Rapping
The English verb rap has various meanings, including to strike with a quick blow or to utter sharply. The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary gives a date of 1541 for the first recorded use of the word with the meaning to utter an oath sharply. Wentworth and Flexner's Dictionary of American Slang dates the meaning to speak to someone to 1932. A later meaning of to converse in an open manner appears in that same source. These definitions form the foundation from which the musical style derives. By the late 1960s, Hubert G. Brown changed his name to H. Rap Brown during protest movements. At that time, rap was slang for an oration common among the hip crowd. It did not become associated with music until another decade passed. Isaac Hayes used the term on his album To Be Continued in 1970. His track Monologue Ike's Rap I featured husky-voiced spoken raps as key components of his sound. Del the Funky Homosapien stated that back then what rapping meant was trying to convey something to convince somebody.
Similarities to rapping appear in West African chanting folk traditions where griots delivered stories rhythmically over drums. Centuries before hip-hop existed, these oral historians expanded upon traditions through creative language strategies. Blues rooted in work songs and spirituals began around the Emancipation Proclamation. The Jubalaires released The Preacher and the Bear in 1941 and Noah in 1946 as precursors to the genre. Grammy-winning historian Elijah Wald argued blues were being rapped as early as the 1920s. A notable recorded example is Joe Hill Louis song Gotta Let You Go from 1950. Jazz developed from blues and other traditions around the beginning of the 20th century. John Sobol noted rap bears a striking resemblance to jazz evolution both stylistically and formally. Muhammad Ali anticipated elements of rap using rhyme schemes for trash talking and political poetry. This paved the way for The Last Poets in 1968 and Gil Scott-Heron in 1970. Bill Curtis of the Fatback Band recalled hearing people rapping over scratched records throughout Bronx neighborhoods in the 1970s. The group released King Tim III Personality Jock weeks before Sugarhill Gang.
Grandmaster Caz stated the microphone was originally used for making announcements about parties or finding missing children. Different DJs started embellishing what they said until it turned from lines into verses. One of the first rappers at the end of the 1970s was DJ Kool Herc, a Jamaican immigrant who started delivering simple raps. Herc denied links to Jamaican toasting, claiming James Brown and Hustler's Convention were his inspiration instead. He mentioned being too young to enter sound system parties in Jamaica as an eleven-year-old. Pete DJ Jones identified DJ Hollywood as the first person he heard rap. Hollywood was a Harlem native and house DJ at the Apollo Theater. In 1975, he ushered in hip hop style by rhyming syncopated to existing record beats uninterruptedly for nearly a minute. His partner Kevin Smith known as Lovebug Starski introduced this new style to the Bronx set. Before that time most MC rhymes consisted of short disconnected patters based on radio DJs. By using song lyrics, Hollywood gave his rhyme inherent flow and theme. This spread quickly through the community. Kurtis Blow and the Sugarhill Gang began receiving radio airplay by the end of the 1970s.
Melle Mel is cited as an MC who epitomizes old school flow according to Kool Moe Dee. From 1970 to 1978 they rhymed one way then Melle Mel gave them a new cadence from 1978 to 1986. Rakim created the overall shift from simplistic flows to complex ones near the beginning of new school. Kool Moe Dee stated any emcee after 1986 had to study Rakim just to know what to do. He added that before Rakim the term flow was not widely used. Biggie introduced a newer flow which dominated from 1994 to 2002. Method Man ushered in the era of flow during early to mid-90s alongside Craig Mack. Adam Krims noted rhythmic styles since roughly 1990 have progressively become faster and more complex. Members of Wu-Tang Clan Nas AZ Big Pun and Ras Kass exemplify this progression. In 2002 Eminem created Lose Yourself getting the first Oscar in Hip-Hop history. His flow remains dominant as of 2003. The American hip-hop group Crime Mob exhibited a new rap flow in Knuck If You Buck heavily dependent on triplets. Migos popularized this flow in 2014 though it is contentious within the community.
Party rhymes meant to excite crowds were nearly the exclusive focus of old school hip-hop. Love raps were first popularized by Spoonie Gee of the Treacherous Three. Big Daddy Kane Heavy D and LL Cool J continued this tradition during golden age. KRS-One Hopsin Public Enemy Lupe Fiasco Mos Def Talib Kweli Jay-Z Nas and dead prez are known for sociopolitical subject matter. Tupac Shakur rapped about police brutality teenage pregnancy and racism. Schoolly D was the first notable MC to rap about crime. Ice-T called himself a playa and discussed guns on record while warning against joining gangs in Colors theme tune. Gangsta rap made popular largely because of N.W.A brought gangster lifestyle into mainstream. Materialism became popular since early 1990s with rappers boasting wealth and name-dropping brands like Cristal Rémy Martin Bentley Mercedes-Benz Gucci and Versace. Christian rap currently is most commercially successful form of religious rap. Lecrae Thi'sl and Hostyle Gospel win national awards regularly. Five Percent Nation an Islamic esotericist group has been represented more than any other religious group. Artists such as Rakim Wu-Tang Clan members Brand Nubian X-Clan and Busta Rhymes spread their theology.
Rap music development into popular culture began in 1990s marking era guided by hip-hop influences moving away from rock. It influenced clothing brands movies sports and dancing through modern vernacular focused on adolescents and young adults. French literary theorist Roland Barthes theory of myth explains how words gain socio-cultural understanding beyond literal meaning. The acronym YOLO popularized by Drake in 2012 appeared on t-shirts trending hashtags and tattoos despite existing earlier in Balzac translation. Rapper E-40 used broccoli to refer to marijuana on hit track Broccoli in 1993. D.R.A.M. and Lil Yachty are accredited for this slang today. Dick Hebdige author of Subculture noted subcultures use music to vocalize struggles. Words like hood homie and dope are historically influenced according to professor Vernon Andrews. Niggaz With Attitude embodies reclaiming the word nigga used historically to subjugate Black people. Entire genres developed containing rapping including rap rock rapcore rap metal hip house reggaeton and grime. UK garage music emerged in London early 2000s pioneered by MC Dizzee Rascal. Panjabi MC mixed Bhangra with Jay-Z song Mundian To Bach Ke or Beware the Boys. Hyphy typified slowed-down atonal vocals centered on street racing and car culture. Beltaine's Fire group blends hip-hop beats with Celtic melodies performed live without samples.
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Common questions
When was the word rap first recorded with the meaning to utter an oath sharply?
The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary gives a date of 1541 for the first recorded use of the word with the meaning to utter an oath sharply. This definition forms one of the foundations from which the musical style derives.
Who used the term rap on his album To Be Continued in 1970?
Isaac Hayes used the term on his album To Be Continued in 1970. His track Monologue Ike's Rap I featured husky-voiced spoken raps as key components of his sound.
Which Jamaican immigrant started delivering simple raps at the end of the 1970s?
DJ Kool Herc is identified as one of the first rappers at the end of the 1970s and he was a Jamaican immigrant who started delivering simple raps. He denied links to Jamaican toasting and claimed James Brown and Hustler's Convention were his inspiration instead.
What year did Eminem create Lose Yourself getting the first Oscar in Hip-Hop history?
Eminem created Lose Yourself in 2002 getting the first Oscar in Hip-Hop history. His flow remains dominant as of 2003.
When did Migos popularize the triplets flow that is contentious within the community?
Migos popularized this flow in 2014 though it is contentious within the community. The American hip-hop group Crime Mob exhibited a new rap flow in Knuck If You Buck heavily dependent on triplets before them.