# Rap Rap, also known as hip-hop, is a music genre built on rhymed vocals over sampled beats and drum machines that grew out of 1970s Bronx block parties into one of the biggest sounds worldwide. From Sugarhill Gang's 1979 breakout "Rapper's Delight" to Kendrick Lamar's 2015 opus "To Pimp A Butterfly," the genre also spawned steady parodies on South Park, The Simpsons, and Family Guy plus dedicated online fandoms on Reddit and 4chan. ## Origin Rap grew out of funk, soul, disco, spoken word, and Jamaican styles like toasting and dub, all filtered through Bronx block parties in the 1970s[1]. Late-1970s disco rap set the template, and Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" (1979) is often called one of the earliest widely heard examples, alongside singles from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five[1]. DJ Kool Herc pioneered the DJ side of the scene while Run-DMC built the visual and lyrical style of the early 1980s. Two albums often called the kickstarters of the golden age are Eric B and Rakim's "Paid in Full" (1987) and N.W.A.'s "Straight Outta Compton" (1988), both credited with popularizing the rap-over-sampled-beat approach that came to define the sound of the decade that followed[2]. - **Platform:** Bronx block parties (NYC) / vinyl records - **Creator:** Unknown / multiple pioneers (DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Sugarhill Gang) - **Date:** 1979 ## Overview Rap pairs rhymed verses with sampled beats, drum machines, or live instrumentation, and common features include verses, hooks, ad-libs, and storytelling drawn in part from African-American oral traditions like "The Dozens," where two rivals trade insults until one taps out[5]. Rap parodies show up all over cartoons and comedy shows like South Park, The Simpsons, and Family Guy, while internet-facing subgenres like Meme Rap trace their roots to pop-culture-heavy albums such as Slick Rick's "The Great Adventures of Slick Rick" (1988) and De La Soul's "3 Feet High and Rising"[6]. Style branches include gangsta rap (N.W.A., Ice Cube), East Coast lyricism (Nas, Wu-Tang Clan), and alternative rap led by A Tribe Called Quest and The Pharcyde[1]. On the experimental side, Death Grips dropped the mixtape "ExMilitary" in 2011 and the album "The Money Store" in 2012, both fixtures on 4chan's /mu/ board[2]. Modern mainstream centers on Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, Gucci Mane, and Kanye West, while producers like Flying Lotus and rappers like Danny Brown, Kid Cudi, and Run the Jewels pull from jazz, soul, and electronica[7]. ## How to Use Rappers typically write verses in rhymed couplets or more complex schemes and perform them over instrumentals built from sampled records, drum machines like the Roland TR-808, or live instrumentation. Common conventions include a hook or chorus between verses, ad-libs behind key lines, and boasting or storytelling drawn from traditions like "The Dozens"[5]. Meme Rap versions often lean on absurdist lyrics and pop-culture samples, following the template set by Slick Rick and De La Soul. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Rap? Rap, or hip-hop, is a music genre built on rhymed vocals over sampled beats, drum machines, or live instrumentation, and it grew out of 1970s Bronx block parties into a global mainstream sound[1]. ### Where did Rap come from? Rap traces back to funk, soul, disco, spoken word, and Jamaican traditions like toasting and dub, with Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" (1979) among the earliest widely heard tracks[1]. ### What does Rap mean? "Rap" describes rhymed vocals delivered over beats, samples, or live instrumentation, and it's the vocal element at the center of the hip-hop genre[2]. ### How do you use Rap? Rappers write verses in rhyme and perform them over beats, often adding hooks, ad-libs, and storytelling or boasting drawn from oral traditions like "The Dozens"[5]. ### Is Rap still popular? Yes, rap is still one of the biggest mainstream music styles, with modern acts like Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, and Kanye West topping charts[7]. ## References 1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ePQKD9iBfU]() 2. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKTUAESacQM]() 3. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlujizeNNQM]() 4. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTmHuavOXNg]() 5. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rap-hip-hop]() 6. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeYsTmIzjkw]() 7. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V47Hp7EyhHg]() 8. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFTqs1ZuADQ]() 9. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Rap%20Hip%20Hop]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/rap-hip-hop Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library