Rap is also frequently referred to as hip-hop. Strictly
speaking, rap consists of rhyming lyrics to a beat. The combination of
rhyming along with dee-jays using two turntables to mix portions of
different songs together started in new York City in the late 1970s. The
Jamaican dee-jay Kool Herc is the one who developed the basic sound of this
style. The culture that included break-dancing, graffiti art, and new
fashion statements by the "b-boys" of New York was called hip-hop.
The
first commercially successful rap record was recorded in 1979 by the
Sugarhill Gang. It was a 15 minue extravaganza called Rapper's Delight
(using a disco background) and it set the stage for an explosion in hip-hop
recordings that continues to this day. Initially, rap songs focused on
clever, sometimes humorous lyrics (Run DMC's You be Illin" is a good
example). As the style matured it began to include a strong element of
social commentary. Groups like Public Enemy and N.W.A. wrote works that
spoke of the gangster culture and social issues (alcoholism, racism,
etc).Toward the end of the 1980s, a number of different rap styles
co-existed including pop-rap (M.C. Hammer) and gangsta rap (N.W.A.).
Lyrics in rap music are often heavily laced with profanity and themes of
violence and misogyny and for this reason the style is often vilified by
conservative politicians and others. What cannot be denied is that rap has
extraordinary resonance with black Americans and its popularity has proven
to be very resilient.
Although it was initially an exclusively black genre rap has also
attracted some notable white performers including the Beastie Boys, Vanilla
Ice, and more recently Eminem.
