The defining idiosyncratic of a rap song is the blending of spoken chitchat, traditional singing and poetry. This dulcet type may instance other songs (of any style) to augment the background ragtime.
History
While rap songs retain undoubtedly been influenced by the traditional ragtime of Africa and the Caribbean, also as 1960s Beat poetry, by most accounts, existing rap hymn began in the urban streets of the Bronx, where in the 1970s rap battles or contests were public. Outside of this biological Craft die rose Melle Mel from Grandmaster Luminosity and The Furious Five. He and his group were among the first to turn their rhymes into traditional songs with choruses and verses. The first recorded rap song to be a major hit in the United States was "Rapper's Delight," performed by the Sugar Hill Gang and released in 1979.
As the 1980s progressed, rap songs became both more popular and more complex. Kurtis Blow and LL Cool J both became superstars within the genre. In the 1990s, rap music changed significantly with the advent of gangsta rap. While the lyrics of rap songs had until this point involved an element of boasting, gangsta rap took this lyrical sentiment to another level. Gangsta rap involved violent lyrics that often contained graphic drug references and sexual content. Gangsta rap led to a violent rivalry between East Coast and West Coast artists, culminating with the shooting deaths of rappers Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. in the mid-90s. Gangsta rap caused much controversy among those who claimed it perpetuated negative stereotypes of black urban men and women.
Today, rap remains popular, but has not proved immune to the downturn of record sales worldwide. While gangsta rap has ceased to dominate the genre, many artists still use elements of gangsta rap in their songs. Rap songs are common worldwide, with many subgenres now flourishing.
Types
Like many musical genres, rap music has splintered into several distinct subgenres. Many of these genres reflect where the music was created. Atlanta, St. Louis and New Orleans have all become famous for being the birthplaces of particular rap styles. Rap from the Midwest, for example, is often characterized by rapid speaking, made famous by such acts as Twista and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Crunk is a style of rap in which the lyrics are often shouted or screamed. The primary concern of lyrics in crunk songs is having a good time. This style of rap song has been popularized in the 1990s and 2000s by Outkast and Lil' Jon.
While both white and female rappers remain in the minority, white group the Beastie Boys have remained popular through three decades. Vanilla Ice, a white rapper, scored a novelty hit in the 1980s with "Ice Ice Baby." Female rap duo Salt-n-Pepa performed such female-centric hits as "Push It," "Shoop" and "Whatta Man." Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown brought a female perspective to gangsta rap. while Queen Latifah has also made her mark on the rap scene. Eve has been popular in the 2000s, expanding her rap success into a clothing line and TV show. Lauryn Hill used her unique style of rapping and singing to propel her album "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" to both commercial and critical success. TLC, one of the best-selling girl groups of all times, featured a rapper, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, who was killed in a car accident in 2002.
Some rap songs have blended rap with rock and heavy metal music. Limp Bizkit, Rage Against the Machine and Linkin Park have all recently made this hybrid style popular.
Notable Rappers and Rap Songs
The Sugar Hill Gang and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five remain well-respected today as rap music pioneers. Run DMC broke ground with their crossover duet with rock band Aerosmith, titled "Walk This Way," in 1986.
2 Live Crew gained infamy in 1989 for the overtly sexual lyrics on their "As Nasty as They Wanna Be" album. The album had been ruled obscene by judge Jose Gonzalez, and therefore illegal to sell. Other rappers who became popular and well-respected during this era include Snoop Dogg (also known as Snoop Doggy Dogg), Ice Cube, the Wu Tang Clan, Ice-T and Dr. Dre ("The Chronic," 1992). Under Dr. Dre's tutelage, Eminem (real name Marshall Mathers) rose to fame in the late 1990s.
Gangsta rap dominated the genre in the 1990s and launched the careers of three of rap music's most notable figures: Tupac Shakur, the Notorious B.I.G. and Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs. Both Tupac and Biggie, as he was known, scored many hits before both were murdered in separate shootings. Both murders remain unsolved, but the rivalry between the two rappers seems to have been a factor. Sean Combs, a producer and rapper who helped launched Biggie's career, remains a popular figure in hip hop to this day. Performing songs from the album led to the group's arrest in 1992. Gonzalez's ruling was later overturned. The controversy ultimately fueled sales of the album, of which over 2 million copies were sold. Socially conscious rappers such as Common and Q-Tip are also experiencing popularity.Occasionally, stars in other fields, such as athletes, make notable attempts at rap music. Professional basketball player Shaquille O'Neal has tried his hand at rapping. His 1993 debut album, "Shaq Diesel," sold well, and he has since made four additional albums. Kobe Bryant has also released a rap record, as have fellow athletes Chris Weber and Deion Sanders.
Rapper Nas is well-respected within the genre for his thoughtful, topical lyrics, though his style does contain some gangsta elements.
Rap music continued to be popular into the 2000s with such artists as Kanye West, 50 Cent, Nelly, T.I. and Lil' Wayne scoring huge hits. On 2008's "808s and Heartbreak," West adopted a more stripped-down, electronica-inspired sound, thus again expanding the possibilities of how a rap song could sound. Eminem also courted lyrical controversy, particularly with scathing and violent songs involving his ex-wife Kim and anti-gay sentiments. Still, Eminem was popular for his unique sense of humor.While violent and explicit lyrics continue to be found in rap songs, rapper groups such as Arrested Development, De La Soul, Mos Def and A Tribe Called Quest strove to challenge stereotypes and create a different type of activist rap.
Records
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the fastest rapper ever recorded is Rebel XD (real name Seandale Prince), who spoke 852 syllables in 42 seconds in 2007.
The best-selling rap album of all-time in the United States is "Speakerboxx/The Love Below" by Outkast. This double album featured the smash hit "Hey Ya!"
While the evolution of the music industry sometimes makes it difficult to name best-selling songs, and records are always being broken, both "Low" by Flo Rida and "Whoomp! (There It Is)" by Tag Team have sold over 4 million copies each, thus making them among the greatest-selling rap songs of all time. "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio, "I'll Be Missing You" by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans, and "Stronger" by Kanye West have each sold over 3 million copies. Rap songs that have sold over 2 million copies include "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" by Puff Daddy and Mase, "Gold Digger" by Kanye West, "How Do You Want It" by Tupac, "Jump" by Kris Kross, "O.P.P" by Naughty By Nature, "Rump Shaker" by Wreckx-N-Effect, "Tha Crossroads" by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and "Wild Thing" by Tone Loc.
To date, Run DMC and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five are the only rap groups to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Rap Music Outside of the U.S.
Rap music is quite popular outside the United States as well. Rap songs spread to Japan, Germany and South Africa when break-dancing became popular. Today, rap artists can be found in nearly every corner of the globe. A few notable styles to emerge from the world rap scene include trip hop and grime. Trip hop is a style particularly popular in Europe; these artists, such as Massive Attack and Tricky, combine elements of jazz, hip-hop and electronica into a unique style. Grime found its genesis in Europe, specifically the U.K. Grime blends dancehall styles with rap elements. Notable grime artists include Lady Sovereign and Dizzee Rascal.
