Hip Hop Genre research

Hip hop is a musical genre which developed alongside hip hop culture, defined by key stylistic elements such as rapping, DJing, sampling, scratching and beatboxing. Hip hop began in the Bronx in New York City in the 1970s, primarily among African Americans, Jamaican Americans and Latino Americans. The term rap is often used synonymously with hip hop, but hip hop denotes the practices of an entire subculture.Rapping, also referred to as MCing or emceeing, is a vocal style in which the artist speaks lyrically, in rhyme and verse, generally to an instrumental or synthesized beat. Beats, almost always in 4/4 time signature, can be created by looping portions of other songs, usually by a DJ, or sampled from portions of other songs by a producer. Modern beats incorporate synthesizers, drum machines, and live bands. Rappers may write, memorize, or improvise their lyrics and perform their works a cappella or to a beat.

The roots of hip hop are found in African-American music and ultimately African music. The griots of West Africa are a group of traveling singers and poets who are part of an oral tradition dating back hundreds of years. Their vocal style is similar to that of rappers. The African-American traditions of signifyin', the dozens, and jazz poetry are all descended from the griots. In addition, musical 'comedy' acts such as Rudy Ray Moore and Blowfly are considered by some to be the forefathers of rap.The first hip hop recording is widely regarded to be Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight", from 1979.

Much controversy surrounds this allegation because some point out that "King Tim III (Personality Jock)" by The Fatback Band was released a few weeks before "Rapper's Delight". There are various other claimants for the title of first hip hop record.By the 1980s, all the major elements and techniques of the hip hop genre were in place. Though not yet mainstream, hip hop had permeated outside of New York City; it could be found in cities as diverse as Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Dallas,Kansas City, San Antonio, Miami, Seattle, St. Louis, New Orleans, Houston, and Toronto.

Starting in 2005, sales of hip-hop music in the United States began to severely wane, leading Time magazine to question if mainstream hip-hop was "dying." Billboard Magazine found that, since 2000, rap sales dropped 44%,and declined to 10% of all music sales, which, while still a commanding figure when compared to other genres, is a significant drop from the 13% of all music sales where rap music regularly placed.