Hip-hop

What Is Hip-Hop?

Hip-hop, also called rap music or just rap, is a kind of popular music. It started in the early 1970s in New York City, along with an associated subculture. People make hip-hop with rapping, DJs, and dancing.

Hip-hop has many parts. Some musicians use turntablism, scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks. Rapping is the part that people notice most.

Where It Began

Hip-hop grew out of block parties in the Bronx. People from Afro-Caribbean and Latino communities came together to make music. DJs stretched the quiet parts of songs because the crowds loved them. This gave break dancers and rappers a place to perform. Many of the songs they used were disco songs.

In 1979, The Sugarhill Gang recorded Rapper's Delight. The song became a hit, and hip-hop spread across the country.

Hip-Hop Grows

From the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, hip-hop's "golden age" began. Critics liked the music, and many records sold well. Run-DMC made the album Raising Hell, which was the first hip-hop album to earn a platinum award. Artists like Public Enemy and Queen Latifah also became well known.

Later, artists like Eminem and Lil Wayne became famous too.

Hip-Hop Around the World

Hip-hop spread from the Bronx to many countries, and people made it their own. In Brazilian hip-hop, the music talks about life in many neighborhoods. Nigerian hip-hop mixes in local languages and traditional beats.

In the 2010s, hip-hop became very popular in Canada. In the city of Toronto, a new style called the Toronto sound grew. The rapper Drake became very successful there.

In 2017, hip-hop became the best-selling kind of popular music in the United States.