Rap music as a musical form began among the youth of the south bronx, New York in the mid 1970's. Artists such as Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash were some of the early pioneers of this art form. Through thier performances at night clubs and promotion of the music, rap began to become ever more popular throughout the remaining years of the 1970's. The first commercial success of the rap song "Rappers Delight" by the Sugar Hill Gang in 1979 helped bring rap music into the national spotlight. The 1980’s saw the continued success of rap music with many artists such as Run DMC (who had the first rap album to go gold in 1984), L.L. Cool J and the Fat Boys. Today rap music still continues to be an important aspect of african-american music.When rap music first came about in america it was seen as a form of entertainment for youths in black inner city neighborhoods. Hanging out with friends and rapping or listening to others rap kept black youthsout of trouble in the dangerous neighborhoods in which they lived. So basically the dominant culture did not have a type of music that filled the needs of these black youths so they decided to create a new style of thier own. Rap music originaly emerged as a way f

Hip-hop culture and rapping emerged in the South Bronx in New York City during the 1970s as a reaction against gang violence that was plaguing inner-city youth. DJ Kool Herc started isolating drum beats in funk and soul records into what are called "breaks" and started leading partygoers in a call-and-response. Rapping emerged out of this tradition, as MCs started announcing upcoming parties over these breaks.

Hip hop and rap are not interchangeable terms. Rap is hip hop, but hip hop is not necessarily rap. Hip hop is the larger cultural umbrella under which rap lives. Rapping is just another element of hip hop, along with graffiti, break dancing and beat boxing. According to hip-hop artist KRS-One in his song "Hip Hop vs. Rap," "Rap is something you do, hip hop is something you live."

As a massive cultural movement, hip hop has spawned a variety of different breeds of music since its inception. Old-school hip hop included artists like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Kurtis Blow, Afrika Bambaataa and The Sugarhill Gang. In the 1990s, gangsta rap artists like N.W.A. and Ice-T rapped graphically about police brutality and urban violence, while political hip-hop groups like Public Enemy spoke about change. Other hip-hop/rap genres include crunk, G-funk, horrorcore and alternative hip hop