythm and rhyme to communicate an emotional effect through flow — be it soothing for romance or harsh for anger/conflict. Some early artists, like The Last Poets and Watts Prophets used spoken word poetry along with jazz improvisation to make political statements.
Rap music targets a specific demographic: adolescents and young adults. It has significantly shaped this group of society and can now be found everywhere from clothing, movies, sports teams and dance styles to clothing stores and movies. Semiotics studies the relationship between language and culture – French literary theorist Roland Barthes suggests that words have both literal and non-literal interpretations depending on sociocultural circumstances.
Styles
Rap is a musical genre which involves the spoken or chanted delivery of rhymed lyrics over a beat created by drums or other instrumental or electronic sounds, usually drums. Rappers use different rhyme schemes such as double entendres and wordplay to compose unique and poetic lyrics which often draw influence from other musical genres such as soul or jazz music; some rappers may also explore social issues such as sexuality and relationships in their lyricism.
Rap music can be described as artistic, commercial and political at once – often all three at once! From raw street to sophisticated lyricism – its style ranges from rough and raw street rap all the way through personal narratives, boasts and political declarations through to insults against rivals in its songs. Rappers express an abundance of ideas through their songs ranging from personal narratives and boasts to political protest and insults against rivals; all expressed through its flow – or how lyrics are delivered over beat.
Since rap has emerged in music culture, new styles and genres that incorporate elements of rapping have emerged over time. Rap rock (including its derivatives rapcore and metal) combines rock’s beats with lyrics sung through rap. Other musical genres, including disco, funk, contemporary R&B, reggaeton, hip house have all included some type of rapping at some point in time in their histories.
Rap music style has its roots in African American culture and forms part of hip-hop’s cultural movement. It evolved alongside deejaying (manipulating prerecorded tracks with a turntable) and graffiti painting, becoming an influential form of artistic expression that has profound effects on music, clothing fashion and dance; no wonder then that rap has achieved widespread popularity.
Characteristics
Rap artists use various techniques to develop their styles and convey messages to their audiences, including rhymes, figurative language and double entendres. Furthermore, MCs will often utilize call-and-response chanting with their audiences while adding drum beats, Latin-influenced percussion instruments, turntable scratching techniques, voice modulation effects as well as drum rolls. Furthermore, this genre has also been heavily influenced by rock and soul music styles.
Rap’s rise as popular culture has had an enormous effect on American minority youth, and their worldview. Additionally, hip hop parties – with DJs/MCs reciting words over beats, break dancers moving to music rhythms, and graffiti writers present – provide them with an identity as they celebrate this artform together.
Rap music began as an antidote to urban violence and deprivation in the early 1970s. Young African American youth from the Bronx crafted an unassuming minimalist form of music as a reaction against disco clubs’ orchestrated tracks; its performers included master of ceremonies (MCs), DJs who mixed prerecorded instrumental tracks together, graffiti writers, etc.
In the 1980s, rap emerged as both commercial and political artform. Artists such as LL Cool J and Run-D.M.C were considered old school rappers while Public Enemy, Ice Cube, and N.W.A were part of a new wave of gangsta rap that glorified drug dealing and violence through lyrics that celebrated it. Debates over hip hop’s artistic integrity revolved around longstanding debates regarding cultural authenticity; Kool Keith and Xzibit were considered “conscious” rappers that criticised mainstream artists’ materialistic values and violent rhetoric in mainstream rap songs that followed in its wake.
Influences
Rap music has had a profound effect on society across the world. It has had an enormous influence on fashion, graffiti art, dance moves and other aspects of popular culture; as well as some negative consequences, some aspects of rap may even have positive influences on society as a whole.
Rap is a musical genre characterized by rhythmic delivery of rhymed lyrics set to an unbroken beat, often with roots in soul and jazz music; however, other genres like reggae and funk often make appearances as well. Lyricism in rap often displays complex rhyme schemes and wordplay; serving as an avenue for social commentary as well as discussions regarding personal and political matters.
Rap music has long been known for exploring contentious issues; critics often accuse it of being misogynistic, racist and glorifying drugs and violence. While certain rappers like LL Cool J and N.W.A have taken full advantage of these controversial themes while others opt to steer clear.
Rap music is distinguished by the rhythmic delivery of spoken or chanted lyrics over a beat, either live or prerecorded. It draws its rhythms from various genres including soul, funk and rock music before remixing them to produce its distinctively rap sound. Rappers are known for their improvisational styles; adding unique variations to their recordings while mixing musical styles seamlessly together.
Rap artists frequently draw from their experiences and perspectives when crafting lyrics that resonate with an audience. The genre can cover an array of subjects – from politics to love – while leaving its mark on modern vernacular. Rap has had an immense effect on adolescents and young adult audiences alike.
Trends
Rap is an artform of self-expression and storytelling performed over an infectious beat, where its lyrics range from humorous bragging to more profound depictions of life experiences or fantasy. Most commonly associated with hip hop genre, but any music style may be set to it – and its practitioners are known as MCs (master of ceremonies) and DJs (derivative of disc jockey). Break dancers or graffiti writers may also utilize this genre.
In the 1980s, rap music began fusing with other styles such as rock and soul, giving rise to performers like LL Cool J, Run-D.M.C, Public Enemy and Ice-T. Gangsta rap was popular during this era; songs described drug use, violence in inner cities and other aspects of inner city life; other artists introduced jazz or reggae elements into their music while others such as Dr. Dre employed tight production styles reliant on samples for tight sound productions.
Rap music, though often associated with hip-hop culture, encompasses much broader influences and continues to spread over time. More than just an artistic genre or dance movement, rap culture has had an enormous influence on music production, graffiti art production, dance choreography and even political activism.