Rap Music

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Contemporary Genres Project-Rap Music
Rap or hip-hop music is a style of music which is characterized by a repetitive beat pattern with a counterpoint of fast and boastful rhyming words smoothly delivered by a vocalist. Rap is one of the contemporary music genres which is underscored by highly rhyming words amid a set of beats in the background. Rap music was developed in the US between 1970 and 1980 whereby it instantly became a popular musical genre. The music genre hit a crescendo in between 1983 and 1985 in the era of the likes of LL Cool J. This period was christened New School Hip Hop. Immediately, after this period until the late 1990s the Golden age for this music graced the entertainment industry (Keyes 2). The music’s popularity is still growing. Rap music emerged in the US among the black Americans who were living in the urban area especially in the Bronx area of New York. The music emerged from the then-popular block parties in New York.
The Rap music industry is grace by highly talented musicians. DJ Khaled born on 26th November 1975 is one of the best. Khaled has worked with the likes of Kanye West, Rick Ross, and Meek Mill among others. Recently, he has released his album “Suffering from Success” (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=DJ+Khaled++songs). Second, Drake born on 24th October 1986 in Toronto had his breakthrough in Rap Music in 2009. However, he holds several Billboard records and has also won a GRAMMY award (https://www.

youtube.com/results?search_query=drake+songs). Last, Wiz Khalifa, born on 8th September 1987 is the reigning stoner king of hip-hop and also one of the best in the industry (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhQz-0QVmQ0&list=PL618195052EE4140E). In his career, Khalifa has collaborated with the likes of Rick Ross, E-40 and Jadakiss among others (Best Hip-Hop Artists 1).
Rap and classical music are two different music genres especially in the elements of sound and music characteristic. Most of the Rap music is computer generated while classical music relies heavily on traditional instruments like the guitar and drum sets. Rap mostly borrows from ancient African features. Rap music genre entirely excludes harmony and melody. Thus, the style of music differs from classical music massively (Batey 1). As indicated above, Rap music was heavily influenced by African culture and oral traditions in conjunction with urban American culture. Rap music departs from most of the contemporary music significantly. Other music genres like Blues and Jazz borrow from classical music while Rap does not.

Works Cited
Batey, Angus. “Hip-Hop Is Not Inferior To Classical Music.” The Guardian, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2007/jul/26/hiphop. Accessed 10 Aug 2018.
“Best Hip-Hop Artists.” Hotnewhiphop, 2018, https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/artists/. Accessed 10 Aug 2018.
Keyes, Cheryl Lynette. Rap music and street consciousness. Vol. 441. University of Illinois Press, 2004.