Hip+Hop+and+Rap+Music

Hip Hop and Rap Music

Hip-hop is a form of popular music that's comprised mainly of emceeing and deejaying. Graffiti and breakdancing are two other aspects that make up hip-hop. As it evolves, emceeing, deejaying, graffiti, and breakdancing are constantly being merged with others like clothing trends, slang, and general mindset.

Rap, on the other hand, is deeply rooted within ancient African culture and oral tradition. Hip-hop is believed to have originated in the Bronx by a Jamaican DJ named Kool Herc. Herc's style of deejaying involved reciting rhymes over instrumentals. At house parties, Herc would rap with the microphone, using a surplus of in-house references. Duplicates of Herc's house parties soon drifted through Brooklyn, Manhattan. Herc and other block party DJs helped spread the message of hip-hop around town and developed a surge of followers.

What's the difference? Rap is a form of music that stemmed from hip-hop culture. Hip hop is a lifestyle with its own lingo, dress code, etc. In the words of KRS-One, "hip-hop is something you live, rap is something you do."

Popular Hip Hop and Rap Artists:
 * Snoop Dogg
 * Dr. Dre
 * LL Cool J
 * 2Pac
 * Jay-Z
 * The Notorious B.I.G

Literary Movement Music of the 20th Century (Home)