   #copyright

Rapping

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Musical genres, styles,
eras and events

   Popular West Coast rapper Snoop Dogg performing for the US Navy.
   Enlarge
   Popular West Coast rapper Snoop Dogg performing for the US Navy.

   Rapping, the rhythmic delivery of rhymes, is one of the central
   elements of hip hop culture and music. It can be delivered over a beat
   or a cappella — without accompaniment. Stylistically, rap occupies a
   gray area between speech, poetry, prose, and song. Derived from
   African, and Jamaican, roots, rap has developed both inside and outside
   of hip hop since the early 1970s.

   Modern rappers deliver stylized, rhythmic raps with complex cadences,
   rhymes, and wordplay. Rap lyrics cover a variety of subjects, from
   social struggle to monetary boasts to sex. Rappers may showcase their
   skills by competing in freestyle battles in which they ridicule their
   opponents with improvised rhymes. Although rap has become an
   international phenomenon through hip hop culture and music, issues
   concerning racial, class, and sexual disputes remain among rappers and
   their listeners.

Semantics

   The definition of rap in the hip hop sense originates from its earlier
   meaning— "to discuss or debate informally"—a usage well established
   among African-Americans by the 1960s. The first people to rap in the
   hip hop style were the DJs of the 1970s, such as Hollywood and Kool
   Herc, who rapped shout-outs to their friends as they DJ'd behind the
   turntables. Although rapping in hip hop began with the DJs, most
   rappers today don't DJ; Coke La Rock, a member of Kool Herc's
   Herculoids, is often cited as the first example of such a rapper.

   With the popularization of hip hop, words like rap and chill took on
   new meanings outside of the African-American community. With the
   popularization of hip hop slang, several words have lost their original
   meanings in their usage outside of hip hop. For example, a fact often
   unrecognized outside of hip hop culture is that not all rappers are
   MCs. While the former includes anyone who raps, the latter requires
   that one performs for crowds.

   Even more recently the term 'MC' is becoming related with someone who
   performs in the style of British grime music and a rapper is someone
   who performs with an "American" style of rapping.

History

   Rapping in hip hop music can be traced back in many ways to its African
   roots. Centuries before the United States existed, the griots (folk
   poets) of West Africa were rhythmically delivering stories over drums
   and sparse instrumentation. Because of the time that has passed since
   the griots of old, the connections between rap and the African griots
   are widely recognized, but not clear–cut. However, such connections
   have been acknowledged by rappers, modern day "griots", spoken-word
   artists, mainstream news sources, and academics.

   Blues music, rooted in the work songs and spirituals of slavery, was
   created by Blacks (and some Whites) in the Mississippi Delta region of
   the United States around the time of the Emancipation Proclamation.
   According to several musical historians, the blues were being rapped as
   early as the 1920s. In fact, Grammy-winning blues musician/historian
   Elijah Wald has referred to hip hop as "the living blues." Music
   critics and historians have observed similarities between the delivery
   and lyrical content of blues and modern rap lyrics.
   The Memphis Jug Band, whose lyrical content and delivery was comparable
   to rapping.
   The Memphis Jug Band, whose lyrical content and delivery was comparable
   to rapping.

   Jazz, largely developed from the blues, originated around the beginning
   of the 20th century. Improvised jazz singing, called vocalese, is often
   compared by musicians and music critics to the freestyling of rappers
   within hip hop. Freestyling has also been said to derive from the art
   of improvising songs that often distinguishes jazz. Jazz has influenced
   hip hop greatly throughout its entire history; the scat singing of jazz
   could be heard in the seminal 1979 old school hip hop song " Rapper's
   Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang. To this day, jazz musicians such as
   Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock collaborate with rappers, creating a
   sound that blurs genre lines.

   During the mid-20th century, the musical culture of Jamaica was
   constantly influenced by the concurrent changes in American music. In
   the 1950s, the descendants of Jamaican slaves were mixing their
   traditional folk music styles of calypso, mento, and soca with the
   jazz, soul, and blues of America. This fusion led to the creation of
   ska and eventually reggae. As early as 1969, Deejays were toasting (an
   African tradition of "rapped out" tales of heroism) over dubbed
   Jamaican beats.

   The dubbed dancehall toasts of Jamaica, as well as the disco-rapping
   and jazz-based spoken word beat poetry of the United States set the
   template for the rapping in hip hop music. One of the first rappers in
   hip hop was also hip hop's first DJ— Kool Herc. Herc, a Jamaican
   immigrant, started delivering simple raps at his parties in the early
   1970s. As Herc would explain in a 1989 interview, "[t]he whole
   chemistry came from Jamaica. I was listening to American music in
   Jamaica, and my favorite artist was James Brown. When I came over here
   I just had to put it in the American style."

   By the end of the 1970s, hip hop had spread throughout New York, and
   was getting some radio play. Rappers were increasingly writing songs
   that fit pop music structures and featured continuous rhymes. Melle Mel
   (of The Furious Five) stands out as one of the earliest rap innovators.
   From the 1970s to the early 1980s, Melle Mel set the way for future
   rappers through his sociopolitical content as well as his creative
   wordplay.

   Hip hop lyricism saw its biggest change with the popularity of
   Run-DMC's Raising Hell in the mid-1980s. This album helped set the tone
   of toughness and lyrical prowess in hip hop; Run-DMC were almost
   yelling their aggressive lyrics. Run-DMC exerted an enormous influence
   on the greatly experimental golden age of hip hop, which would last
   until 1993. In golden age rap, internal rhyme schemes and varying
   cadences were commonplace. Rhyme styles continue to develop throughout
   the world to this day.

Writing

Rhyme styles

   Aside from 'flow' (the voice and tone of a particular MC), and rhythmic
   delivery, the only other central element of rapping is rhyme. In
   classical poetry, rhymes that span many syllables are often considered
   whimsical, but in hip hop the ability to construct raps with large sets
   of rhyming syllables is valued. Rap can contain any and all forms of
   rhyme found in classical poetry such as consonance, assonance, half
   rhyme, or internal rhyme. Rappers are known for their style of rhyming.
   Juelz Santana often avoids full rhymes in favour of assonance,
   consonance, half rhymes, and internal rhymes. Eminem, on the other
   hand, often focuses on complex and lengthy rhyme schemes.

   Rapper Big Punisher became well known for his use of assonance,
   consonance, internal rhyme and ability to twist words. A more recent
   example of this type of style would be record holding Twista (fastest
   delivery).

Literary devices

   Rappers use double entendres, alliteration, and all other forms of
   wordplay that are also found in classical poetry. Similes and metaphors
   are used extensively in rap lyrics; rappers such as Paul Wall have
   written entire songs wherein every line contains a simile or metaphor.

   Hip hop lyrics often make passing references to popular culture and
   other topics. Such allusions serve to illustrate or exaggerate a song's
   message. Some of these reference are overtly political, while others
   simply acknowledge, credit, or show dismay about towards aspect of the
   rapper's culture and life.

   Use of "metaphor" to refer to all imagery is widespread among rappers.
   Common acknowledges this, rapping:

          Hold the mic like a memory
          Niggas say I'm nice with metaphors but these are similes
          (Common, "1-9-9-9", Soundbombing 2)

   British rapper Sway is reknowned for his ability to use metaphors and
   similies to create puns enhancing the humour of his verses.

Word choice and slang

   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. Rap is famous,
   however, for having its own vocabulary— from international hip hop
   slang to local/regional slang. Some artists, like the Wu-Tang Clan,
   develop an entire lexicon among their clique. African American
   Vernacular 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 Bay Area ( Mac Dre,
   E-40), Atlanta ( OutKast, Lil Jon), and Kentucky ( Nappy Roots). The
   Nation of Gods and Earths, a religious/spiritual group spun off from
   the Nation of Islam, 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.

   Word choice has also been a large factor in distinguishing MCs. Whereas
   some rappers would simply say,

          I'm hot, who wanna get burned?
          I'll fire one in your knot, and watch your whole fuckin head
          turn ( Fat Joe, "John Blaze", Don Cartagena)

   Other rappers go for a more literal and less metaphorical approach to
   making a statement:

          Once they caught us off guard, the Mac-10 was in the grass and
          I ran like a cheetah with thoughts of an assassin ( Nas, "N.Y.
          State of Mind", Illmatic)

   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, where underground rapper 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.

Subject matter

   Hip hop music originated in New York City in the 1970s, and continues
   to focus largely on metropolitan centers in the East and West coasts of
   America. Many rappers use urbanity as the backdrop for their raps,
   focusing on the hardships of inner-city life. One element that has
   always existed in rapped rhymes, dating back to hip hop's inception, is
   "the struggle". This struggle was originally financial or personal in
   nature; getting a girlfriend, or paying the rent. With " The Message,"
   a concept rap written by Melle Mel and performed by Grandmaster Flash
   and the Furious Five, the idea of "the struggle" was put in another
   context: the shared hardships of the ghetto.

   The roots of these sociopolitical raps are in the beat poetry of The
   Last Poets and Gil Scott Heron. "The Message" pioneered the inclusion
   of political content in hip hop rhymes, expanding beyond basic personal
   issues and party raps. In the golden age of hip hop, Public Enemy
   emerged, with a focus on political and social issues. Modern East Coast
   hip hop artists such as Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Nas, and Dead Prez are
   known for their sociopolitical subject matter.

   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.. Several years later, he would go on to influence Ice
   T, who had more overtly "gangsta" lyrics. Gangsta rap, made popular
   largely because of N.W.A. and "proto-gangsta rapper" KRS-ONE,
   celebrates crime and a hedonistic "gangsta" lifestyle. With the death
   of his DJ, Scott La Rock, KRS–ONE went on to speak out against violence
   in hip hop. Several gangsta rappers also laud the use of drugs such as
   marijuana, which occupies a significant place in the subject matter of
   modern hip hop. West-coast rappers such as Snoop Dogg and Cypress Hill,
   for instance, helped popularize drug-related songs in the early 1990s.

   In contrast to the hedonistic approach of the gangsta rappers, some
   rappers have a spiritual or religious focus. Christian rap is currently
   the most commercially successful form of religious rap. Aside from
   Christianity, the Five Percent Nation, a gnostic religious/spiritual
   group, has been represented more than any religious group in popular
   hip hop. Hip-hop artists such as Rakim, the members of the Wu-Tang
   Clan, Brand Nubian, X Clan, Busta Rhymes, and Nas, have had success in
   spreading the theology of the Five Percenters.

   "Party rhymes," meant to pump up the crowd at a party, were nearly the
   exclusive focus of old school hip hop (with the exception of The
   Furious Five). Party raps 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. 2 Live
   Crew, a Miami bass group, were among the first hip hop act to be
   temporarily banned in the United States for the overtly sexual and
   profane content of their raps.

Performance

Flow

   Rap delivery, or flow, is defined by prosody, cadence, and speed.
   Cadence deals with the dynamics and patterns of the rhythm. In addition
   to rubato (changes in tempo for the purpose of expression), cadence can
   also serve to reinforce song structure through ritardando (the gradual
   slowing down of tempo). Old school rappers generally maintained a
   simple cadence, without much deviation, while golden age rappers such
   as Rakim experimented extensively with cadence. Present day popular
   rapper Snoop Dogg is considered to have a versatile cadence because of
   his ability to rap over disparate beats equally well.

   A rap's prosody, as in classical poetry, is the meter and the foot. The
   hardcore rapping style pioneered by Run-DMC and KRS-ONE is an inverse
   of iambic pentameter, in other words, trochaic pentameter. Iambic
   pentameter, which was Shakespeare's meter of choice, is known for its
   resemblance to natural, conversational speech. For this reason, rapping
   often sounds like talking "turned upside down."

   A common way MCs judge how to flow in a verse is by writing a rhyme so
   that the most stressed words coincide with the beat's percussion, in a
   way that makes one's rhyming sound more musical as opposed to spoken
   word and that better combines the MC's voice with the musical backdrop.
   Rakim, who many credit for changing the way most rappers flow on a
   song, experimented with not only following the percussion but also with
   complimenting the melody of the song using his own voice; making his
   flow sound more that of an instrument (a saxophone in particular).

   The ability to rap quickly and clearly is sometimes regarded as an
   important sign of skill. In certain hip hop subgenres such as chopped
   and screwed, slow-paced rapping is often considered optimal. The
   current record for fastest rapper is held by MC Ricky Brown, who rapped
   723 syllables in 51.27 seconds (14.1 syllables per second) on his track
   " No Clue" at B&G Studios on January 15, 2005.

   To successfully deliver a nicely flowing rap, a rapper must also
   develop vocal presence, enunciation, and 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 can't
   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." Popular rappers
   such as 50 Cent add a slight melody to their otherwise purely
   percussive raps. Some rappers, such as Cee-Lo, are able to harmonize
   their raps with the beat. The Midwestern group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony was
   one of the first groups to achieve nation-wide recognition for using
   the fast-paced, melodic and harmonic raps that are also practiced by Do
   or Die, another Midwestern group.

   Synchronization is common among rap groups. Synchronization refers to
   the organization of several rappers into one song either by overlapping
   or through call and response. Grandmaster Flash's MCs, the Furious
   Five, were the first to make five rappers sound as one through
   synchronization. Some rappers take the role of two different characters
   that are talking to each other in the song. Examples include "Warning"
   by Notorious BIG and " Stan" by Eminem.

Freestyle rapping

   There are two kinds of Freestyle rapping: one is scripted (recitation),
   but having no particular overriding subject matter, the second
   typically referred to as freestyling or spitting, is the improvisation
   of rapped lyrics. When freestyling, some rappers inadvertently reuse
   old lines, or even "cheat" by preparing segments or entire verses in
   advance. Therefore, freestyles with proven spontaneity are valued above
   generic, always usable lines. Rappers will often reference places,
   objects in their immediate setting, or specific (usually demeaning)
   characteristics of opponents, to prove their authenticity and
   originality.

Battle rapping

   Battle rapping, 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 portrayed famously by Mohammed 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
   opponents weaknesses, rather than one's own strengths. Television shows
   such as BET's 106 and Park and MTV's DFX host weekly freestyle battles
   live on the air. Battle rapping gained widespread public recognition
   outside of the African-American community with Eminem's movie, 8 Mile.
   Eminem, like many other rappers, also releases "diss tracks" on his
   albums, meant to insult his enemies. The strongest battle rappers will
   generally perform their rap fully freestyled (not pre-written). 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, or how they talk, or
   what they wear. It also allows the rapper to reverse a line used to
   'diss' him/her if they are the second rapper to battle.

Identity

   By the United States 2000 Census, three-fourths of the United States'
   population is white, while one-eighth is black. However, most rappers
   are black. Some believe this discrepancy is a good thing; popular
   rapper Kanye West has said: "I hate music where white people are trying
   to sound black. The white music I like [sounds] white".
   Image:Vanilla-ice-mugshot.jpg
   Vanilla Ice's record company supposedly encouraged him to lie about the
   origin of his upbringing and background.

   Unlike Kanye West, who came from a middle-class background, the
   majority of popular American rappers to date have come from a poor,
   often inner-city life. Vanilla Ice, a white pop rapper, went so far as
   to lie about his place of origin, claiming that he came from a poorer
   area than he did. According to Vanilla Ice, he was encouraged to lie by
   his record company, to increase their profits.

   The most notable exception to the skin colour trend in rappers is
   Eminem, who is of mainly Scottish descent. According to the Guinness
   Book of World Records 2005, Eminem is the highest selling rapper of all
   time, outselling the late Tupac Shakur, who has had several posthumous
   albums released. The Beastie Boys are another exception to the above
   patterns, and are notable for being a white, Jewish, middle-class rap
   group that was able to gain street credibility despite the race and
   class stigma involved. And a third exception is another white rap
   group, Insane Clown Posse. ICP, who are horrorcore/ hardcore hip hop
   musicians, co-founded a major record label, Psychopathic Records, and
   have worked with such artists as Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Three 6 Mafia,
   Mack 10, Vanilla Ice, 2 Live Crew, Tech N9ne, and Paul Wall.

   Despite so many rappers being black, fans of hip hop tend to be white,
   reflecting demographics. According to musicologist Arthur Kempton,
   "Today 70 percent of hip-hop is bought by white kids". The discrepancy
   is particularly pronounced in underground hip hop, where many
   concertgoers are white. According to political rapper Zion of Zion I,
   this is because "...so many Black people don't want to hear it. They
   want that thug shit." In addition to Zion, several other underground
   rappers, such as Boots Riley of The Coup, report nearly all-white
   audiences.

   Almost all popular rappers identify themselves as heterosexual.
   Homophobia is both prevalent and blatant throughout hip hop culture,
   although a small number of MCs have explored GLBT issues. There is an
   underground culture of gay hip hop, which was profiled in the 2005
   documentary film Pick Up the Mic, although to date only Queen Pen, an
   openly bisexual female MC, and Caushun, an openly gay male rapper, have
   had significant mainstream success. However some heterosexual rappers
   like Kanye West are continuing to fight against homophobia in hip hop.

   Though the majority of rappers are male, there have been a number of
   female rap stars, including Lil' Kim, Queen Latifah, and Eve.

Cultural reactions and effects

   Various politicians, journalists, and religious leaders, have accused
   rappers of fostering a culture of violence and hedonism among hip hop
   listeners through their lyrics.

   The late Tupac Shakur, in particular, garnered a large amount of
   criticism from politicians such as Dan Quayle, Bob Dole, C. Delores
   Tucker, and even from Pope John Paul II. Some rappers, who are still
   involved in crime stemming from their past, draw stereotypes of
   violence and gang affiliation to rap; others deplore the stereotypes
   and feel that members of the rap community (and black males in general)
   are unfairly profiled by authorities. Influential acts such as Ice T
   and N.W.A. have recorded songs relaying the sentiment of " fuck tha
   police," which even habitually non-violent MCs such as Common, André
   3000 and Talib Kweli have echoed.

   Following this image, hip-hop has a rebellious appeal. This led to the
   spawning of gangster-revolutionary artists like Public Enemy, dead prez
   and Boogie Down Productions, as well as attracting youth who feel out
   of sync with current American culture. As corporations have become more
   involved--much like rock music after the 1950's--rap has become the
   preferred vehicle for advertisement, and many use its nonconformist
   reputation to try to appeal to rebellious teenagers.

Derivatives and influence

   Throughout hip hop's history, new musical styles and genres have
   developed that contain rapping. Entire genres, such as rapcore ( rock/
   metal/ punk with rapped vocals) and hip house have resulted from the
   fusion of rap and other styles. All popular music genres with a focus
   on percussion have contained rapping at some point— be it disco ( DJ
   Hollywood), jazz ( Gangstarr), new wave ( Blondie), funk ( Fatback
   Band), contemporary R&B ( Mary J. Blige), reggaeton ( Daddy Yankee), or
   even Japanese dance music. UK garage music has begun to focus
   increasingly on rappers in a new subgenre called grime, pioneered and
   popularized by the MC, Dizzee Rascal.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapping"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
