Rap or 'Rhythmic American Poetry' is a form of rhythmic speech which is performed to music. The technique was first used by disc jockeys on black radio stations in the USA who recorded fast rhythmically spoken lyrics over an existing backing track. Hits like Rapper's Delight recorded to Chic's 'Good Times' launched this new hard street style of music into the world.
Record companies started to take notice of this fresh sound which included break beats and scratching with snippets taken from cover songs. This created an uproar within the industry with the original songwriters and artists calling for restrictions on the use of their material, which was being used without payment of royalties.
The issues still remain unresolved although most reputable artists seek permission before releasing tracks containing riffs and vocals from other artists recordings.
Unlike other forms of music which are catagorised by the form and rhythm, rap music is identified by the inclusion of speech, the actual music behind it can be of any style. Examples include the collaborative effort on 'Walk This Way', Foo Fighters 'First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' and TPau's 'Heart & Soul', all of which are a fusion of singing and rapping.
Rap and Hip Hop are still popular today and continue to produce artists whose songs and attitudes question the status quo.
For all ya Rappers we have supplied information and Hip Hop news plus links to sites dedicated to rappers and hip hop lovers.
This section is still small but we will endeavour to find more good resources for you ;-)
Rap or 'Rhythmic American Poetry' is a form of rhythmic speech which is performed to music. The technique was first used by disc jockeys on black radio stations in the USA who recorded fast rhythmically spoken lyrics over an existing backing track. Hits like Rapper's Delight recorded to Chic's 'Good Times' launched this new hard street style of music into the world.
