Hip hop music, also called hip-hop[2][3] or rap music,[3][4][5] is a music genre formed in the United States in the 1970s that consists of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted.[3] It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching, break dancing, and graf
fiti writing.[6][7][8] Other elements include sampling (or synthesis), and beatboxing. While often used to refer to rapping, "hip hop" more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture.[9][10] The term hip hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music,[3][11] though rapping is not a required component of hip hop music; the genre may also incorporate other elements of hip hop culture, including DJing, turntablism, and scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.[12][13]
Hip hop as music and culture formed during the 1970s when block parties became increasingly popular in New York City, particularly among African American youth residing in the Bronx.[14] At block parties DJs played percussive breaks of popular songs using two turntables to extend the breaks.[clarification needed] Hip hop's early evolution occurred as sampling technology and drum-machines became widely available and affordable. Rapping developed as a vocal style in which the artist speaks along with an instrumental or synthesized beat. Notable artists at this time include DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, Fab Five Freddy, Marley Marl, Afrika Bambaataa, Kool Moe Dee, Kurtis Blow, Doug E. Fresh, Whodini, Warp 9, the Fat Boys, and Spoonie Gee. The Sugarhill Gang's 1979 song "Rapper's Delight" is widely regarded to be the first hip hop record to gain widespread popularity in the mainstream.[15] The 1980s marked the diversification of hip hop as the genre developed more complex styles.[16] Prior to the 1980s, hip hop music was largely confined within the United States. However, during the 1980s, it began its spread and became a part of the music scene in dozens of countries. New school hip hop was the second wave of hip hop music, originating in 1983–84 with the early records of Run-D.M.C. The Golden age hip hop period was an innovative period between the mid-1980s and the early 1990s. Notable artists from this era include the Juice Crew, Public Enemy, Eric B. & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions and KRS-One, EPMD, Slick Rick, Beastie Boys, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Ultramagnetic MCs, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest.