Rap is something a vast majority of us are familiar with it. Love it or hate it, it’s been a staple in pop culture for years. But what makes it so special? When did rap become a mainstream genre, and why is there so much controversy around it? To first answer these questions, we have to know what rap itself is. Rap is an acronym for rhythm and poetry, meaning that each rap song has a certain rhythm to it, that fits the poem, or lyrics, of the song. When rappers say their lyrics, it’s called “spitting”, and the lyrics are sometimes called “bars”. Most rappers use the rhythm, or beat, as a foundation for the song’s flow (how the lyrics are spit to the rhythm) and lyrics. However, this isn’t always the case. One example of this is freestyle rap, where the rappers make their own lyrics and flow on the spot. Sometimes there is a predetermined beat, sometimes there is no beat, known as accapella.
The two most common types of freestyle rap are battle and cypher. Battle is when two rappers go head to head and come up with the most clever rhymes, with the intent to insult the other rapper. There are many opportunities for rappers to prove themselves within competitive battling. Eminem, for example, proved himself in the rap Olympics, and caught the attention of producer and rapper Dr. Dre. Dre saw Eminem in 1997 rap Olympics, after which he was so impressed that he called his manager, Paul Rosenberg, and asked to set up a meeting with Eminem to sign him to his production label, Aftermath Records, in association with Interscope Records Inc. That’s when Em flew to California to meet Dr. Dre and they decided to team up and they brought out record breaking albums later with Em, with the help of Dr.Dre. The other type of freestyle, cypher, is when a rapper or group of rappers rap about any given topic or topics, and rhyme as much as they can.
While the lyrical aspect of rap is very important, there’s more to the genre than just that. Oftentimes, the rapper also makes, or produces their own beats, which is commonly referred to as emceeing. Technically speaking, many rappers are also emcees, as they pride themselves in creating their own music. Formally speaking, however, an emcee is someone who hosts an event or ceremony, which is true to some degree, as they often go on tour and host concerts.
We can trace rap at its base form back to thousands of years ago in Africa. The village storytellers would tell stories to the beat of the drum, however, the rhyme scheme, if any, isn’t specified. This was known as a “griot”. This tradition carried over to America when Africans were forced into slavery. In fact, the Africans used this as a coping method for the tremendous amount of pain and heartbreak of slavery. While they were working in the fields they would often sing using “call to answer”. One leader would call out a certain part of a song and the rest of the slaves would answer with the next line. This is still used at concerts for almost all genres of music, known as crowd participation.
Rap made its way into popularity in 1973, where DJ Kool Herc would host parties, and play a section of James Brown’s “Clap Your Hands” on loop. He soon realized that speaking was just as important as the beat. In order to keep up with the demands of the crowd he reached out to his good friend Coke La Rock to be the first dedicated rapper of these parties. During one of these parties, Coke La Rock spit his very first bar, ” There’s not a man that can’t be thrown, not a horse that can’t be rode, a bull that can’t be stopped, there’s not a disco that I, Coke La Rock can’t rock”. This one bar made Coke La Rock the very first rapper in Hip-Hop and created a new genre of music we know today as Rap music.
But why is rap so popular? One answer is it might be because of the clever and clear lyrics, the seemingly ease of delivery, and the lavish lifestyle portrayed, such as wealth, money, alcohol, drugs, and fame. Another answer is that listeners can relate to the more serious or psychological songs. Another reason is that most rappers talk about controversial topics in their songs. What started this trend of controversy in rap is the rap group NWA, who had songs portraying police brutality, violence against police, homophobia, gang warfare, and all around chaos. While they endured this controversy, they also thrived off of it for their popularity.
In fact, there are many rappers who are known for their profanity and controversy. Eminem, the rapper we discussed earlier, is notorious for his explicit lyrics. So much so that the secret service considered investigating him for his lyrics against former president George Bush. The late Tupac Shakur was also a figure of controversy for both his lyrics about police brutality and racism, as well his involvement in the infamous east coast west coast rivalry, which came to a climax in the mid to late 90’s with the shootings of him and east coast rapper Biggie Smalls.
While there are still remnants of this rivalry between some artists ands listeners, most of the likes were involved in the height of the feud, which was from 1994 to 1997. Focal points of the feud were East Coast-based rapper The Notorious B.I.G. (and his New York-based label, Bad Boy Records) and West Coast-based rapper Tupac Shakur (and his Los Angeles-based label, Death Row Records), who were both fatally shot following drive-by shootings by unknown assailants in 1997 and 1996, respectively. The fan bases, however, sometimes have an inherent disposition towards other fan bases. This was far more common in the past, but this rivalry is partially why rap is so popular.
However, rap isn’t necessarily popular with the media itself. The media often criticizes the controversial nature of the rapper’s lyrics. The media blames the violence of young kids and teens, such as the tragic school shooting at Columbine High School, on rap music, and portrays the rappers as bad people, which isn’t necessarily true. The media only focuses on the negative lyrics, which are often times in jest, instead of the message the rapper is trying to get across.
It is a common belief that the media created censorship to keep a lid on the lyrics of rap music with the intent to hurt rappers. While this isn’t the case, as censorship had already been around before rap was mainstream, it was most certainly taken advantage of by lawyers to prevent the debatable “corruption of the youth”. This was to prevent their ability to express their true feelings and force them to “walk on eggshells” ,which very few rappers cared about. However, this isn’t entirely the case, as this also to help mediate what young kids were taking in from rap, which was, and still is, very popular with the youth. This is most likely because they can relate to the struggles of their favorite rappers. On the contrary, this isn’t exactly in the rapper’s control, and it shouldn’t be their responsibility to “babysit”, so to speak, their younger audiences.
Now, let’s take a look at how older rapper have influenced modern ones. In the song “Rap God”, Eminem gave credit to Rakim, who leapt ahead of other rappers in terms of his syllables and rhyme schemes. He also credits Lakim Shabazz, who inspired the political aspect of Eminem’s lyrics, such as songs like “Mosh”, and “We as Americans”, as well as his internal rhyme schemes and phrasing were equally, if not bigger, of an influence. Another influence is Tupac, who inspired Em’s boldness and public image, as well as his rebellious, “against the media”, attitude. He also credits, by name, members of the rap group NWA. They are obvious inspirations of his, especially because he later linked up with Dr. Dre.
Rapper and R&B singer Drake, who started in the late 2000’s, credits Kanye West, Jay Z, and Lil Wayne as his biggest influences with his rap style, and his R&B side to Aaliyah, Usher, and The Weeknd. Drake is known for his egotistical lyrics, technical ability, and integration of personal backstory when dealing with relationships with women, which is seen in Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Jay Z’s lyrics as well.
However, rap isn’t entirely a sausage fest. While it is a predominantly male industry, there are also female rappers, such as Nicki Minaj, Iggy Azalea, and Missy Elliot. These are just some of the big names in rap as a whole. MC Lyte is a female rapper who first rose to fame in the late 1980’s, and the first female rapper to release a full album, with the critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock. Even today, she is considered one of hip hop’s pioneer feminists.
The genre of hip hop isn’t segregated by race, and this holds true for gender as well. Rappers of different race and gender often collaborate on songs together. For example, Nicki Minaj has done songs with Drake, Lil Wayne, and Eminem, all of which are male rappers. This also means that male and female rappers mention each other in their songs, in both a positive and negative light. Furthermore, they criticize each other on social media and in interviews, again, both in a positive and negative light.
Now, let’s go over the evolution of rap, and how it has changed over the years. As time has progressed, rappers have moved away from the “gangsta” aspects of rap, instead focusing on their individuality as artists. In J Cole’s 2013 hit “Power Trip,” the sole reference to drug usage was the line “love is a drug, like the strongest stuff ever” and Drake, whose album “Take Care” topped the Hip-Hop/Rap Charts in 2012, confessed in “Shot for Me” that he “never cheated, for the record.” Indeed, contrary to the themes of aggression and unlawful behavior that in the earlier days of hip-hop, many of today’s biggest artists have taken a gentler approach towards romance, seemingly disregarding the genre’s misogynistic reputation.
The aforementioned “gangsta” rap envelopes rap names such as NWA, Public Enemy, Ice Cube, Ice T, Trick Trick, and Snoop Dogg, among others. It is commonly considered to be a type of rap music featuring aggressive lyrics, often with reference to gang violence. Sometimes the lyrics were an accurate reflection of reality; other times, they were exaggerated comic book stories. Either way, it became the most commercially successful form of hip-hop in the late ’80s and early ’90s.