History of Rap Music
Rap is a rhythmic vocal style, usually accompanied by backing beats and looped samples from releases by other artists. Your mother hates it, 'cuz your dad secretly enjoys the videos.
Just The Facts
- For those of you who've been living in a cave or under a rock: Rap has been around for over three decades.
- "Ya can't spell *crap* without *rap*" isn't really funny, and doesn't make you seem clever at all.
- No, we don't have a minute to listen to your demo.
Back in the day....
The history of rap is long (and furiously debated upon), and makes for a shitload of reading. In the interest of...well, keeping your interest, we've condensed 30+ years of history into 10 quick minutes - complete with soundtrack! We hope you enjoy it!*
*If you don't enjoy it, we can't refund your ten minutes, sorry.
Suggested Listening
2Pac - All Eyez On Me, Me Against The World 3rd Bass - The Cactus Album Above The Law - Livin' Like Hustlers Beastie Boys - License To Ill, Paul's Boutique Big Daddy Kane - Long Live The Kane, It's A Big Daddy Thing Biz Markie - Goin' Off Black Sheep - A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded, By All Means Necessary Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill, Black Sunday Das EFX - Dead Serious De La Soul - Three Feet High And Rising, De La Soul Is Dead Digital Underground - Sex Packets The D.O.C. - No One Can Do It Better Doug E. Fresh - The World's Greatest Entertainer Dr. Dre - The Chronic Eazy-E - Eazy-Duz-It Eric B. and Rakim - Paid In Full, Follow The Leader, Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em EPMD - Strictly Business, Unfinished Business, Business As Usual Gang Starr - Step In The Arena, Daily Operation Genius/GZA - Liquid Swords Geto Boys - Grip It! On That Other Level Heavy D and the Boys - Livin' Large Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, Death Certificate, The Predator Ice T - Rhyme Pays, Power, O.G.Original Gangster Jay Z - Reasonable Doubt DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper Jungle Brothers - Straight Out The Jungle, Done By The Forces Of Nature Just-Ice - Cool And Deadly Kool G Rap and DJ Polo - Road To The Riches LL Cool J - Radio, Bigger and Deffer, Mama Said Knock You Out MC Shan - Down By Law Mos Def - Black On Both Sides Nas - Illmatic, It was Written Naughty By Nature - Naughty By Nature Nice & Smooth - Nice & Smooth The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die, Life After Death NWA - Straight Outta Compton Ol' Dirty Bastard - Return To The 36 Chambers Outkast - ATLiens Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Mecca and the Soul Brother The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush The Show, It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, Fear Of A Black Planet Redman - Whut? Thee Album Run DMC - Run DMC, Raising Hell Scarface - Mr. Scarface Is Back Schoolly D - Saturday Night! - The Album Slick Rick - The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle Special Ed - Youngest In Charge Spice 1 - Spice 1 Stetsasonic - On Fire Too Short - Born To Mack A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths Of Rhythm, The Low End Theory, Midnight Marauders Ultramagnetic MC's - Critical Beatdown Whodini - Escape Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Looking through most of the comments it seemed as if people either like rap or rock. What's so bad about liking both? They're really different genres but are each special in their own way. Why is it so hard to respect them both?
ReplyHey, quit judging my skin, judge my skills as a lyricist.
ReplyYou fearin' this, but know this: the day is nearin' just
Anticipate the day when the rhyme's judged on merit
Instead of the skin color some people inherit.
Yeah I wear it, but not from choice I'd change if I could.
I'd wear the white in the suburbs and the black in the 'hood.
Naw you probably should just sit back and if this is good
Then chill out and enjoy it cuz this flow's givin' you wood.
You're an idiot. Hope this helps.
No Outkast?
ReplyHe mentioned atliens as an album to listen to.
shuddup bitch! I ain't gonna scratch yo itch!
Replyme am no a white man, you ain't a black man!
all yo duh, is read cracked, yo ain't gonna be rapped!
whatevah doug!
ReplyYou ain't got no Yeezy, nigga?
good one
lol u guise
Reply Hide All See All 5 RepliesThere is a helluva lot of good rap even today, you're just not looking in the right places. The labels Suburban Noize, Strange Music, and Uncle Howie have revolutionary lyricists who sometimes rap about whatever they feel like, whether it be drugs/sex/money, how they feel, a strange tale, or what's going on around them.
That is, without a doubt, THE whitest thing I've ever heard. And to anybody questioning me, I'm Latino, so I get a free pass, you RACIST.
I'm not sure how Sickologist is being racist or "white". He made a good point
I don't think it's racist, but it's definately white as shit.
So, Latinos get free passes to racism now?
aesop rock and the gorillaz are pretty good too.
they forgot to mention that rap these days is really gay.
Replyin ended with the mother f****n NWA
Listen to Death Grips. Replace brain.
Rap is the reason we have reality shows like "I love NY 1 & 2" Flava of Love" "Real Chance at Love" "Shot at love" every f*****g retarded "reality" show on tv was created because douchebags listen to too much f****n rap and think they're show is awesome. Seriously, everyone who participated in the production/making/starring of in any show in that genre should be boiled to the point of near death then slowly nursed back to health so the nurse in charge can stick 27 needles filled with cyanide into their jugular.
Reply Hide All See All 4 RepliesI am aware that I am somewhat off topic but f**k you. I hate that s**t
Really? I thought reality shows started with Survivor.
beeyo, reality shows started with the real world...back when mtv had music
Oh yeah...Fuck those guys.
THOUGHT IT WAS COPS!!! GO CAPS-LOCK!!!
You left out the part about rap sucking
Reply Hide All See All 6 RepliesThat's because it doesn't.
It's more just Sturgeon's Law.
not to mention the fact that rap is just techno with someone rhyming stuff.
No, 97% of rap sucks because it's about money, drugs, violence, and/or sex. The poor bastards that have the thinker on their mind are actually really good when it comes to lyrics.
97% of *everything* sucks; get over it.
i_m_a_commie, rap and techno have totally different sounds, they have synthesizers and drum machiens in common, but thats it. What next, because Grindcore and Classic rock both use guitar/bass/drums/vocals they must be the same? Learn to differentiate between different musical sounds, buddy. Also, most rap does suck, but the political and more poetic/emotional rap is great.
depends. older rap is better than the s**t now
Blondie, a white chick, seriously didn't get enough respect in this article. She brought rap to the mainstream way before Run DMC.
Replylast.fm/user/disrealsht
ReplyYou forgot them. My musical taste is superior.
That chart is 100% right! Perfectly! Everyone in rap loses unless you sell out and talk about guns (50 etc.) or happen to be Eminem (and unsurprisingly most people aren't).
Reply Hide All See All 3 RepliesYes, beastie boys, aesop and eminem are the only credible White rappers.
But so many rappers are just s**t no matter the colour. Anyone a Gucci Mane fan here?
But WTF happened with the suggested listening- just get bored? It was starting to look like a good article.
Not bored, just other stuff to do. Feel free to drop some suggestions.
Atmosphere is a good white rapper, just sayin'
and ICP has a cult following. Just throwin that in there.
How can you say white rappers are bad when you have 2 awesome Beasie Boys albums in your Suggested Listening?
Reply Hide All See All 5 RepliesBeasties aside, most white rappers have been just....terrible
possibly because a lot of the white rappers are suburban, and pretending to be from the hood and black.
I can't stand it when people try to be someone they are not.
it doesn't even stop at the rappers, either- there's a well respected white DJ in rap and hip-hop, Tim Westwood. He's white and he's in his 50s and is british, but pretends to be a twenty-something black american. he also stresses every other word, making him super annoying.
to make it worse, he presents Pimp my Ride UK, which is like Pimp my Ride US only worse because of EU regulations.
I hate people who try to be someone else too. But I always think, the difference between a "fake rapper" and a real one is that people believe that the real one is actually from the hood (because he's black?).
Yeah pretty much above. There was never a mistake that the Beastie Boys were trying to act black, or act like they were from the hood (unless that "hood" was in Brooklyn, and acting "black" could be confused with acting so white it hurts.)
Essentially, unless you come as close to the same zip code as Em's wordplay and flow, and you want to "fit in" within mainstream hip-hop, you can probably just save yourself the embarrassment and stay home.
@ mcfreaki: everyone hates him! How can he not know he's a f*****g joke! He is the stereotype of wigga- and he can't even get the names of his rap idols right- his website misspells Wyclef and knowing him he probably made all their compliments up. He's embarrassing n always asks stupid questions in interviews.
Rant over. But I just hate a 50 year old upper class Welsh guy acting like he's street. His father practically made the modern BBC or something.
Sorry, rant REALLY over.
Outlast- Stankonia, Raekwon- Only Built for Cuban Linx..., Ghostface Killah- Ironman, Supreme Clientele,
ReplyBlack Moon- Enta da Stage, Scareface- The F.I.X., Wu-Tang Clan- Wu-Tang Forever
(Still missing some)
Yeah, I have to agree. The graphic was really funny, but then, nothing else to go with it! I felt ripped off.
ReplyDid you watch the video?
Toooooo shooorttt.
Replylistening to Ice T in public is like masturbating. In front of your grandma.
Reply*falls over laughing*
boats 'n' ho's!
ReplyIn terms of Ice T's rap career now I don't even appreciate his honorable mentions.
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