Rap Music

The origin of rap music came from 80's rappers like the Sugar Hill Gang and also artists like Salt-n-Pepa. Every era has it's specific own genre of music. In the 50's it was rock n roll, in the 60's it was the Mowtown sound. By the 70's it was folk music and disco, and of course 80's was rap. Rap developed from African people. Its origins can be traced to West Africa where tribesmen held "men of words". Later when slaves were brought to the New World, the inmates mixed American music with beats they remembered from Africa. Another origin of rap is a form of Jamaican folk stories called "toasts". Toasts are narrative poems that tell stories in rhyme. 

Rap and hip-hop have similar characteristics. Of course, hip-hop is more popular today, while rap music has progressed and changed overtime. Present day rap artists often like to re-mix original songs, tweak them a bit, and make them their own. And thanks to artists like Kid Rock and Eminem, African-Americans are not the only ones listening to rap anymore. Also, the female audience has grown steadily with the emergence of ladies behind the microphone like Salt-n-Pepa, Queen Latifah, and Li'l Kim. So we can thank African-American's for introducing this genre of music to our generation.

-Musical Marbella


Sources: http://www.allsands.com/music/bio/historyofrapm_xrw_gn.htm