There are countless variations of flow, from the beat-hugging bounce of old school MCs to the rapid-fire precision of Busta Rhymes to the dynamic pacing of Missy Elliot. Each rapper’s flow is unique, but a rapper may change their flow from one song to another or even at different points of a single track. flowĪ rapper’s flow is the pacing, rhythm, cadence, and vocal qualities of their delivery of the lyrics along to the beat (or even without it).
Many artists have pushed the boundaries of the poetry at the heart of hip-hop, with rappers like MF Doom and André 3000 creating wildly complex rhymes and rhyme schemes. Rhymes are so strongly associated with hip-hop lyrics that the word rhyming can be synonymous with rapping. And the ideas and themes expressed through hip-hop lyricism are just as diverse. The range of lyricism within hip-hop is as varied as hip-hop itself, with lyrical styles ranging from raw to refined-sometimes even within the span of a single song. Part of what makes hip-hop so enduringly compelling is that it has something to say, and the primary vehicle for these messages is the words-the lyrics. One of hip-hop’s most famous early hits, “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang, mentions the beat almost immediately: “Now what you hear is not a test: I’m rappin’ to the beat.” lyric Combine beats with a vocal track, and you’ve got a rap. The beat is one of the most basic elements of hip-hop. The art of using turntables in this manner to make hip-hop music is sometimes called turntablism. What was so unique about Kool Herc’s beats? He wired up and used two record turntables and a technique he called the “Merry-Go-Round” to isolate the beats in tracks and spin them to create longer dance breaks.
The word rap has been used in its current musical sense (as both a verb and a noun) since the 1970s, but derives from an earlier sense of rap meaning “an impressive verbal display,” which originated in the Black community by at least the 1950s. More strictly speaking, rap is one part of hip-hop-but a central one. In casual use, the words rap and hip-hop are sometimes used interchangeably. Coke La Rock and Kurtis Blow are two of hip-hop’s earliest MCs. MCing is also known as rapping, and rapper has become mostly a synonym for MC. As time passed, the MC would become the person to lead the crowd. In early hip-hop, the DJ was the main focus, and the person who accompanied the beats with rhymes and lyrics was called the MC (or emcee), short for master of ceremonies. DJs Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa are also cited as pioneers of early hip-hop music and culture. Herc moved his parties to NYC clubs and perfected his technique of blending unique tracks. Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc (“the Father of Hip-Hop”) is credited with innovating the techniques of hip-hop music when he used turntables and mixers to curate beats from soul and funk records in 1973. However, DJing is known as one of the five main elements of hip-hop (along with MCing, graffiti, breakdancing, and knowledge).
The terms DJ and disc jockey predate hip-hop. (We know hip-hop heads will tell us which ones we missed!) Like hip-hop itself, the final word list is a tapestry that represents multiple eras, facets, and flavors. Of course, hip-hop transcends any attempt to neatly define it, and there were dozens of words that we weren’t able to include in the final 50. We also performed our own data analysis of decades of hip-hop lyrics to identify prominent terms and trends, including the first instances of slang and other words in lyrics. We looked at hip-hop through several lenses, considering essential elements, historical milestones, influences, and analyses and rankings of artists, albums, and songs. On the occasion of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, we set out to capture its trajectory from cultural mashup to source of global influence by highlighting the words essential to hip-hop-the words that have defined it and that have been defined by it. On August 11, 1973, Clive Campbell-aka DJ Kool Herc-and his sister Cindy organized a back-to-school party for mostly high-schoolers in the Bronx, bringing together the elements that would form the foundation of an art form, a culture, and a phenomenon: hip-hop.
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