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Rap Music and the Four Elements of Hip-Hop
Breakout
Traditionally, hip-hop refers to the so-called “four elements” of African American urban culture that first emerged in New York in the 1970s, namely, rapping (MCing), scratching (DJing), break dancing, and graffiti art. It’s more accurate to refer to the musical genre as “hip-hop” instead of “rap” because some hip-hop artists:
- Rap, but don’t sing
- Sing, but don’t rap
- Rap and sing
- Incorporate DJing in their act
- Don’t have DJing in their act
and so forth.
In 1979, several rap records, especially “Rapper’s Delight,” became popular nationally, marking the breakout of hip-hop. Within a decade, hip-hop had swept the world.
Crest
Hip-hop, yet another genre created by African Americans, has not crested yet, and probably won’t for some years.
Hip-hop is only the latest in a string of African American popular music genres to have gone global.