What is Rap?

The musical genre of rap or hip-hop music has quite an interesting backstory. The word 'rap' in the English language can mean 'to strike, especially with a swift, light blow'. Performing rap tunes or Rapping involves the performer instead of singing speaking in tandem with the music to give generally a quite passionate, aggressive sound [examples of this aggressive style include Eminem, NWA and Biggie Smalls]. The lyrics and style of these particular songs tend to vary quite a bit. For example, the East Coast rapping scene especially during the 1990's used jazz-style background rhythm and they're lyrics were quite hard-hitting and fast paced. The West-coast style of rap used a funk-style backdrop to accompany the music and the lyrics would tend to be a little bit more relaxed and slower. Another genre of rap music is the Gangsta rap scene. This is the most brutally honest and aggressive style of rap music. Focusing on the lyrics for a second, the performer is telling the listener stories about their lives in the gangster scene and also run-in's with policeman [or cops] as they're known in the US. Examples of performers in the three main rap [or hip-hop] genres include LL Cool J, Jay-Z and The Notorious B.I.G [or Biggie Smalls as he was also known] for the East Coast style. Famous West Coast rappers include Ice-T, Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur. Finally famous gangsta rap artists include Ice Cube, Public Enemy and NWA.