Rap Music In American Culture

From the Sugar Hill Gang to Kendrick Lamar, rap music has been a massive part of American Culture since the 1970s. It has become a global phenomenon in music that has defined nearly two generations of popular culture. But where did this unique form of rhyming, most commonly over a driving, beat come from? Who/whom created this art style? Why is it so popular after nearly 40 years?

What exactly is rapping? According to dictonary.com “Rapping is spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics(“definition of rapping”). Rapping itself is a form of delivering poetry in time with a beat. Rapping is constructed into “bars” which is a grouping of four “beats”. Rap can be as simplistic as an “AABB” rhyme scheme, more commonly seen in the beginning of rap like in the song “Rapper 's Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang. As rap progressed through the years we see the addition of more advanced rhyming techniques like multi-syllable rhymes and even advanced storytelling like in Eminem’s “Lose yourself”. Where did rapping come from? Rapping can be easily traced back to East Africa from so called “Griots”. Griots were African bards that told oral stories in rhythm to a drum. During the Slave trade, enslaved Africans

In the 2006, not a single rap album was in the top 10, for the first time in five years. The meteoric rise of Pop and the overall decline of lyrical quality was heavily seen as factors for this decline. Many say Soulja Boy’s song “Crank That” was the single event that destroyed the reputation of rap music for the decade. The lack of Sampling was also seen as a factor, sampling had begun to decline during this era and sampling was widely seen as a major part of rap music. The decline of Rap did not last that long, by 2009 rap had changed yet again. This time it became a medium for political and social commentary and a new wave of rap became