View source for Rapping

{{Short description|Type of musical delivery involving rhythmic speech}}
{{redirect2|Rap|Rapper|5=other uses|6=Rap (disambiguation)}}
{{about|rapping as a technique or activity|more information on the music genre|Hip-hop}}
[[File:50 cent en concierto.jpg|thumb|American rapper [[50 Cent]] (Curtis Jackson) performing at [[Warfield Theatre]], San Francisco, June 3, 2010]]
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'''Rapping''' (also '''rhyming''', '''flowing''', '''spitting''',<ref>{{cite book|title=The Urban Ethnography Reader|last=Duneier, Kasinitz, Murphy|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0-19-974357-5}}</ref> '''[[Master of Ceremonies|emcee]]ing''',{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=xii}} or '''MCing'''{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=xii}}{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=81}}) is an [[artistic]] form of vocal delivery and [[Emotion|emotive]] expression that incorporates "[[rhyme]], [[rhythm]]ic speech, and [commonly] street [[vernacular]]".<ref name=":0" /> It is usually performed over a backing [[Beat (music)|beat]] or [[music]]al accompaniment.<ref name=":0" /> The components of rap include "content" (what is being said, e.g., [[lyrics]]), "flow" ([[rhythm]], [[rhyme]]), and "delivery" ([[cadence (music)|cadence]], [[Timbre|tone]]).{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=x}} Rap differs from [[spoken-word poetry]] in that it is usually performed off-time to musical accompaniment.<ref>{{cite book|title=From Def Jam to Super Rich|last=Golus|first=Carrie|publisher=Twenty First Century Books|year=2012|isbn=978-0-7613-8157-0|pages=22}}</ref> It also differs from [[singing]], which varies in [[Pitch (music)|pitch]] and does [[Non-lexical vocables in music|not always include words]]. Because they do not rely on pitch inflection, some rap artists may play with [[timbre]] or other vocal qualities. Rap is a primary ingredient of [[Hip-hop|hip-hop music]], and so commonly associated with the genre that it is sometimes called "rap music". 

Precursors to modern rap music include the West African [[griot]] tradition,<ref name=":2" /> certain vocal styles of [[blues]]<ref name="tony" /> and [[jazz]],<ref name="digitopia" /> an African-American insult game called [[Dozens (game)|playing the dozens]] (see [[Battle rap]] and [[Diss (music)|Diss]]),<ref name="usso.uk">{{cite web |last1=Smith |title=Not just Yo' Mama but Rap's Mama: The Dozens, African American Culture and the Origins of Battle Rap |url=https://usso.uk/2014/10/16/not-just-yo-mama-but-raps-mama-the-dozens-african-american-culture-and-the-origins-of-battle-rap/ |website=U.S. STUDIES ONLINE PGR & ECR NETWORK FOR THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR AMERICAN STUDIES |date=October 16, 2014 |publisher=British Association of American Studies |access-date=March 4, 2023 |archive-date=March 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304210752/https://usso.uk/2014/10/16/not-just-yo-mama-but-raps-mama-the-dozens-african-american-culture-and-the-origins-of-battle-rap/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and 1960s African-American poetry.<ref name="ny-ali" /> Stemming from the [[Hip-hop culture|hip-hop cultural movement]], [[Hip-hop|rap music]] originated in [[the Bronx]], [[New York City]], in the early 1970s and became part of popular music later that decade.<ref>{{cite book|title=Rhythm and Blues, Rap, and Hip-Hop (American Popular Music)|last=Hoffmann|first=Frank|publisher=Checkmark Books|year=2007|isbn=978-0-8160-7341-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/rhythmbluesraphi00fran/page/63 63]|url=https://archive.org/details/rhythmbluesraphi00fran/page/63}}</ref> Rapping developed from the announcements made over the microphone at parties by [[Disc jockey|DJs]] and [[Master of ceremonies|MCs]], evolving into more complex lyrical performances.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-23 |title=Rap {{!}} History, Artists, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/rap |access-date=2024-08-02 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=October 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004015431/https://www.britannica.com/art/rap |url-status=live }}</ref>

Rap is usually delivered over a [[Beat (music)|beat]], typically provided by a [[Disc jockey|DJ]], [[Turntablism|turntablist]], or [[Beatboxing|beatboxer]] when performing live. Much less commonly a rapper can decide to perform [[a cappella]]. When a rap or [[hip-hop]] artist is creating a song, "track", or record, done primarily in a production studio, most frequently a [[Record producer|producer]] provides the beat(s) for the MC to [[Flow (rapping)|flow]] over. Stylistically, rap occupies a gray area between speech, prose, poetry, and [[singing]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kovacs |first1=Karl |title=From Grassroots to Comercialization<!--sic-->: Hip Hop and Rap Music in the USA |date=2014 |publisher=Anchor Academic Publishing |isbn=9783954892518 |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M2WQAwAAQBAJ&q=rapping%20can%20be%20characterized%20as%20something%20between%20speech,%20prose,%20poetry,%20and%20song |access-date=March 19, 2023 |archive-date=April 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414175744/https://books.google.com/books?id=M2WQAwAAQBAJ&q=rapping%20can%20be%20characterized%20as%20something%20between%20speech%2C%20prose%2C%20poetry%2C%20and%20song |url-status=live }}</ref> The word, which predates the musical form, originally meant "to lightly strike",<ref>{{cite web| url = http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=rap| title = Dictionary.com| access-date = February 2, 2008| archive-date = June 27, 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090627164654/http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=rap| url-status = live}}</ref> and is now used to describe quick speech or [[repartee]].<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary''</ref> The word has been used in the [[English language]] since the 16th century. In the 1960s the word became a slang term meaning "to converse" in [[African American English|African American vernacular]], and very soon after that came to denote the musical style.<ref>[[William Safire|Safire, William]] (1992), "On language; The rap on hip-hop", ''[[The New York Times Magazine]]''.</ref>

Rap music has played a significant role in expressing social and political issues, addressing topics such as racism, poverty, and political oppression.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MasterClass |date=Jun 17, 2021 |title=Hip-Hop Music Guide: History of Hip-Hop and Notable Artists |url=https://www.masterclass.com/articles/hip-hop-guide |access-date=Jun 17, 2021 |website=MasterClass}}</ref> By the 21st century, rap had become a global phenomenon, influencing music, fashion, and culture worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Davis-Marks |first=Isis |title=Chronicling Hip-Hop's 45-Year Ascendance as a Musical, Cultural and Social Phenom |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/chronicling-decades-history-through-hip-hop-180978465/ |access-date=2024-08-02 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en |archive-date=August 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240802173804/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/chronicling-decades-history-through-hip-hop-180978465/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==History==
{{see also|African-American music|Music of the United States|History of poetry|Talking blues}}

===Etymology and usage===
The English verb ''rap'' has various meanings; these include "to strike, especially with a quick, smart, or light blow",<ref name="dictionary.reference.com">{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rap?s=t |title=Rap &#124; Define Rap at Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com |access-date=January 27, 2014 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304105718/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rap?s=t |url-status=live }}</ref> as well "to utter sharply or vigorously: to rap out a command".<ref name="dictionary.reference.com"/> The ''[[Shorter Oxford English Dictionary]]'' gives a date of 1541 for the first recorded use of the word with the meaning "to utter (esp. an oath) sharply, vigorously, or suddenly".<ref>''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'', 3rd edition, Revised, 1970, p. 1656.</ref> Wentworth and [[Stuart Berg Flexner|Flexner]]'s ''Dictionary of American Slang'' gives the meaning "to speak to, recognize, or acknowledge acquaintance with someone", dated 1932,<ref>Harold Wentworth and Stuart Berg Flexner, ''Dictionary of American Slang'', 2nd supplemented edition, 1975, p. 419.</ref> and a later meaning of "to converse, esp. in an open and frank manner".<ref>Harold Wentworth and Stuart Berg Flexner, ''Dictionary of American Slang'', 2nd supplemented edition, 1975, p. 735.</ref> It is these meanings from which the musical form of ''rapping'' derives, and this definition may be from a shortening of [[repartee]].<ref>''rap'' [5, noun] Webster's ''Third New International Dictionary'', Unabridged.</ref> A ''rapper'' refers to a performer who "raps". By the late 1960s, when Hubert G. Brown changed his name to [[H. Rap Brown]], ''rap'' was a slang term referring to an oration or speech, such as was common among the "hip" crowd in the protest movements, but it did not come to be associated with a musical style for another decade.<ref>{{cite web |title=rap |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/rap#:~:text=Slang.%20to%20talk%20or%20discuss,the%20beat%20of%20rap%20music. |website=The Dictionary |access-date=November 5, 2022 |archive-date=November 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221105014451/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/rap#:~:text=Slang.%20to%20talk%20or%20discuss,the%20beat%20of%20rap%20music. |url-status=live }}</ref>

''Rap'' was used to describe talking on records as early as 1970 on [[Isaac Hayes]]' album ''[[...To Be Continued (Isaac Hayes album)|...To Be Continued]]'' with the track name "Monologue: Ike's Rap I".<ref>{{Citation |title=Isaac Hayes – ...To Be Continued Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/to-be-continued-mw0000653383 |language=en |access-date=October 29, 2022}}</ref> Hayes' "husky-voiced sexy spoken 'raps' became key components in his signature sound".<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web |author=Lindsay Planer |title=Black Moses – Isaac Hayes &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/black-moses-mw0000654514 |access-date=January 27, 2014 |website=AllMusic |archive-date=August 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817200126/http://www.allmusic.com/album/black-moses-mw0000654514 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Del the Funky Homosapien]] similarly states that ''rap'' was used to refer to talking in a stylistic manner in the early 1970s: "I was born in '72 ... back then what rapping meant, basically, was you trying to convey something—you're trying to convince somebody. That's what rapping is, it's in the way you talk."<ref>Edwards, Paul; "Gift of Gab" (foreword) (September 2013). ''How to Rap 2: Advanced Flow and Delivery Techniques'', Chicago Review Press, p. 98.</ref>

It is sometimes claimed that “rap" is an acronym for {{'}}''R''hythm ''A''nd ''P''oetry', but this does not reflect the history of the word<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.musicianwave.com/does-rap-stand-for-rhythm-and-poetry/|title=Does Rap Stand For Rhythm And Poetry?|first=Berk|last=Oztuna|date=May 12, 2022}}</ref> and thus is best seen as a [[backronym]].

===Roots and origin===
Similarities to rapping can be observed in West African chanting folk traditions. Centuries before [[hip-hop music]] existed, the [[griot]]s of West Africans were delivering stories [[rhythm]]ically, over [[drum]]s and sparse instrumentation. Such resemblances have been noted by many modern artists, modern day "griots", [[spoken word]] artists, mainstream news sources, and academics.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3622406.stm| title=BBC News: Africa| access-date=December 21, 2005| date=September 2, 2004| first=Lawrence| last=Pollard| archive-date=April 16, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416185500/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3622406.stm| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://rap.about.com/mbiopage.htm| title = About.com: Rap| access-date = December 21, 2005| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060111091655/http://rap.about.com/mbiopage.htm| archive-date = January 11, 2006| df = mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.pbs.org/theblues/classroom/deftradition.html| title = PBS lesson plan on the blues| website = [[PBS]]| access-date = December 21, 2005| archive-date = October 30, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211030220803/https://www.pbs.org/theblues/classroom/deftradition.html| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2001/3/01.03.08.x.html#b| title = Yale University Teachers Association| access-date = December 21, 2005| archive-date = May 22, 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120522030001/http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2001/3/01.03.08.x.html#b| url-status = live}}</ref> Rap lyrics and music are part of the "Black rhetorical continuum", continuing past traditions of expanding upon them through "creative use of language and rhetorical styles and strategies".<ref>{{Cite journal|first=Baruti N.|last=Kopano|date=December 22, 2002|title=Rap Music as an Extension of the Black Rhetorical Tradition: 'Keepin' It Real'|url=https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-101173271/rap-music-as-an-extension-of-the-black-rhetorical|journal=The Western Journal of Black Studies|language=en|volume=26|issue=4|issn=0197-4327|access-date=May 16, 2017|archive-date=July 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704203951/https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-101173271/rap-music-as-an-extension-of-the-black-rhetorical|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{Listen|
| type         = music
| header       = 
| filename     = Joe Hill Louis - Gotta Let You Go.ogg
| title        = Gotta Let You Go
| description  = [[Joe Hill Louis]]'s song "Gotta Let You Go" is an early example of rapping in [[blues]].
}}

[[Blues]], [[Origins of the blues|rooted]] in the [[work songs]] and [[spiritual (music)|spirituals]] of [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]], was first played by black Americans around the time of the [[Emancipation Proclamation]]. This way of preaching, unique to African-Americans, called the [[Black sermonic tradition]] influenced singers and musicians such as 1940s African-American gospel group [[The Jubalaires]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dyson |first1=Michael |title=Reflecting Black African-American Cultural Criticism |date=1993 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=9781452900810 |page=xxi, 12–16, 33, 275 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a6VXXCrZ_FkC&q=Black%20preaching |access-date=March 19, 2023 |archive-date=April 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414175747/https://books.google.com/books?id=a6VXXCrZ_FkC&q=Black%20preaching |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Jackson |first1=Joyce |title=Black Preaching Styles: Teaching, Exhorting, and Whooping |url=https://www.louisianafolklife.org/lt/articles_essays/brpreaching.html |website=Louisiana Folklife Program |publisher=Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Dept. of Culture, Recreation & Tourism |access-date=February 16, 2023 |archive-date=February 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216180007/https://www.louisianafolklife.org/lt/articles_essays/brpreaching.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Keegan |title=CALL-AND-RESPONS E An Ancient Linguistic Device Surfaces in Usher's "Love in This Club" |journal=Elements |date=2009 |url=https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/elements/article/download/8895/8022/ |access-date=February 16, 2023 |archive-date=February 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216154432/https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/elements/article/download/8895/8022/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Jackon |first1=Joyce M. |title=Songs of Spirit and Continuity of Consciousness: African American Gospel Music in Louisiana |url=https://www.louisianafolklife.org/LT/Articles_Essays/songsspirit.html |website=Louisiana Folklife Program |publisher=Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Dept. of Culture, Recreation & Tourism |access-date=February 16, 2023 |archive-date=April 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412043501/https://www.louisianafolklife.org/lt/articles_essays/songsspirit.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Jubalaire's songs "The Preacher and the Bear" (1941) and "Noah" (1946) are precursors to the genre of rap music. The Jubalaires and other African-American singing groups during the blues, jazz, and gospel era are examples of the origins and development of rap music.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Warner |first1=Jay |title=American singing groups : a history from 1940s to today |date=2006 |publisher=Hal Leonard Corp |isbn=9780634099786 |page=169 |url=https://archive.org/details/americansingingg00warn/page/169/mode/2up?q=jubalaires |access-date=November 9, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Savant |title=Becoming an Emsee The 7 Principles of Rap |date=2020 |publisher=Diasporic Africa Press |isbn=9781937306694 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ileEAAAQBAJ&dq=jubalaires+rap&pg=PT38 |access-date=March 19, 2023 |archive-date=April 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414175749/https://books.google.com/books?id=2ileEAAAQBAJ&dq=jubalaires+rap&pg=PT38 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Jubalaires 'Noah' | website=[[YouTube]] | date=November 26, 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpUsQq4Kv90 |access-date=November 1, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Jubalaires – The Preacher and The Bear |website=[[YouTube]] |date=February 11, 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLYsCVy4T3E |access-date=November 1, 2022 |archive-date=November 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101174716/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLYsCVy4T3E |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Rosalsky |title=Encyclopedia of Rhythm & Blues and Doo-Wop Vocal Groups |date=2002 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=9780810845923 |pages=340, 391 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L4ghJfL5iBIC&dq=jubalaires&pg=PA340}}</ref> Grammy-winning blues musician/historian [[Elijah Wald]] and others have argued that the blues were being rapped as early as the 1920s.<ref name="r12">{{cite web| url = http://www.elijahwald.com/hipblues.html| title = Hip Hop and Blues| access-date = December 21, 2005| archive-date = October 31, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211031013331/https://elijahwald.com/hipblues.html| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.yazoorecords.com/2018.htm| title = The Roots of Rap| access-date = December 21, 2005| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060324181308/http://www.yazoorecords.com/2018.htm| archive-date = March 24, 2006| url-status = dead| df = mdy-all}}</ref> Wald went so far as to call [[hip hop]] "the living blues".<ref name="r12" /> A notable recorded example of rapping in blues was the 1950 song "Gotta Let You Go" by [[Joe Hill Louis]].<ref name="tony" />

[[Jazz]], which developed from the blues and other African-American and European musical traditions and originated around the beginning of the 20th century, has also influenced hip hop and has been cited as a precursor of hip hop. Not just jazz music and lyrics but also [[jazz poetry]]. According to John Sobol, the jazz musician and poet who wrote ''Digitopia Blues'', rap "bears a striking resemblance to the evolution of jazz both stylistically and formally".<ref name="digitopia" /> Boxer [[Muhammad Ali]] anticipated elements of rap, often using [[rhyme scheme]]s and [[spoken word]] poetry, both for when he was [[trash talk]]ing in boxing and as [[political poetry]] for his activism outside of boxing, paving the way for [[The Last Poets]] in 1968, [[Gil Scott-Heron]] in 1970, and the emergence of rap music in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wiggs |title=THE LAST POETS (1968– ) |url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/last-poets-1968/ |website=Black Past |date=September 21, 2008 |access-date=November 4, 2022 |archive-date=November 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104225544/https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/last-poets-1968/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Last Poets – When The Revolution Comes |website=[[YouTube]] |date=May 24, 2008 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M5W_3T2Ye4 |access-date=November 4, 2022 |archive-date=November 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104225541/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M5W_3T2Ye4 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Pelton |title=RAP/HIP HOP |url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/rap-hip-hop/ |website=Black Past |date=June 16, 2007 |access-date=November 4, 2022 |archive-date=November 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104225541/https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/rap-hip-hop/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ny-ali" /> An editor of the newspaper, [[The Fayetteville Observer]] interviewed Bill Curtis of the disco-funk music group the [[Fatback Band]] in 2020. Curtis noted that when he moved to the Bronx in the 1970s he heard people rapping over scratched records throughout the neighborhoods and radio DJs were rapping before the genre was released on retail recordings. The Fatback Band released the first rap recording, "[[King Tim III (Personality Jock)]]", a few weeks before the [[The Sugarhill Gang|Sugarhill Gang]] in 1979.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Futch |first1=Michael |title=The first rap record didn't come from the Sugarhill Gang. It came from Fayetteville's Bill Curtis and his Fatback Band |url=https://www.fayobserver.com/story/lifestyle/fort-bragg-life/2020/03/07/first-rap-record-didnrsquot-come-from-sugarhill-gang-it-came-from-fayettevillersquos-bill-curtis-and/112372824/ |access-date=November 5, 2022 |publisher=The Fayetteville Observer |date=2020 |archive-date=November 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221105003951/https://www.fayobserver.com/story/lifestyle/fort-bragg-life/2020/03/07/first-rap-record-didnrsquot-come-from-sugarhill-gang-it-came-from-fayettevillersquos-bill-curtis-and/112372824/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In another interview Curtis said: "There was rapping in the Bronx and the cats there had been doing it for a while...Fatback certainly didn't invent rap or anything. I was just interested in it and I guess years later we were the first to record it. At the time you could already see cats rapping everywhere in the streets and doing stuff."<ref>{{cite news |title=The Fatback Band: 'Everything was just raw energy' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jul/06/the-fatback-band-disco-funk-founder-bill-curtis |access-date=November 5, 2022 |agency=The Guardian |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

With the decline of [[disco]] in the early 1980s rap became a new form of expression. Rap arose from musical experimentation with rhyming, rhythmic speech. Rap was a departure from disco. Sherley Anne Williams refers to the development of rap as "anti-Disco" in style and means of reproduction. The early productions of Rap after Disco sought a more simplified manner of producing the tracks they were to sing over. Williams explains how Rap composers and DJ's opposed the heavily orchestrated and ritzy multi-tracks of Disco for "break beats" which were created from compiling different records from numerous genres and did not require the equipment from professional [[recording studio]]s. Professional studios were not necessary therefore opening the production of rap to the youth who as Williams explains felt "locked out" because of the capital needed to produce Disco records.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Black Popular Culture|last=Wallace|first=Michele|publisher=Bay Press|year=1992|isbn=978-1-56584-459-9|location=Seattle|pages=164–167}}</ref>

More directly related to the African-American community were items like schoolyard chants and taunts, [[clapping games]],<ref>K. D. Gaunt, The games black girls play: learning the ropes from Double-dutch to Hip-hop (New York: New York University Press, 2006)</ref> [[Skipping-rope rhyme|jump-rope rhymes]], some with unwritten folk histories going back hundreds of years across many nationalities. Sometimes these items contain racially offensive lyrics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.beachnet.com/~jeanettem/chants.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919082100/http://www.beachnet.com/~jeanettem/chants.html|url-status=dead|title=Beachnet.com|archive-date=September 19, 2012|access-date=February 25, 2021}}</ref>

===Proto-rap===
In his narration between the tracks on [[George Russell (composer)|George Russell]]'s 1958 jazz album [[New York, N.Y. (album)|''New York, N.Y.'']], the singer [[Jon Hendricks]] recorded something close to modern rap, since it all rhymed and was delivered in a hip, rhythm-conscious manner. Art forms such as spoken word jazz poetry and comedy records had an influence on the first rappers.<ref name="thafoundation.com" /> [[Coke La Rock]], often credited as hip-hop's first MC<ref>Jenkins, Sacha (December 3, 1999). ''Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists''. St. Martin's Griffin, p. 20. {{ISBN|978-0-312-24298-5}}.</ref> cites the [[Last Poets]] among his influences, as well as comedians such as [[Wild Man Steve]] and [[Richard Pryor]].<ref name="thafoundation.com" /> Comedian [[Rudy Ray Moore]] released under the counter albums in the 1960s and 1970s such as ''This Pussy Belongs to Me'' (1970), which contained "raunchy, sexually explicit rhymes that often had to do with pimps, prostitutes, players, and hustlers",<ref>{{cite web |author=Alex Henderson |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/this-pussy-belongs-to-me-mw0000094218 |title=This Pussy Belongs to Me – Rudy Ray Moore &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |website=AllMusic |access-date=August 25, 2014 |archive-date=November 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107221918/https://www.allmusic.com/album/this-pussy-belongs-to-me-mw0000094218 |url-status=live }}</ref> and which later led to him being called "The Godfather of Rap".<ref name=chicago>{{cite news |author=Soren Baker |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2002/05/10/dolemite-star-explores-music/ |title='Dolemite' star explores music |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=May 10, 2002 |access-date=August 25, 2014 |archive-date=August 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140815142244/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-05-10/entertainment/0205100386_1_rudy-ray-moore-rhyming-redd-foxx |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Gil Scott-Heron]], a jazz poet/musician, has been cited as an influence on rappers such as [[Chuck D]] and [[KRS-One]].<ref>Jeff Chang; D.J. Kool Herc (December 2005). ''Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation''. Picador. p. 249. {{ISBN|0-312-42579-1}}.</ref> Scott-Heron himself was influenced by [[Melvin Van Peebles]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/cover-story/Forever_Badass-243548941.html |title=Forever badass: Melvin Van Peebles on his Philly funk gig and Sweetback memories &#124; Cover Story &#124; News and Opinion |newspaper=Philadelphia Weekly |access-date=February 21, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140221084523/http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/cover-story/Forever_Badass-243548941.html |archive-date=February 21, 2014  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visionaryproject.org/vanpeeblesmelvin/ |title=Melvin Van Peebles: Oral History Video Clips and Biography: NVLP Oral History Archive |publisher=Visionaryproject.org |date=August 21, 1932 |access-date=February 21, 2014 |archive-date=November 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106153518/http://www.visionaryproject.org/vanpeeblesmelvin/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> whose first album was 1968's ''[[Brer Soul]]''. Van Peebles describes his vocal style as "the old Southern style", which was influenced by singers he had heard growing up in South [[Chicago]].<ref name=VanPeebles>{{cite AV media notes |chapter=The title of this album |title=What the. ... You Mean I Can't Sing?! |others=Melvin Van Peebles |year=2003 |first=Melvin |last=Van Peebles |publisher=Water |id=water122 |type=booklet }}</ref> Van Peebles also said that he was influenced by older forms of [[African-American music]]: "... people like [[Blind Lemon Jefferson]] and the field hollers. I was also influenced by spoken word song styles from Germany that I encountered when I lived in France."<ref name=George>{{cite AV media notes |title=Ghetto Gothic |others=Melvin Van Peebles |year=1995 |first=Nelson |last=George |publisher=Capitol |id=724382961420 |type=booklet}}</ref>

During the mid-20th century, the musical culture of the Caribbean was constantly influenced by the concurrent changes in [[Music of the United States|American music]]. As early as 1956,<ref name=":1" /> [[Disc jockey#Dancehall/reggae deejays|deejays]] were [[Toasting (Jamaican music)|toasting]] over [[dub music|dubbed]] [[Jamaica]]n beats. It was called "rap", expanding the word's earlier meaning in the African-American community—"to discuss or debate informally."<ref name="r0" />

The early rapping of hip-hop developed out of [[DJ]] and [[master of ceremonies]]' announcements made over the microphone at parties, and later into more complex raps.<ref name="Charlie Ahearn 2002" /> [[Grandmaster Caz]] stated: "The microphone was just used for making announcements, like when the next party was gonna be, or people's moms would come to the party looking for them, and you have to announce it on the mic. Different DJs started embellishing what they were saying. I would make an announcement this way, and somebody would hear that and they add a little bit to it. I'd hear it again and take it a little step further 'til it turned from lines to sentences to paragraphs to verses to rhymes."<ref name="Charlie Ahearn 2002" />

One of the first rappers at the beginning of the hip hop period, at the end of the 1970s, was also hip hop's first [[Disc jockey|DJ]], [[DJ Kool Herc]]. Herc, a Jamaican immigrant, started delivering simple raps at his parties, which some claim were inspired by the Jamaican tradition of [[Toasting (Jamaican music)|toasting]].<ref name="daveyd1">{{cite web| url = http://www.daveyd.com/interviewkoolherc89.html| title = Davey D's Hip-Hop Corner| access-date = December 20, 2005| archive-date = March 3, 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174730/http://www.daveyd.com/interviewkoolherc89.html| url-status = live}}</ref> However, Kool Herc himself denies this link (in the 1984 book ''Hip Hop''), saying, "Jamaican toasting? Naw, naw. No connection there. I couldn't play reggae in the Bronx. People wouldn't accept it. The inspiration for rap is [[James Brown]] and the album ''[[Hustlers Convention (Lightnin' Rod album)|Hustler's Convention]]''".<ref>"Hip Hop: The Illustrated History of Break Dancing, Rap Music, and Graffiti", by Steven Hager, 1984, St Martin's Press, p. 45.</ref> Herc also suggests he was too young while in Jamaica to get into sound system parties: "I couldn't get in. Couldn't get in. I was ten, eleven years old,"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.djhistory.com/interviews/kool-herc |title=Kool Herc |publisher=DJhistory.com |access-date=January 27, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150601195425/http://www.djhistory.com/interviews/kool-herc |archive-date=June 1, 2015  }}</ref> and that while in Jamaica, he was listening to James Brown: "I was listening to American music in Jamaica and my favorite artist was James Brown. That's who inspired me. A lot of the records I played were by James Brown."<ref name="daveyd1"/>

However, in terms of what was identified in the 2010s as "rap", the source came from Manhattan. Pete DJ Jones said the first person he heard rap was [[DJ Hollywood]], a Harlem (not Bronx) native<ref>[http://www.thafoundation.com/pete.htm Pete "DJ" Jones Interview pt. 1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106153518/http://www.thafoundation.com/pete.htm |date=November 6, 2021 }}, The Foundation.</ref> who was the house DJ at the [[Apollo Theater]]. Kurtis Blow also said the first person he heard rhyme was DJ Hollywood.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wolfdorkapparel.com/props-hip-hop/.|title=An Ode to Hip-Hop: The 1970s|author=ScottK|access-date=June 30, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626130229/http://www.wolfdorkapparel.com/props-hip-hop/|archive-date=June 26, 2015}}</ref> In a 2014 interview, Hollywood said: "I used to like the way [[Frankie Crocker]] would ride a track, but he wasn't syncopated to the track though. I liked [WWRL DJ] [[Hank Spann]] too, but he wasn't on the one. Guys back then weren't concerned with being musical. I wanted to flow with the record". And in 1975, he ushered in what became known as the "hip hop" style by rhyming syncopated to the beat of an existing record uninterruptedly for nearly a minute. He adapted the lyrics of [[Isaac Hayes]]' "Good Love 6-9969" and rhymed it to the breakdown part of "Love Is the Message".<ref>Mark Skillz, [https://medium.com/cuepoint/dj-hollywood-the-original-king-of-new-york-41b131b966ee "DJ Hollywood: The Original King of New York"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106153517/https://medium.com/cuepoint/dj-hollywood-the-original-king-of-new-york-41b131b966ee |date=November 6, 2021 }}, Cuepoint, November 19, 2014.</ref> His partner Kevin Smith, better known as [[Lovebug Starski]], took this new style and introduced it to the Bronx hip hop set that until then was composed of DJing and [[b-boying]] (or [[beatboxing]]), with traditional "shout out" style rapping.

The style that Hollywood created and his partner introduced to the hip hop set quickly became the standard. Before that time, most MC rhymes, based on radio DJs, consisted of short patters that were disconnected thematically; they were separate unto themselves. But by using song lyrics, Hollywood gave his rhyme an inherent flow and theme. This was quickly noticed, and the style spread. By the end of the 1970s, artists such as [[Kurtis Blow]] and [[the Sugarhill Gang]] were starting to receive radio airplay and make an impact far outside of New York City, on a national scale. [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]]'s 1981 single, "[[Rapture (Blondie song)|Rapture]]", was the first number-one single on the United States [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart to feature rap vocals.<ref name=Zlatopolsky2017>{{cite magazine|last=Zlatopolsky|first=Ashley|title=Blondie's 10 Greatest Songs: Critic's Picks|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=May 6, 2017|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/blondie-10-best-songs-list-debbie-harry-7783994/|accessdate=July 14, 2025}}</ref>

===Old-school hip hop===
{{Main|Old-school hip hop}}
Old school rap (1979–84)<ref>David Toop, ''Rap Attack'', 3rd edn, London: Serpent's Tail, 2000 (p. 216). {{ISBN|978-1-85242-627-9}}</ref> was "easily identified by its relatively simple raps"<ref name="allmusic.com">[{{AllMusic|class=explore|id=style/d2926|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic.com]</ref> according to [[AllMusic]], "the emphasis was not on lyrical technique, but simply on good times",<ref name="allmusic.com"/> one notable exception being [[Melle Mel]], who set the way for future rappers through his socio-political content and creative wordplay.<ref name="allmusic.com"/>

===Golden age===
{{Main|Golden age hip hop}}
Golden age hip hop (the mid-1980s to early '90s)<ref name="nytimes.com">Jon Caramanica, [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/26/arts/music/26jon.html "Hip-Hop's Raiders of the Lost Archives"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410093712/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/26/arts/music/26jon.html |date=April 10, 2014 }}, ''The New York Times'', June 26, 2005.</ref> was the time period where hip-hop lyricism went through its most drastic transformation – writer William Jelani Cobb says "in these golden years, a critical mass of mic prodigies were literally creating themselves and their art form at the same time"<ref>Cobb, Jelani William, 2007, ''To the Break of Dawn'', NYU Press, p. 47.</ref> and Allmusic writes, "rhymers like [[Public Enemy (group)|PE]]'s [[Chuck D]], [[Big Daddy Kane]], [[KRS-One]], and [[Rakim]] basically invented the complex wordplay and lyrical kung-fu of later hip-hop".<ref name="ReferenceA">[{{AllMusic|class=explore|id=style/d12014|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic]</ref> The golden age is considered to have ended around 1993–94, marking the end of rap lyricism's most innovative period.<ref name="nytimes.com"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/>

==Flow==

"Flow" is defined as "the rhythms and rhymes"{{sfn|Edwards|2009}}{{sfn|Kool Moe Dee|2003|p=inside cover, 10, 17}}{{sfn|Krims|2001|pp=48–49}} of a hip-hop song's lyrics and how they interact – the book ''[[How to Rap]]'' breaks flow down into rhyme, [[rhyme scheme]]s, and rhythm (also known as [[cadence (music)|cadence]]).{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=63-130}} 'Flow' is also sometimes used to refer to elements of the delivery ([[Pitch (music)|pitch]], [[timbre]], [[Loudness|volume]]) as well,{{sfn|Krims|2001|p=44}} though often a distinction is made between the flow and the delivery.{{sfn|Kool Moe Dee|2003|p=inside cover, 10, 17}}{{sfn|Edwards|2009}}

Staying on the beat is central to rap's flow{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=63–79}} – many [[Master of Ceremonies#Hip hop|MCs]] note the importance of staying on-beat in ''How to Rap'' including [[Sean Price]], Mighty Casey, [[Zion I]], [[Vinnie Paz]], [[Fredro Starr]], [[Del the Funky Homosapien]], [[Tech N9ne]], [[People Under the Stairs]], [[Twista]], [[B-Real]], [[Mr Lif]], [[2Mex]], and [[Cage (rapper)|Cage]].{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=63–79}}

[[Master of Ceremonies#Hip hop|MCs]] stay on beat by stressing syllables in time to the four beats of the musical backdrop.<ref name="Attridge, Derek 2002, p. 90">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UbALbvMiM6UC&dq=Poetic%20Rhythm%3A%20An%20Introduction&pg=PR13 |title=Poetic Rhythm: An Introduction |author=Derek Attridge |via=Google ספרים |date=September 28, 1995 |access-date=August 25, 2014 |isbn=978-0-521-42369-4 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |archive-date=May 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504101448/https://books.google.com/books?id=UbALbvMiM6UC&dq=Poetic%20Rhythm:%20An%20Introduction&pg=PR13 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=71–72}} Poetry scholar [[Derek Attridge]] describes how this works in his book ''Poetic Rhythm'' – "rap lyrics are written to be performed to an accompaniment that emphasizes the metrical structure of the verse".<ref name="Attridge, Derek 2002, p. 90"/> He says rap lyrics are made up of, "lines with four stressed beats, separated by other syllables that may vary in number and may include other stressed syllables. The strong beat of the accompaniment coincides with the stressed beats of the verse, and the rapper organizes the rhythms of the intervening syllables to provide variety and surprise".<ref name="Attridge, Derek 2002, p. 90"/>

The same technique is also noted in the book ''How to Rap'', where diagrams are used to show how the lyrics line up with the beat – "stressing a syllable on each of the four beats gives the lyrics the same underlying rhythmic pulse as the music and keeps them in rhythm ... other syllables in the song may still be stressed, but the ones that fall in time with the four beats of a bar are the only ones that need to be emphasized in order to keep the lyrics in time with the music".{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=72}}

In rap terminology, 16-bars is the amount of time that rappers are generally given to perform a [[Guest appearance|guest]] verse on another artist's song; one bar is typically equal to four beats of music.<ref>{{cite book|last=Palmer|first=Tamara|page=188|title=Country Fried Soul: Adventures in Dirty South Hip-hop|publisher=[[Hal Leonard Corporation]]|year=2005|isbn=978-0-87930-857-5}}</ref>

===History===
Old school flows were relatively basic and used only few syllables per bar, simple rhythmic patterns, and basic rhyming techniques and rhyme schemes.{{sfn|Krims|2001|p=44}}<ref>{{cite web| url =https://www.allmusic.com/explore/genre/d1| title =Allmusic| website =[[AllMusic]]| access-date =December 22, 2005| archive-date =December 7, 2010| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20101207023619/http://www.allmusic.com/explore/genre/d1| url-status =live}}</ref>
Melle Mel is cited as an MC who epitomizes the old school flow – [[Kool Moe Dee]] says, "from 1970 to 1978 we rhymed one way [then] Melle Mel, in 1978, gave us the new cadence we would use from 1978 to 1986".{{sfn|Kool Moe Dee|2003|p=325}} "He's the first emcee to explode in a new rhyme cadence, and change the way every emcee rhymed forever. Rakim, [[The Notorious B.I.G.]], and [[Eminem]] have flipped the flow, but Melle Mel's downbeat on the two, four, kick to snare cadence is still the rhyme foundation all emcees are building on".{{sfn|Kool Moe Dee|2003|p=334}}

Artists and critics often credit [[Rakim]] with creating the overall shift from the more simplistic old school flows to more complex flows near the beginning of hip hop's [[New school hip hop|new school]]{{sfn|Kool Moe Dee|2003|p=224}} – Kool Moe Dee says, "any emcee that came after 1986 had to study Rakim just to know what to be able to do.{{sfn|Kool Moe Dee|2003|p=324}} Rakim, in 1986, gave us flow and that was the rhyme style from 1986 to 1994.{{sfn|Kool Moe Dee|2003|p=325}} From that point on, anybody emceeing was forced to focus on their flow".{{sfn|Kool Moe Dee|2003|p=326}} Kool Moe Dee explains that before Rakim, the term 'flow' was not widely used – "Rakim is basically the inventor of flow. We were not even using the word flow until Rakim came along. It was called rhyming, it was called cadence, but it wasn't called flow. Rakim created flow!"{{sfn|Kool Moe Dee|2003|p=328}} He adds that while Rakim upgraded and popularized the focus on flow, "he didn't invent the word".{{sfn|Kool Moe Dee|2003|p=324}}

Kool Moe Dee states that Biggie introduced a newer flow which "dominated from 1994 to 2002",{{sfn|Kool Moe Dee|2003|p=325}} and also says that [[Method Man]] was "one of the emcees from the early to mid-'90s that ushered in the era of flow ... Rakim invented it, Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, and [[Kool G Rap]] expanded it, but Biggie and Method Man made flow the single most important aspect of an emcee's game".{{sfn|Kool Moe Dee|2003|p=206}} He also cites [[Craig Mack]] as an artist who contributed to developing flow in the '90s.{{sfn|Kool Moe Dee|2003|p=39}}

Music scholar Adam Krims says, "the flow of MCs is one of the profoundest changes that separates out new-sounding from older-sounding music ... it is widely recognized and remarked that rhythmic styles of many commercially successful MCs since roughly the beginning of the 1990s have progressively become faster and more 'complex'".{{sfn|Krims|2001|p=44}} He cites "members of the [[Wu-Tang Clan]], [[Nas]], [[AZ (rapper)|AZ]], [[Big Pun]], and [[Ras Kass]], just to name a few"{{sfn|Krims|2001|p=49}} as artists who exemplify this progression.

Kool Moe Dee adds, "in 2002 Eminem created the song that got the first Oscar in Hip-Hop history [[Lose Yourself#Legacy|[Lose Yourself]]] ... and I would have to say that his flow is the most dominant right now (2003)".{{sfn|Kool Moe Dee|2003|p=325}}

===Styles===
There are many different styles of flow, with different terminology used by different people – [[stic.man]] of [[Dead Prez]] uses the following terms –
*"The Chant", which he says is used by [[Lil Jon]] and [[Project Pat]]{{sfn|stic.man|2005|p=63}}
*"The Syncopated Bounce", used by Twista and [[Bone Thugs-n-Harmony]]{{sfn|stic.man|2005|p=63}}
*"Straight Forward", used by [[Scarface (rapper)|Scarface]], [[2Pac]], Melle Mel, KRS-One circa [[Boogie Down Productions]] era, [[Too Short]], [[Jay-Z]], [[Ice Cube]], [[Dr. Dre]], and [[Snoop Dogg]]{{sfn|stic.man|2005|p=63–64}}
*"The Rubik's Cube", used by Nas, [[Black Thought]] of [[The Roots]], [[Common (rapper)|Common]], [[Kurupt]], and [[Lauryn Hill]]{{sfn|stic.man|2005|p=64}}
*"2-5-Flow", a [[pun]] of [[Kenya]]'s [[List of country calling codes|calling code]] "+254", used by [[Camp Mulla]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://willpress.blogspot.com/2011/04/camp-mulla-cool-kids-on-edge-of-new.html |title=Open Mic: Camp Mulla: Cool Kids on the Edge of A New Frontier? |publisher=Willpress.blogspot.com |date=April 29, 2011 |access-date=August 25, 2014 |archive-date=December 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230235638/http://willpress.blogspot.com/2011/04/camp-mulla-cool-kids-on-edge-of-new.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Alternatively, music scholar Adam Krims uses the following terms –
*"sung rhythmic style", used by [[Too Short]], [[Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five]], and the [[Beastie Boys]]{{sfn|Krims|2001|p=50}}
*"percussion-effusive style", used by [[B-Real]] of [[Cypress Hill]]{{sfn|Krims|2001|p=51}}
*"speech-effusive style", used by Big Pun{{sfn|Krims|2001|p=51}}
*"offbeat style", used by [[E-40]], [[Outkast]]

===Rhyme===
MCs use many different rhyming techniques, including complex rhyme schemes, as Adam Krims points out – "the complexity ... involves multiple rhymes in the same rhyme complex (i.e. section with consistently rhyming words), [[internal rhyme]]s, [and] offbeat rhymes".{{sfn|Krims|2001|p=49}} There is also widespread use of [[multisyllabic rhymes]].<ref>Shapiro, Peter, 2005, ''The Rough Guide To Hip-Hop, 2nd Edition'', Penguin, p. 213.</ref>

It has been noted that rap's use of rhyme is some of the most advanced in all forms of poetry – music scholar Adam Bradley notes, "rap rhymes so much and with such variety that it is now the largest and richest contemporary archive of rhymed words. It has done more than any other art form in recent history to expand rhyme's formal range and expressive possibilities".<ref>Bradley, Adam, 2009, ''[[Book of Rhymes]]: The Poetics of Hip-Hop'', Basic Civitas Books, pp. 51–52.</ref>

In the book ''How to Rap'', [[Masta Ace]] explains how Rakim and Big Daddy Kane caused a shift in the way MCs rhymed: "Up until Rakim, everybody who you heard rhyme, the last word in the sentence was the rhyming [word], the connection word. Then Rakim showed us that you could put rhymes within a rhyme ... now here comes Big Daddy Kane — instead of going three words, he's going multiple".{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=105}} ''How to Rap'' explains that "rhyme is often thought to be the most important factor in rap writing ... rhyme is what gives rap lyrics their musicality.{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=xii}}

===Rhythm===
Many of the rhythmic techniques used in rapping come from percussive techniques and many rappers compare themselves to [[percussionist]]s.<ref>Edwards, "Gift of Gab" (2013). ''How to Rap 2'', p. 3.</ref> ''How to Rap 2'' identifies all the rhythmic techniques used in rapping such as [[Triplet (music)|triplets]], [[Flam (drum rudiment)|flams]], [[16th note]]s, [[32nd note]]s, [[syncopation]], extensive use of [[rest (music)|rests]], and rhythmic techniques unique to rapping such as West Coast "lazy tails", coined by [[Shock G]].<ref>Edwards, "Gift of Gab" (2013). ''How to Rap 2'', pp. 1–54.</ref> Rapping has also been done in various [[time signature]]s, such as [[3/4 time]].<ref name="Edwards, Paul 2013 p 2">Edwards, "Gift of Gab" (2013). ''How to Rap 2'', p. 53.</ref>

Since the [[2000s in music|2000s]], rapping has evolved into a style of rap that spills over the boundaries of the beat, closely resembling spoken English.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Edmondson|first1=Jacqueline|title=Music in American Life: an encyclopedia of the songs, styles, stars, and stories that shaped our culture|date=October 30, 2013|publisher=Greenwood|isbn=978-0-313-39347-1|page=1270}}</ref> Rappers like [[MF Doom]] and [[Eminem]] have exhibited this style, and since then, rapping has been difficult to notate.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Williams|first1=Justin|title=The Cambridge Companion to Hip-Hop|series=[[Cambridge Companions to Music]]|date=April 6, 2015|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-64386-4}}</ref> The American hip-hop group [[Crime Mob]] exhibited a new rap flow in songs such as "[[Knuck If You Buck]]", heavily dependent on triplets. Rappers including [[Drake (rapper)|Drake]], [[Kanye West]], [[Rick Ross]], [[Young Jeezy]] and more have included this influence in their music. In 2014, an American hip-hop collective from [[Atlanta]], [[Migos]], popularized this flow, and is commonly referred to as the "Migos Flow" (a term that is contentious within the hip-hop community).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Drake|first1=David|title=Tracing the Lineage of the Migos Flow|url=http://www.complex.com/music/2014/03/tracing-the-lineage-of-the-migos-flow|website=www.complex.com|access-date=April 29, 2015|archive-date=May 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507193533/http://www.complex.com/music/2014/03/tracing-the-lineage-of-the-migos-flow|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Groove classes ===
Mitchell Ohriner in "Flow: The Rhythmic Voice in Rap Music" describes seven "groove classes" consisting of archetypal sixteen-step accent patterns generated by grouping notes in clusters of two and/or three.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ohriner |first=Mitchell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yAqlDwAAQBAJ&dq=flow+rhythmic+voice+%22groove+classes%22&pg=PA86 |title=Flow: The Rhythmic Voice in Rap Music |date=2019-08-01 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-067042-9 |language=en |access-date=March 8, 2024 |archive-date=August 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240808235058/https://books.google.com/books?id=yAqlDwAAQBAJ&dq=flow+rhythmic+voice+%22groove+classes%22&pg=PA86#v=onepage&q=flow%20rhythmic%20voice%20%22groove%20classes%22&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> These groove classes are further distinguished from one another as "duple" and "nonduple". Groove classes without internal repetition can occur in any of sixteen rhythmic rotations, whereas groove classes with internal repetition have fewer meaningful rotations. 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Groove class
!Duple or nonduple?
!Internal repetition?
|-
|2222_2222
|duple
|yes
|-
|332_332
|nonduple
|yes
|-
|332_2222
|nonduple
|no
|-
|323_2222
|nonduple
|no
|-
|333322
|nonduple
|no
|-
|333232
|nonduple
|no
|-
|3223222
|nonduple
|no
|}

===Rap notation and flow diagrams===
The standard form of rap notation is the flow diagram, where rappers line-up their lyrics underneath "beat numbers".{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=67}} Different rappers have slightly different forms of flow diagram that they use: [[Del the Funky Homosapien]] says, "I'm just writing out the rhythm of the flow, basically. Even if it's just slashes to represent the beats, that's enough to give me a visual path.",{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=68}} [[Vinnie Paz]] states, "I've created my own sort of writing technique, like little marks and asterisks to show like a pause or emphasis on words in certain places.",{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=67}} and [[Aesop Rock]] says, "I have a system of maybe 10 little symbols that I use on paper that tell me to do something when I'm recording."{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=67}}

Hip-hop scholars also make use of the same flow diagrams: the books ''How to Rap'' and ''How to Rap 2'' use the diagrams to explain rap's triplets, flams, rests, rhyme schemes, runs of rhyme, and breaking rhyme patterns, among other techniques.<ref name="Edwards, Paul 2013 p 2"/> Similar systems are used by PhD [[musicologists]] Adam Krims in his book ''Rap Music and the Poetics of Identity''{{sfn|Krims|2001|pp=59–60}} and Kyle Adams in his academic work on flow.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.09.15.5/mto.09.15.5.adams.html |title=MTO 15.5: Adams, Flow in Rap Music |journal=Music Theory Online |date=October 2009 |volume=15 |issue=5 |publisher=Mtosmt.org |access-date=August 25, 2014 |last1=Adams |first1=Kyle |doi=10.30535/mto.15.5.1 |doi-access=free |archive-date=October 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014003755/http://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.09.15.5/mto.09.15.5.adams.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Because rap revolves around a strong 4/4 beat,{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=69}} with certain syllables said in time to the beat, all the notational systems have a similar structure: they all have the same 4 beat numbers at the top of the diagram, so that syllables can be written in-line with the beat numbers.{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=69}} This allows devices such as rests, "lazy tails", flams, and other rhythmic techniques to be shown, as well as illustrating where different rhyming words fall in relation to the music.<ref name="Edwards, Paul 2013 p 2"/>

==Performance==
[[File:The Megaphone State at Sello library, Finland 2011 2.jpg|thumb|Ekow, part of The Megaphone State rap duo, performing at the [[Sello Library]] in [[Espoo]], Finland, in 2011]]
To successfully deliver a rap, a rapper must also develop vocal presence, [[enunciation]], and [[Vocal technique|breath control]]. Vocal presence is the distinctiveness of a rapper's voice on record. Enunciation is essential to a flowing rap; some rappers choose also to exaggerate it for comic and artistic effect. Breath control, taking in air without interrupting one's delivery, is an important skill for a rapper to master, and a must for any MC. An MC with poor breath control cannot deliver difficult verses without making unintentional pauses.

Raps are sometimes delivered with melody. West Coast rapper [[Egyptian Lover]] was the first notable MC to deliver "sing-raps".<ref name="r10" /> Popular rappers such as [[50 Cent]] and [[Ja Rule]] add a slight melody to their otherwise purely percussive raps whereas some rappers such as [[Cee-Lo Green]] are able to [[harmony|harmonize]] their raps with the beat. The [[Midwestern hip-hop|Midwestern]] group [[Bone Thugs-n-Harmony]] was one of the first groups to achieve nationwide recognition for using the fast-paced, melodic and harmonic raps that are also practiced by [[Do or Die (group)|Do or Die]], another Midwestern group. Another rapper that harmonized his rhymes was [[Nate Dogg]], a rapper part of the group 213. Rakim experimented not only with following the beat, but also with complementing the song's melody with his own voice, making his flow sound like that of an instrument (a saxophone in particular).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maximumfun.org/blog/2006/07/rakim-allah-interview.html|title=Rakim Allah Interview – Maximum Fun|date=July 7, 2006|access-date=June 30, 2015|archive-date=February 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203101329/http://www.maximumfun.org/blog/2006/07/rakim-allah-interview.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The ability to rap quickly and clearly is sometimes regarded as an important sign of skill. In certain [[list of genres of hip hop|hip-hop subgenres]] such as [[chopped and screwed]], slow-paced rapping is often considered optimal. The current record for fastest rapper is held by Spanish rapper Domingo Edjang Moreno, known by his alias Chojin, who rapped 921 syllables in one minute on December 23, 2008.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/arts_and_media/music_feats_and_facts/fastest_rap_mc.aspx | title = Guinness World Records | access-date = August 27, 2010 | archive-date = October 24, 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061024041919/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/arts_and_media/music_feats_and_facts/fastest_rap_mc.aspx | url-status = live }}</ref>

===Emcees===
In the late 1970s, the term emcee, MC or M.C., derived from "[[master of ceremonies]]",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.daveyd.com/historyemceegmcaz.html|title=The Emcee [MC] Master of Ceremonies to Mic Controller by Grandmaster Caz|access-date=June 30, 2015|archive-date=October 8, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031008184830/http://www.daveyd.com/historyemceegmcaz.html|url-status=live}}</ref> became an alternative title for a rapper, and for their role within hip-hop music and culture. An MC uses rhyming verses, pre-written or ad lib ('[[Freestyle rap|freestyled]]'), to introduce the DJ with whom they work, to keep the crowd entertained or to glorify themselves. As hip hop progressed, the title MC acquired [[backronym]]s such as 'mike chanter'<ref>Hebdige, Dick, 1987, ''Cut 'n' Mix: Culture, Identity and Caribbean Music'', p. 105.</ref> 'microphone controller', 'microphone checker', 'music commentator', and one who 'moves the crowd'. Some use this word interchangeably with the term ''rapper'', while for others the term denotes a superior level of skill and connection to the wider culture.

MC can often be used as a term of distinction; referring to an artist with good performance skills.<ref name="autogeneratedxii">Edwards, Paul, 2009, ''[[How to Rap]]: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC'', Chicago Review Press, p. xii.</ref> As [[Kool G Rap]] notes, "masters of ceremony, where the word 'M.C.' comes from, means just keeping the party alive" ''[[sic|[sic]]]''.<ref>Edwards, Paul, 2009, ''[[How to Rap]]: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC'', Chicago Review Press, p. vii.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://rapradar.com/2009/12/03/how-to-rap-kool-g-rap-foreword/ |title=How To Rap: Kool G Rap (Foreword) |publisher=Rap Radar |date=December 3, 2009 |access-date=June 10, 2010 |archive-date=February 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227074709/http://rapradar.com/2009/12/03/how-to-rap-kool-g-rap-foreword/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Many people in hip hop including DJ Premier and KRS-One feel that James Brown was the first MC. James Brown had the lyrics, moves, and soul that greatly influenced a lot of rappers in hip hop, and arguably even started the first MC rhyme.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/MC-Why-We-Do/dp/B0006N2EKK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328642635&sr=8-1/ |title=The MC – Why We Do It: 50 Cent, Common, Ghostface Killah, Talib Kweli, Method Man, Mekhi Phifer, Raekwon, Rakim, Twista, Kanye West, Peter Spirer: Movies & TV |website=Amazon |access-date=June 20, 2012 |archive-date=March 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307171533/https://www.amazon.com/MC-Why-We-Do/dp/B0006N2EKK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328642635&sr=8-1/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=J. Rizzle |url=http://kevinnottingham.com/2009/08/12/dj-premier-salutes-james-brown-the-foundation-of-hip-hop// |title=DJ Premier Salutes James Brown [The Foundation of Hip Hop&#93; &#124; The Underground Hip Hop Authority &#124; Hip Hop Music, Videos & Reviews |publisher=KevinNottingham.com |date=August 12, 2009 |access-date=July 6, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203234205/http://kevinnottingham.com/2009/08/12/dj-premier-salutes-james-brown-the-foundation-of-hip-hop/ |archive-date=December 3, 2011 }}</ref>

For some rappers, there was a distinction to the term, such as for [[MC Hammer]] who acquired the nickname "MC" for being a "Master of Ceremonies" which he used when he began performing at various clubs while on the road with the [[Oakland Athletics|Oakland As]] and eventually in the military ([[United States Navy]]).<ref>{{cite news| url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n2_v46/ai_9177118/ | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708013509/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n2_v46/ai_9177118/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=July 8, 2012 | work=Ebony | title='It's Hammer time!' M.C. Hammer: upbeat performer with high-voltage stage show broadens rap's appeal | year=1990}}</ref> It was within the lyrics of a rap song called "[[MC Hammer#Music and entertainment career|This Wall]]" that Hammer first identified himself as M.C. Hammer and later marketed it on his debut album ''[[Feel My Power]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/Love-Education-Jon-Gibson/dp/B000008P2A |title=Love Education: Jon Gibson: Music |website=Amazon |year=1997 |access-date=June 20, 2012 |archive-date=July 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709040752/http://www.amazon.com/Love-Education-Jon-Gibson/dp/B000008P2A |url-status=live }}</ref> The term MC has also been used in the genre of [[grime music]] to refer to a rapid style of rapping. Grime artist [[Jme (musician)|JME]] released an album titled ''Grime MC'' in 2019 which peaked at 29 on the [[UK Albums Chart]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.factmag.com/2019/11/14/jme-grime-mc-tease/|title=JME teases new album, ''Grime MC'', with YouTube video|publisher=FACT Magazine|date=November 14, 2019|access-date=November 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115001841/https://www.factmag.com/2019/11/14/jme-grime-mc-tease/|archive-date=November 15, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Uncertainty over the [[Acronym and initialism|acronym]]'s expansion may be considered evidence for its ubiquity: the full term "Master of Ceremonies" is very rarely used in the hip-hop scene. This confusion prompted the hip-hop group [[A Tribe Called Quest]] to include this statement in the liner notes to their 1993 album ''[[Midnight Marauders]]'':
<blockquote>
The use of the term MC when referring to a rhyming wordsmith originates from the dance halls of Jamaica. At each event, there would be a master of ceremonies who would introduce the different musical acts and would say a toast in style of a rhyme, directed at the audience and to the performers. He would also make announcements such as the schedule of other events or advertisements from local sponsors. The term MC continued to be used by the children of women who moved to New York City to work as maids in the 1970s. These MCs eventually created a new style of music called hip-hop based on the rhyming they used to do in Jamaica and the breakbeats used in records. MC has also recently been accepted to refer to all who engineer music.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hiphoparea.com/rap/mcing.html|title=Rap: MCing|website=Hiphoparea.com|access-date=February 25, 2021|archive-date=February 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210171306/http://www.hiphoparea.com/rap/mcing.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
</blockquote>

=== Female rappers ===
[[File:Nicki_Minaj_VMAs_2018_(portrait_cropped).jpg|thumb|Rapper [[Nicki Minaj]] is often regarded as the "[[Honorific nicknames in popular music|Queen of Rap]]".<ref>Minaj cited as the "Queen of Rap":
* {{Cite web |date=August 10, 2018 |title=GQ Editors Pick the Best Nicki Minaj Verses |url=https://www.gq.com/story/these-are-the-best-nicki-minaj-verses |access-date=October 19, 2021 |website=GQ |language=en-US}}
* {{Cite magazine |date=February 4, 2022 |title=Nicki Minaj x Lil Baby, Mitski & More: What's Your Favorite Music Release of the Week? Vote! |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/new-music-release-poll-nicki-minaj-lil-baby-mitski-1235027444/ |language=en |access-date=February 7, 2022 |magazine=Billboard}}
* {{Cite web |title=Nicki Minaj backs Texas councilman who gave her a birthday shoutout |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-pop-culture/nicki-minaj-backs-texas-councilman-gave-birthday-shoutout-rcna8569 |access-date=January 7, 2022 |publisher=NBC News |date=December 13, 2021 |language=en}}
* {{Cite magazine |last=Lang |first=Cady |date=March 14, 2017 |title=Watch Nicki Minaj Flawlessly Lip Sync to Celine Dion |url=https://time.com/4701402/nicki-minaj-celine-dion-lip-sync/ |magazine=Time |language=en |access-date=November 11, 2021}}
* {{cite magazine|title=Nicki Minaj Flaunts Her Best Adele, Gets Vulnerable, and Plays Clarinet on 'Carpool Karaoke'|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/nicki-minaj-james-corden-carpool-karaoke-1333825/|date=April 7, 2022|access-date=September 13, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230505025219/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/nicki-minaj-james-corden-carpool-karaoke-1333825/|archive-date=May 5, 2023|url-status=live}}
* {{cite web|title=Nicki Minaj's Tour Returns To The U.S., Fueling Her Album's Rise On The Charts|work=[[Forbes]]|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2024/09/11/nicki-minajs-tour-returns-to-the-us-fueling-her-albums-rise-on-the-charts/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911140658/https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2024/09/11/nicki-minajs-tour-returns-to-the-us-fueling-her-albums-rise-on-the-charts/|archive-date=September 11, 2024|date=September 11, 2024|access-date=September 13, 2024}}
* {{cite web|title=Nicki Minaj, in Las Vegas tour stop, solidifies reign as the Queen of Rap|work=[[Las Vegas Sun]]|url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2024/mar/13/nicki-minaj-in-las-vegas-tour-stop-solidifies-reig/|date=March 13, 2024|access-date=September 13, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240914042909/https://lasvegassun.com/news/2024/mar/13/nicki-minaj-in-las-vegas-tour-stop-solidifies-reig/|archive-date=September 14, 2024|url-status=live}}
* {{Cite web |last=Mappoura |first=Lia |date=February 15, 2022 |title=This throwback picture of Nicki Minaj is proof that she ages backwards |url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/beauty-hair/celebrity-hair-makeup/a39088801/nicki-minaj-throwback-picture/ |access-date=February 17, 2022 |website=[[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan]]}}
* {{cite web|title=Nicki Minaj: See her award-winning rap career in pictures|work=[[USA Today]]|url=https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/life/music/2018/08/22/nicki-minaj-queen-rap-royalty/1061645002/|date=August 22, 2018|access-date=September 13, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424043855/https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/life/music/2018/08/22/nicki-minaj-queen-rap-royalty/1061645002/|archive-date=April 24, 2023|url-status=live}}
* {{Cite web |last=Wang |first=Steffanee |title=Nicki Minaj & Lil Baby Pull Of A Heist On 'Do We Have A Problem |url=https://www.nylon.com/entertainment/nicki-minaj-lil-baby-do-we-have-a-problem-video |access-date=February 17, 2022 |website=[[Nylon (magazine)|Nylon]] |date=February 4, 2022 |language=en}}
* {{Cite web |date=September 16, 2021 |title=Nicki Minaj: every album ranked and rated |url=https://www.nme.com/features/nicki-minaj-every-album-ranked-and-rated-3047363 |access-date=November 1, 2021 |website=NME}}
* {{cite web|title=Nicki Minaj, the "Queen of Rap," bringing world tour to Baltimore in April|work=[[CBS News]]|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/nicki-minaj-the-queen-of-rap-to-perform-in-baltimore-in-april/|date=December 11, 2023|access-date=September 13, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212091432/https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/nicki-minaj-the-queen-of-rap-to-perform-in-baltimore-in-april/|archive-date=December 12, 2023|url-status=live}}
* {{Cite web |title=Nicki Minaj Pulled Out Of The 2021 VMAs For A Mysterious Reason |url=https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/why-nicki-minaj-wont-perform-at-2021-mtv-vmas |access-date=December 1, 2021 |website=Bustle |date=September 12, 2021}}
* {{cite web|url=https://thesource.com/2024/05/15/nicki-minaj-wraps-up-pink-friday-2-tour-with-record-breaking-success/|title=Nicki Minaj Wraps Up 'Pink Friday 2 Tour with Record-Breaking Success|date=May 15, 2024|access-date=October 11, 2024|work=[[The Source (magazine)|The Source]]}}</ref>]]
Female rappers with mainstream success have included [[Lauryn Hill]], [[Nicki Minaj]], [[MC Lyte]], [[Jean Grae]], [[Foxy Brown (rapper)|Foxy Brown]], [[Lil' Kim]], [[Missy Elliott]], [[Queen Latifah]], [[Da Brat]], [[Trina (rapper)|Trina]], [[Megan Thee Stallion]], [[Cardi B]], [[M.I.A. (artist)|M.I.A.]], [[CL (singer)|CL]] from [[2NE1]], [[Iggy Azalea]], [[Eve (entertainer)|Eve]], and [[Lisa Lopes]] from [[TLC (band)|TLC]].

==Subject matter==
"Party rhymes", meant to excite the crowd at a party, were nearly the exclusive focus of old school hip hop, and they remain a staple of hip-hop music to this day. In addition to party raps, rappers also tend to make references to love and sex. Love raps were first popularized by [[Spoonie Gee]] of the [[Treacherous Three]], and later, in the golden age of hip hop, Big Daddy Kane, [[Heavy D]], and [[LL Cool J]] would continue this tradition.
Hip-hop artists such as KRS-One, [[Hopsin]], Public Enemy, [[Lupe Fiasco]], [[Mos Def]], [[Talib Kweli]], Jay-Z, Nas, [[The Notorious B.I.G.]] (Biggie), and [[dead prez]] are known for their sociopolitical subject matter. Their West Coast counterparts include [[The Coup]], Paris, and [[Michael Franti]]. [[Tupac Shakur]] was also known for rapping about social issues such as [[police brutality]], [[teenage pregnancy]], and [[racism]].

Other rappers take a less critical approach to urbanity, sometimes even embracing such aspects as crime. [[Schoolly D]] was the first notable MC to rap about crime.<ref name="r10">{{cite web|last=Blow |first=Kurtis |author-link=Kurtis Blow |url=http://rhino.com/Features/liners/72851lin.html |title=Kurtis Blow Presents: The History of Rap, Vol. 1: The Genesis (liner notes) |work=Kurtis Blow Presents: The History Of Rap, Vol. 1: The Genesis |access-date=May 14, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060503042101/http://www.rhino.com/Features/liners/72851lin.html |archive-date=May 3, 2006 }}</ref> Early on KRS-One was accused of celebrating crime and a hedonistic lifestyle, but after the death of his DJ, [[Scott La Rock]], KRS-One went on to speak out against violence in hip hop and has spent the majority of his career condemning violence and writing on issues of race and class. [[Ice-T]] was one of the first rappers to call himself a "playa" and discuss guns on record, but his theme tune to the 1988 film ''[[Colors (1988 film)|Colors]]'' contained warnings against joining gangs. [[Gangsta rap]], made popular largely because of [[N.W.A]], brought rapping about crime and the gangster lifestyle into the musical mainstream.

Materialism has also been a popular topic in hip-hop since at least the early 1990s, with rappers boasting about their own wealth and possessions, and name-dropping specific brands: liquor brands [[Cristal (champagne)|Cristal]] and [[Rémy Martin]], car manufacturers [[Bentley]] and [[Mercedes-Benz]] and clothing brands [[Gucci]] and [[Versace]] have all been popular subjects for rappers.

Various politicians, journalists, and religious leaders have accused rappers of fostering a culture of violence and hedonism among hip-hop listeners through their lyrics.<ref name="criticism1">{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2088-2272091,00.html|title=The hoodie needs a daddy, not a hug|access-date=July 22, 2006|first=Jill|last=Kirby|date=July 16, 2006|newspaper=[[The Times]]|location=London|archive-date=August 8, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240808235104/https://www.thetimes.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="criticism2">{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/challenging-pepsi|title=Challenging Pepsi|access-date=July 22, 2006|first=Bill|last=O'Reilly|date=August 28, 2002|publisher=Fox News|archive-date=June 19, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619092000/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,61546,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="criticism3">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/jul/21/urban.popandrock|title=We need heroes|access-date=July 22, 2006|first=Dorian|last=Lynskey|date=July 21, 2006|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|archive-date=November 22, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071122000614/http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,1824848,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However, there are also rappers whose messages may not be in line with these views, for example [[Christian hip hop]]. Others have praised the "political critique, innuendo and sarcasm" of hip-hop music.<ref name="Sampling">Demers, Joanna. "Sampling the 1970s in Hip-Hop", Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. 41–42.</ref>

In contrast to the more hedonistic approach of gangsta rappers, some rappers have a spiritual or religious focus. Christian rap is currently the most commercially successful form of religious rap. With Christian rappers like [[Lecrae]], [[Thi'sl]] and [[Hostyle Gospel]] winning national awards and making regular appearances on television, Christian hip hop seem to have found its way in the hip-hop family.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lecrae Wins Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song|url=http://www.grammy.com/videos/lecrae-wins-best-contemporary-christian-music-performancesong|website=Grammy.com|publisher=Grammy|access-date=March 14, 2015|archive-date=March 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313111539/http://www.grammy.com/videos/lecrae-wins-best-contemporary-christian-music-performancesong|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Cummings|first1=Tony|title=Hostyle Gospel: The Illinois militants called to be servants not hip-hop stars|url=http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/music/Hostyle_Gospel_The_Illinois_militants_called_to_be_servants_not_hiphop_stars/55636/p1/|website=Crossrhythms|access-date=March 14, 2015|archive-date=March 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311024756/http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/music/Hostyle_Gospel_The_Illinois_militants_called_to_be_servants_not_hiphop_stars/55636/p1/|url-status=live}}</ref> Aside from [[Christianity]], the [[The Nation of Gods and Earths|Five Percent Nation]], an [[Islamic]] [[Western esotericism|esotericist]] religious/spiritual group, has been represented more than any religious group in popular hip hop. Artists such as [[Rakim]], the members of the Wu-Tang Clan, [[Brand Nubian]], [[X-Clan]] and [[Busta Rhymes]] have had success in spreading the [[theology]] of the Five Percenters.

===Literary technique===
Rappers use the [[literary technique]]s of [[double entendre]]s, [[alliteration]], and forms of wordplay that are found in classical poetry. [[Simile]]s and [[metaphor]]s are used extensively in rap lyrics; rappers such as [[Fabolous]] and [[Lloyd Banks]] have written entire songs in which every line contains similes, whereas MCs like Rakim, [[GZA]], and Jay-Z are known for the metaphorical content of their raps. Rappers such as Lupe Fiasco are known for the complexity of their songs that contain metaphors within [[extended metaphor]]s.

===Diction and dialect===
{{Original research section|date=November 2018}}{{one source|section|date=January 2016}}
Many hip-hop listeners believe that a rapper's lyrics are enhanced by a complex vocabulary. Kool Moe Dee claims that he appealed to older audiences by using a complex vocabulary in his raps.{{sfn|Kool Moe Dee|2003|p=224}} Rap is famous, however, for having its own vocabulary—from international hip-hop slang to regional slang. Some artists, like the Wu-Tang Clan, develop an entire lexicon among their clique. [[African-American English]] has always had a significant effect on hip-hop slang and vice versa. Certain regions have introduced their unique regional slang to hip-hop culture, such as the [[Oakland, California|Bay Area]] ([[Mac Dre]], [[E-40]]), [[Houston]] ([[Chamillionaire]], [[Paul Wall]]), [[Atlanta]] ([[Ludacris]], [[Lil Jon]], [[T.I.]]), and [[Kentucky]] ([[Cunninlynguists]], [[Nappy Roots]]). [[The Nation of Gods and Earths]], aka The Five Percenters, has influenced mainstream hip-hop slang with the introduction of phrases such as "word is bond" that have since lost much of their original spiritual meaning. Preference toward one or the other has much to do with the individual; GZA, for example, prides himself on being very visual and metaphorical but also succinct, whereas underground rapper [[Daniel Dumile|MF DOOM]] is known for heaping similes upon similes. In still another variation, 2Pac was known for saying exactly what he meant, literally and clearly.

Rap music's development into [[popular culture]] began in the 1990s. The 1990s marked the beginning of an era of popular culture guided by the musical influences of [[Hip hop music|hip-hop]] and rap itself, moving away from the influences of [[rock music]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/05/1991-the-most-important-year-in-music/392642/|title=1991: The Most Important Year in Pop-Music History|last=Thompson|first=Derek|date=May 8, 2015|work=The Atlantic|access-date=November 13, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=November 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116043258/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/05/1991-the-most-important-year-in-music/392642/|url-status=live}}</ref> As rap continued to develop and further disseminate, it went on to influence clothing brands, movies, sports, and dancing through popular culture. As rap has developed to become more of a presence in popular culture, it has focused itself on a particular demographic, adolescent and young adults.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=ANDREWS|first=VERNON|title=American Studies 111: Hip-Hop Culture Coming Soon to a Classroom Near You?|date=2006|journal=Australasian Journal of American Studies|volume=25|issue=1|pages=103–114|jstor=41054014}}</ref> As such, it has had a significant impact on the modern vernacular of this portion of the population, which has diffused throughout society.

The effects of rap music on modern vernacular can be explored through the study of [[semiotics]]. Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols, or the study of language as a system.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Key Themes in Media Theory|url=https://archive.org/details/keythemesmediath00laug|url-access=limited|last=Laughey|first=Dan|publisher=Open University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-335-21813-4|location=England|pages=[https://archive.org/details/keythemesmediath00laug/page/n66 54]}}</ref> French literary theorist [[Roland Barthes]] furthers this study with this own theory of myth.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|title=Key Themes in Media Theory|url=https://archive.org/details/keythemesmediath00laug|url-access=limited|last=Laughey|first=Dan|publisher=Open University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-335-21813-4|location=England|pages=[https://archive.org/details/keythemesmediath00laug/page/n68 56]–59}}</ref> He maintains that the first order of signification is language and that the second is "myth", arguing that a word has both its literal meaning, and its mythical meaning, which is heavily dependent on socio-cultural context.<ref name=":12" /> To illustrate, Barthes uses the example of a rat: it has a literal meaning (a physical, objective description) and it has a greater socio-cultural understanding.<ref name=":12" /> This contextual meaning is subjective and is dynamic within society.

Through Barthes' semiotic theory of language and myth, it can be shown that rap music has culturally influenced the language of its listeners, as they influence the connotative message to words that already exist. As more people listen to rap, the words that are used in the lyrics become culturally bound to the song, and then are disseminated through the conversations that people have using these words.

Most often, the terms that rappers use are pre-established words that have been prescribed new meaning through their music, that are eventually disseminated through social spheres.<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal|last1=Maurer|first1=David W.|last2=High|first2=Ellesa Clay|date=1980|title=New Words: Where Do They Come from and Where Do They Go?|journal=American Speech|volume=55|issue=3|pages=184–194|doi=10.2307/455083|jstor=455083}}</ref> This newly contextualized word is called a neosemanticism. Neosemanticisms are forgotten words that are often brought forward from subcultures that attract the attention of members of the reigning culture of their time, then they are brought forward by the influential voices in society – in this case, these figures are rappers.<ref name=":22" /> To illustrate, the acronym [[YOLO (aphorism)|YOLO]] was popularized by rapper, actor and RnB singer [[Drake (musician)|Drake]] in 2012 when he featured it in his own song, ''[[The Motto (Drake song)|The Motto]]''.<ref name=":32">{{Cite web|url=http://www.xxlmag.com/xxl-magazine/2012/12/drake-wants-royalties-for-yolo/|title=Drake Wants Royalties for "YOLO" – XXL|website=XXL Mag|date=December 25, 2012|language=en|access-date=November 15, 2018|archive-date=June 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616062423/https://www.xxlmag.com/xxl-magazine/2012/12/drake-wants-royalties-for-yolo/|url-status=live}}</ref> That year the term YOLO was so popular that it was printed on t-shirts, became a trending hashtag on [[Twitter]], and was even considered as the inspiration for several tattoos.<ref name=":32" /> However, although the rapper may have come up with the acronym, the motto itself was in no way first established by Drake. Similar messages can be seen in many well-known sayings, or as early as 1896, in the English translation of ''La Comédie Humaine'', by [[Honoré de Balzac]] where one of his free-spirited characters tells another, "You Only Live Once!".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/05/24/live-once/|title=You Only Live Once – YOLO – Quote Investigator|website=quoteinvestigator.com|date=May 24, 2012|language=en-US|access-date=November 15, 2018|archive-date=August 8, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240808235104/https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/05/24/live-once/|url-status=live}}</ref> Another example of a neosemanticism is the word "broccoli". Rapper [[E-40]] initially uses the word "broccoli" to refer to marijuana, on his hit track ''Broccoli'' in 1993.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/happy-50th-birthday-e-40-the-king-of-slang-news.39583.html|title=Happy 50th Birthday, E-40: The King Of Slang|work=HotNewHipHop|access-date=November 15, 2018}}</ref> In contemporary society, artists [[DRAM (musician)|D.R.A.M.]] and [[Lil Yachty]] are often accredited for this slang on for [[Broccoli (song)|''their'' hit song]], also titled ''Broccoli''.<ref name=":5" />

With the rise in technology and mass media, the dissemination of subcultural terms has only become easier. [[Dick Hebdige]], author of ''[[Subculture: The Meaning of Style]]'', merits that subcultures often use music to vocalize the struggles of their experiences.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Key Theories in the Media|last=Laughey|first=Dan|publisher=Open University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-335-21813-4|pages=72}}</ref> As rap is also the culmination of a prevalent sub-culture in African-American social spheres, often their own personal cultures are disseminated through rap lyrics.<ref name=":4" />

It is here that lyrics can be categorized as either historically influenced or (more commonly) considered as slang.<ref name=":4" /> Vernon Andrews, the professor of the course ''American Studies 111: Hip-Hop Culture'', suggests that many words, such as "hood", "homie", and "dope", are historically influenced.<ref name=":4" /> Most importantly, this also brings forward the anarchistic culture of rap music. Common themes from rap are anti-establishment and instead, promote black excellence and diversity.<ref name=":4" /> It is here that rap can be seen to reclaim words, namely, "nigga", a historical term used to subjugate and oppress Black people in America.<ref name=":4" /> This word has been reclaimed by Black Americans and is heavily used in rap music. [[Niggaz With Attitude]] embodies this notion by using it as the first word of their influential rap group name.<ref name=":4" />

==Freestyle and battle==
{{one source|section|date=January 2016}}
[[File:Oxxxymiron RAW Berlin asv2022-04 img03.jpg|thumb|Russian rapper [[Oxxxymiron]] is one of the most viewed battle rappers in the world.<ref>{{cite news |title=Is the world's biggest battle rapper now Oxxxymiron of Russia? |url=https://thesource.com/2018/02/11/is-the-worlds-biggest-battle-rapper-now-oxxxymiron-of-russia/ |work=[[The Source (magazine)|The Source]] |date=February 11, 2018}}</ref>]]
There are two kinds of [[freestyle rap]]: one is scripted (recitation), but having no particular overriding subject matter, and has yet evolved since the late 2000s to become the most commonly referred to style when the term "freestyle" is being used. Its primary focus has morphed from making up a rap on the spot, to being able to recite memorized or "written" lyrics over an "undisclosed" beat, not revealed until the performance actually begins. A variation is when a DJ or host will use multiple beats and will rotate them dynamically; it is the freestyler's job to keep their flow and not appear to trip up when the beat switches. Alternatively, keeping the rhythm or flow going can be substituted by "switching styles". This involves the rapper doing a variation of changing one's voice or tone, and/or the rhythm or flow, and potentially much more. However, this must be done smoothly, else any notoriety or respect gained can very quickly be lost all together. Some rappers have multiple characters, egos, or styles in their repertoire.

The second, more difficult and respected style, has adapted the terms "off the dome", or "off (the) top" in addition to relatively less common older references like "spitting", "on the spot" and "unscripted". Often times these terms are followed by "freestyle" e.g. Killer "Off top Freestyle" by (Artist X)! This type of rapping requires the artist to both spit their lyrics over undisclosed and possibly rotating beats, but additionally primarily completely improvise the session's rapped lyrics. Many "off top" rappers inadvertently reuse old lines, or even "cheat" by preparing segments or entire verses in advance. Therefore, "off the dome" freestyles with proven spontaneity are valued above generic, always usable, or rehearsed lines or "bars".<ref>Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme (2000)</ref> Rappers will often reference places or objects in their immediate setting, or specific (usually demeaning) characteristics of opponents, to prove their authenticity and originality.

[[Battle rap]]ping, which can be freestyled, is the competition between two or more rappers in front of an audience. The tradition of insulting one's friends or acquaintances in rhyme goes back to [[the dozens]], and was employed famously by [[Muhammad Ali]] in his boxing matches. The winner of a battle is decided by the crowd and/or preselected judges. According to Kool Moe Dee, a successful battle rap focuses on an opponent's weaknesses, rather than one's own strengths. Television shows such as [[MTV]]'s ''DFX'' and [[Black Entertainment Television|BET]]'s ''[[106 and Park]]'' host weekly freestyle battles live on the air. Battle rapping gained widespread public recognition outside of the African-American community with rapper Eminem's movie ''[[8 Mile (film)|8 Mile]]''.

The strongest battle rappers will generally perform their rap fully freestyled. This is the most effective form in a battle as the rapper can comment on the other person, whether it be what they look like, how they talk, or what they wear. It also allows the rapper to reverse a line used to "diss" him or her if they are the second rapper to battle. This is known as a "flip". [[Jin The Emcee|MC Jin]] was considered "World Champion" battle rapper in the mid-2000s.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}}

==Derivatives and influence==
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2016}}
Throughout hip hop's history, new musical styles and genres have developed that contain rapping. Entire genres, such as [[rap rock]] and its derivatives [[rapcore]] and [[rap metal]] ([[rock music|rock]]/[[metal music|metal]]/[[punk music|punk]] with rapped vocals), or [[hip house]] have resulted from the fusion of rap and other styles. Many popular music genres with a focus on percussion have contained rapping at some point; be it [[disco]] ([[DJ Hollywood]]), jazz ([[Gang Starr]]), [[New wave music|new wave]] ([[Blondie (band)|Blondie]]), funk ([[Fatback Band]]), [[contemporary R&B]] ([[Mary J. Blige]]), [[reggaeton]] ([[Daddy Yankee]]), or even Japanese dance music ([[Soul'd Out]]). [[UK garage]] music has begun to focus increasingly on rappers in a new subgenre called [[Grime (music)|grime]] which emerged in London in the early 2000s and was pioneered and popularized by the MC [[Dizzee Rascal]]. Increased popularity with the music has shown more UK rappers going to America as well as tour there, such as [[Sway DaSafo]] possibly signing with [[Akon]]'s label [[Konvict]]. [[Hyphy]] is the latest of these spin-offs. It is typified by slowed-down atonal vocals with instrumentals that borrow heavily from the hip-hop scene and lyrics centered on illegal street racing and car culture. Another Oakland, California group, Beltaine's Fire, has recently gained attention for their [[Celtic fusion]] sound which blends hip-hop beats with Celtic melodies. Unlike the majority of hip-hop artists, all their music is performed live without samples, synths, or drum machines, drawing comparisons to The Roots and [[Rage Against the Machine]].

[[Bhangra (music)|Bhangra]], a widely popular style of music from [[Punjab, India]] has been mixed numerous times with reggae and hip-hop music. The most popular song in this genre in the United States was "[[Mundian To Bach Ke|Mundian to Bach Ke" or "Beware the Boys]]" by [[Panjabi MC]] and Jay-Z. Although "Mundian To Bach Ke" had been released previously, the mixing with Jay-Z popularized the genre further.

==See also==
{{Portal|United States}}
* [[Amoebaean singing]]
* [[Flyting]], contests consisting of the exchange of insults, often in poetry
* [[Patter song]]
* [[The Rapper]]—1970 song addressed to women, warning them about men, rappers, who seduce them with lies, "rapping"
* [[Rap squat]]
* [[Sprechgesang]]

==Notes==
<references>
<ref name=":0">{{cite book |title=Rap Music and Street Consciousness |last=Lynette Keyes |first=Cheryl |publisher=University of Illinois Press |year=2004 |pages=1}}</ref>

<ref name=":1">Howard Johnson & [[Jim Pines]] (1982). ''Reggae – Deep Roots Music'', Proteus Books.</ref>

<ref name=":2">{{cite book |title=Hip Hop Africa: New African Music in a Globalizing World |last=Charry |first=Eric |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-253-00575-5 |pages=79–80}}</ref>

<ref name="Charlie Ahearn 2002">Jim Fricke and Charlie Ahearn, ''Yes Yes Y'all: The Experience Music Project Oral History Of Hip-hop's First Decade'' (New York: Da Capo, 2002), 128.</ref>

<ref name="digitopia">Sobol, John. (2002). ''Digitopia Blues''. Banff Centre Press. {{ISBN|978-0-920159-89-7}}</ref>

<ref name="ny-ali">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/09/opinion/muhammad-ali-the-political-poet.html |title=Muhammad Ali, the Political Poet |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 9, 2016 |access-date=February 20, 2017 |archive-date=October 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026123948/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/09/opinion/muhammad-ali-the-political-poet.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="r0">The earlier meaning being "a usage well established among African-Americans by the 1960s.", according to ''[[The American Heritage Dictionary]]'', 4th Edition.</ref>

<ref name="thafoundation.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.thafoundation.com/coke.htm |title=Coke La Rock September |publisher=Thafoundation.com |access-date=January 27, 2014 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308042022/http://www.thafoundation.com/coke.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="tony">Jay Ruttenberg, [http://www.timeout.com/newyork/music/the-roots-of-hip-hop-from-church-to-gangsta "The Roots of Hip Hop: From Church to Gangsta"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709011058/http://www.timeout.com/newyork/music/the-roots-of-hip-hop-from-church-to-gangsta |date=July 9, 2017 }}, ''Time Out New York'', December 22, 2008.</ref>
</references>

==References==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|last=Edwards |first=Paul |others=Foreword by [[Kool G Rap]] |date=December 2009| title = How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC| page = [https://archive.org/details/howtorapartscien0000edwa/page/340 340]| publisher = Chicago Review Press| isbn  = 978-1-55652-816-3 |title-link=How to Rap }}
*{{cite book| author = Kool Moe Dee|date=November 2003| title = There's A God On The Mic: The True 50 Greatest MCs| page = [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781560255338/page/224 224]| publisher = Thunder's Mouth Press| isbn= 978-1-56025-533-8| author-link = Kool Moe Dee |display-authors=etal|title-link=There's A God On The Mic}}
*{{cite book|author=stic.man | year=2005 | title=The Art Of Emceeing | publisher = Boss Up Inc. }}
*{{cite book|last=Krims|first=Adam | year=2001 | title=Rap Music And The Poetics Of Identity | publisher = Cambridge University Press }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{commons category|Rap}}
{{wiktionary}}
*{{cite book| author = Alan Light| date = October 1999| title = The Vibe History of Hip Hop| page = [https://archive.org/details/vibehistoryofhip00ligh/page/432 432]| publisher = Three Rivers Press| isbn = 978-0-609-80503-9| display-authors = etal| url = https://archive.org/details/vibehistoryofhip00ligh/page/432}}
*{{cite book| author = Jeff Chang| author2 = D.J. Kool Herc| date = December 2005| title = Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation| page = [https://archive.org/details/cantstopwontstop00chang/page/560 560]| publisher = Picador| isbn = 978-0-312-42579-1| title-link = Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation| author2-link = D.J. Kool Herc| author-link = Jeff Chang (journalist)}}
*{{cite book | author = Sacha Jenkins | date = December 1999 | title = Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists | page = [https://archive.org/details/egotripsbookofra00jenk/page/352 352] | publisher = St. Martin's Griffin | isbn = 978-0-312-24298-5 | display-authors = etal | url = https://archive.org/details/egotripsbookofra00jenk/page/352 }}

{{hiphop}}

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[[Category:Rapping| ]]
[[Category:Vocal skills]]
[[Category:African-American culture]]