When did rap begin? What is rap, the history of rap

Rap

The word “rap” comes from the English rap - knock, blow (a hint of the rhythm of rap). To rap also means to talk, to talk.

Later, erroneous backronym theories arose, according to which the word rap is supposedly an abbreviation. The transcripts were called “Rhythm and Poetry”, “Rhytmic African Poetry”, or “Radical American Poetry”, etc. However, rap in English is not written in capital letters, and has the same root words - rapping, rapper, etc. Mostly such erroneous theories exist in non-English speaking countries.

Rap in its modern form appeared in the 1970s among African Americans in the Bronx, where it was “exported” by visiting Jamaican DJs. In particular, DJ Kool Herc is called the founder of rap. Rap was initially done not for commercial purposes, but for pleasure, and at first it was done mainly by DJs. These were simple rhyming couplets addressed to the audience.

The spread of rap was greatly facilitated by black amateur radio, which played music that was fashionable among blacks, and quickly picked up the new style. The words “rap” and “rappers” became firmly established as a style thanks to The Sugarhill Gang’s track “Rapper’s Delight” (1979). One of the first people to be called a "rapper" was radio host Jack Gibson, nicknamed Jack the Rapper. He organized one of the first rap conventions.

Performing rhyming chants on the streets remains a tradition in black neighborhoods to this day. In addition, the so-called “battles” are verbal duels in which two rappers squabble while maintaining rhyme and rhythm. Battles can be not only swearing, it can be the presentation of rhymed text on a certain topic

The term "hip-hop" to describe the genre appeared in the 80s. Its introduction is attributed either to Afrika Bambata or to Grandmaster Flash. The hip-hop genre and culture reached its peak in popularity in the 1990s. “Hip-hop” also had a serious influence on R’n’B music.

Hip-hop music is quite diverse. It may be simple, but at the same time interesting and melodic. Its basis is the beat - the rhythm of the song. Usually there is an accent on every second beat (backbeat):

Clap (eng. clap) - a single sound similar to cotton.

Snare, snare (English snare) - the sound of the lead drum, clear and short.

Percussion (such as whistles and chains) can also be used for the backbeat.

Another important element is the kick drum (not to be confused with the bass). The range of musical instruments in hip-hop music is quite diverse. It can also consist of keyboard melodies, wind melodies, and numerous computer sounds (bass, effects).

Rap is one of the main elements of the hip hop music style; therefore, especially in everyday conversation, it is often used as a synonym for the concept “hip-hop”. However, rap as a recitative is used not only in hip-hop music, but also in other genres. Many drum and bass artists use rap. Quite often, especially due to its high popularity, rap is used in pop music, forming pop rap. In rock music, it is found in such genres as: rapcore, nu metal, alternative rock, alternative rap and some others, for example, new directions of hardcore music. Pop musicians and modern R-n-B performers also often use rap in their compositions.

The word "rap"

The word "rap" comes from the English " rap"- knock, blow (a hint of the rhythm of rap). " To rap" also means "to talk", "to talk".

Later, erroneous backronym theories arose, according to which the word rap is supposedly an abbreviation. Transcripts were called “Rhythm and Poetry”, “Rhythmic African Poetry”, or “Radical American Poetry”, etc. However, “ rap" in English it is not written in capital letters and has the same root words - “rapping”, “rapper”, and the like. Basically, such erroneous theories exist in non-English speaking countries.

Story

Rap in its modern form appeared in the 1970s among African Americans in the Bronx, where it was “exported” by visiting Jamaican DJs. In particular, DJ Kool Herc is called the founder of rap. They initially read rap not for commercial purposes, but for pleasure, and at first they did it mainly by DJs. These were simple rhyming couplets addressed to the audience.

The spread of rap was greatly facilitated by black amateur radio, which played music that was fashionable among blacks, and quickly picked up the new style. The words "rap" and "rappers" became firmly established as a style thanks to The Sugarhill Gang's track "Rapper's Delight" (1979). One of the first people to be called a "rapper" was radio host Jack Gibson, nicknamed "Jack the Rapper." He organized one of the first rap conventions.

Performing rhyming chants on the streets remains a tradition in black neighborhoods to this day. In addition, so-called “battles” were organized - verbal duels in which two rappers “quarreled”, maintaining rhyme and rhythm. Battles can be not only swearing, it can be the presentation of rhymed text on a certain topic.

The term "hip hop" emerged in the 1980s to describe the genre. Its introduction is credited either to Afrika Bambata or to Grandmaster Flash. The hip-hop genre and culture reached its peak in popularity in the 1990s. Also, “hip-hop” had a serious influence on R’n’B music.

Hip hop music

Hip-hop music is quite diverse. It may be simple, but at the same time interesting and melodic. Its basis is the beat - the rhythm of the song.

Usually there is an accent on every second beat (English backbeat): clap(English clap) - a single sound similar to cotton; snare, snare(English snare) - the sound of the lead drum, clear and short. Percussion (such as whistles and chains) can also be used for the backbeat. Also an important element is the bass drum (not to be confused with the bass) - English. kick drum

The range of musical instruments in hip-hop music is quite diverse. It can also consist of keyboard melodies, wind melodies and numerous computer sounds (bass, effects).

Long before the advent of modern rap, a song in a similar style appeared in the repertoire of the famous Italian singer and actor Adriano Celentano. Back in the early 1970s, Adriano came up with and created a musical number called "Prisencolinensinainciusol", in which he recited phrases written in a fictitious language that sounded like a mixture of English and Italian. And only ten years later this new musical style migrated to the USA. Celentano himself, at a concert in the USSR in 1987, stated that with this number he wanted to say about the lack of communication of some people.

In line with the global trend, over the past couple of years, hip-hop has become the most popular and rapidly growing genre in the country. From the first hesitant attempts to imitate overseas music, Russian rap today has come to its own unique sound and has captured the media space far beyond the boundaries of specialized resources. In our chronological selection, we recall the most important domestic recordings, as well as a couple of Russian-language tracks recorded by performers from neighboring countries and which had an equally important influence on the development of the genre..

Peak hour -« Rap»

Scary representatives of the rap scene still often reproach their colleagues for being too educated and neat in appearance. It is also considered healthy to treat culture as a curiosity with which you can play around. However, the fact is a fact: the first songs in the rap format were played by Samara intellectuals. The first Soviet album in the genre was recorded by local student discotheque disc jockey Alexander Astrov together with the group “Chas Rik”. The album received the simple name “Rap”. The form of the compositions from the record resembled the warm-up of clumsy pensioners, repeating the exercises of the perky overseas trainer Grandmaster Flash.

In subsequent years, the recitative will be heard more than once in the late Soviet space. The synthpop duo “Kar-Man” will turn to rap, even Konstantin Kinchev, then still open to everything new, will allow himself a couple of rap verses in “Alice’s” songs. But full-fledged Russian rap will be formed in the new country, after a big “revolution of the game” at the state level.

Bachelor party -« Sex without a break»

This year, millions of people over school age grabbed their heads when they heard the shameless lyrics of the most popular VK rapper today with the nickname Face. However, this is not the first time that hip-hop artists in Russia have turned to depraved themes. The first big commercial rap project, the group “Bachelor Party” built a significant part of their career on the theme of sex with pornographic details. By the way, they, like Face, sometimes had sensual and slightly naive slow moments. Based on these ballads, Dolphin later built his image as a deep lyricist. It’s still difficult to imagine Face as the new Dolphin, but he replaces the Bachelor Party quite successfully.

Bad Balance« Urban Longing»

Many of the independent groups of early Russian hip-hop considered it natural to make rhythmic American poetry (that’s what the word “rap” stands for) exclusively in English. The first person on the list also said that Russian is difficult for rap. However, realities still suggested what you can read about in Russian. Since, unlike the States, our rappers do not belong to an ethnic minority, one can, out of Soviet habit, associate oneself with a class minority. Thus, the lyrics of the Russified group Bad Balance acquired a common line - songs from the perspective of a young man disappearing on the streets. Additional charm was added by Mikhei’s melodiously chanting parts, which clearly appeared on the second Russian-language album of the group “Purely PRO”. The post-Soviet musician on average and Micah in particular were equally disposed to any foreign culture. Therefore, the mixture of two different styles with common roots on Russian soil gave a recognizable sound, first to Bad B, and then to the artist’s solo songs.

Philip Kirkorov -« honey»

Only the performer takes this song seriously as rap. On the air of the TV show “Success,” Kirkorov ended another squabble with Gnoiny with the words: “Yes, I’m actually the first Russian rapper!” Rap has become so important in show business that, hastily jumping on the hype train, they rush to call even a ditty rap.

Decl -« Pepsi, pager, MTV»

Despite the successful project “Bachelor Party”, it was Decl who was able to fully unleash the commercial potential of the genre. Teenage rap had reached everyone before (see Mr. Small), but only Decl, in a dynamic duet with the newly popular MTV, told the whole country what it was called - at the same time introducing a craze for baggy clothes and transforming slang. As a result, the fashion was instantly capitalized, and Pepsi launched its first major campaign with a rap jingle. The now ubiquitous advertising meme from Vitya AK happened only 17 years later.

Caste -« Much higher»

In contrast to the mainstream Decl, provincial cities grew up with their own rap stars, who still had no airwaves or start-up capital. According to Casta members, the group’s first tapes spread across the country virtually from hand to hand: Rostovites came to Moscow to perform at subcultural sessions and distributed their recordings to friends. The listener, hiding from pop music, fell in love with Casta for the homespun truth about the lives of honest boys from Russian yards. Inept copying of Western bands developed into an accidentally created own style. This was roughly what the group’s first big hit was about, which hit MTV after the end of the Decl occupation: “It’s empty there, and you, bro, are Russian.”

A few years later, the song of the group 25/17 “Be White” will be included in the register of extremist works, despite a similar message. The title turned out to be interpreted too literally, even though the track was about searching for one’s rap authenticity. The song and 25/17 were loved by the right, who just yesterday called rap feces (at the suggestion of the group “Metal Corrosion”). Bledny and Ant, dressed in fan fashion, did not distance themselves from this audience, and the competent authorities decided to take action without understanding the complex subcultural relations.

Krovostok -« Biography»

Perhaps “Krovostok” was not the first art performance in Russian rap, but it certainly turned out to be the most successful. Stories from the lives of unscrupulous gangsters, described in naturalistic detail and accompanied by minimalist music. First of all, these songs turned out to be popular not among listeners with a similar fate, but among Moscow bohemia, who perceived “Krovostok” as exquisite entertainment. From those times, there are videos on the Internet where the phlegmatic Shilo retells murder scenes in profanity in front of women in evening dresses. A little later, Krovostok was appreciated by network users, and “Biography,” which describes the life of a typical hero of their songs, became the most popular single with the maximum concentration of catchphrases and a rich plot.

There is an opinion that “Krovostok” marked the beginning of original abstract hip-hop. 2H Company later told their sci-fi satire in a similar form. A related project by SBHR actually used the same non-criminal storytelling to describe the subtle internal experiences of a completely non-criminal lyrical hero.

Smokey Mo feat. Asshai -« Anton»

More than ten years before Oksimiron’s notorious “Gorgorod,” another St. Petersburg rapper under the nickname Smokey Mo released a concept album that instantly became a classic of the genre. “Kara Te” did not have a strong plot, but the listener’s imagination inevitably connected the tracks into the overall picture. This was facilitated by a solid sound and intersecting lyrical images. The St. Petersburg noir was created in the “Kitchen Record” studio, founded by members of the KRec group. At that time, the great rap poet Assai was still part of the formation. He also helps Smokey on the most expressive track “Anton”, which tells about a patient of a rehabilitation center who fled to the inhospitable winter of St. Petersburg.

Somewhere among the fog of the Northern capital, the so-called St. Petersburg school appeared. However, no one managed to develop the sound of KRec and Smokey of those times.

Oxxxymiron -« I'm a hater»

Even before the main battle star appeared on the horizon in Russia (judging by the views of the last “duel”, also in the world), battle rap as a genre manifested itself more than once. First, former comrades Sheff and Legalize publicly exchanged aggressive disses. A little later, St1m’a and Drago, who specialized in battle rap, thundered from the pages of the Hip-Hop.ru forum. Like Miron, they adopted the aggressive style of the German scene, rhymed more technically than the average Russian MC and declared that all the local stars were no match for them.

For some reason, only Miron managed to adapt this approach wittily enough to begin to gather a truly impressive audience around him. The cheap amateur video for “Hater” evoked mixed feelings among rappers of the late 2000s: half-offense and admiration - they had never been insulted so creatively. Until now, a significant part of Oksimiron’s audience, which is enough to go to stadiums across the country, comes there not so much because of the musical component, but because of the very personality of the artist - a professional debater.

Timati -« #LET'S GOODBYE»

In the career of the rapper with the greatest recognition among the older generation, there were many bright moments that make sense to discuss. First - tearful pop within the framework of the “Star Factory”, then - the anthems of the well-fed youth of the 2000s, many will remember the powerful songs about “best friends”. However, what made Timati really big was his hashtag songs based on popular Internet memes.

A boring long cipher in response to Philip Kirkorov (not the last person in Russian rap, apparently) was based on a video from an Azerbaijani feast that was popular at that time. Despite the fact that the stylized clip is almost impossible to watch, the phrase from the viral video somehow immediately began to be attributed to Timati. The same story happened with “Why are you so impudent”, and “You have a beard, I’ll tell you yes” and “I’ll get a tattoo on this and that” and many, many other popular expressions, successfully capitalized by the most ambitious businessman in Russian rap.

Pharaoh- "Black Siemens"

After Decl left the big stage, the place of the teenage rap idol was empty for many years. It was 18-year-old Gleb Golubin, known as Pharaoh, who was destined to take over the ownerless classroom of schoolchildren. Thanks to the expanded access to current Western culture over the last decade, Gleb and his associates reproduced on Russian soil the newly emerging subsections of the genre - cloud rap and thrill - in record time. In the new style, rapper show-offs were combined with complaints about loneliness, and a heart-rending scream would break through the trap rattles every now and then.

Pharaoh’s first successful solo single “Black Siemens” told about the gray everyday life of a small drug dealer (most likely fictitious) and was long ridiculed by numerous haters for the strange dances in the video and strange sounds in the chorus. However, mass ridicule made Pharaoh one of the most talked about artists in the country, and around the person of this slender young man an impressive YoungRussia brigade was formed, consisting of dozens of rappers with an advanced sound. Now the association has broken up into small factions (some artists went over to the enterprising Oksimiron), but Pharaoh still does not give up his position even under the pressure of a fresh competitor, Face.

ATL-« Marabou»

The year 2015 became an important stage for Russian rap, after which the genre finally emerged from its façade image and found its way into the players of both casual listeners and thoughtful music lovers. At the same time, Oksimiron, who predicted in advance the revolution of the game, admittedly lost the fight for the title of best album of the year to two competitors at once - ATL and Scryptonite. Both, despite their impressive experience in the genre, seemed to have forgotten that they were doing rap and created monolithic and at the same time eclectic works. The first turned out to be a shamanic rave, the second thickly mixed South American blues with his own Kazakh style. Significant units have finally appeared on the Russian hip-hop scene, using the Western genre as inspiration, but creating their own inimitable sound.

MS Khovansky -« Dad in the building»

Before blogger Yuri Khovansky, a member of the St. Petersburg crowd around Versus Battle, dropped his debut video, rapper-comedians were already appearing on domestic YouTube. The Khleb group even released an album and gave concerts at very large venues. However, it was after “Bati” that the rap video turned into a permanent format among bloggers: almost every video maker of any importance considered it his duty to record at least a couple of rap videos. Through diss songs, bloggers began to sort things out among themselves, quiet streamers like Lizzka and Dani Kashin began to turn into stars, and their opponents, on the contrary, fell into oblivion after unsuccessful clips. Soon both advertisers and big show business fell in love with the format. So this year, MS Khovansky, in the company of Dmitry Malikov, managed to receive an order from the entire state forum of professional navigation “Projectoria”. The presentable German Gref and Anatoly Chubais appeared in the frame next to the famous swearer and libertine.

Mushrooms -« The ice is melting»

The most popular song of 2017 at the end of the year already seems like sounds from the distant past. Parodies of a viral clip that seem to have been made by everyone, from Ivan Urgant and Philip Kirkorov (him again!) to your colleague or neighbor. For a short time, “mushroom” parodies clogged all video streams on the Russian-language Internet. In addition, this was the first time that a full-fledged rap track became the undisputed leader of all charts in the country. People of all ages and all walks of life listened to “The Ice Is Melting” with greater or lesser pleasure.

Since then, the Ukrainian “Mushrooms” have not decided to release a single new song, announced the dissolution of the band and almost completely canceled a potentially unprofitable concert tour. “The Ice Is Melting” is a story about how, in record time, you can go from all-encompassing hype to almost complete oblivion. Rap is now the main music in the country. If you gape, you'll have already been washed away with pink wine.

LSP -« Body»

Along with the title in the world, rap also received the status of new rock. And where there is rock, there are dramatic early deaths. Tragedies have happened in the subculture before. Here you can remember Grundik from the cult team “Slaves of the Lamp” or the above-mentioned Micah. But never before has an artist been celebrated as pompously as Roma Englishman, beatmaker of the Belarusian project LSP. All the way, the premonition of death in the middle of a desperate party could be traced in the creativity of the Belarusian project. The apogee of ironic decadence was the duo’s final album, appropriately titled “Tragic City.”

The song “Body” stood out on the stage because of its absolutely decadent mood - the chorus “I’m just a body that dully hurts” sounds like a sincere confession of complete powerlessness in front of the huge world. Later it will become known that it was Roma the Englishman who came up with this chorus and the whole idea of ​​the song. The video released after the musician's death was filmed as a tribute to the author. The cynical nature of show business immediately made LSP one of the biggest bands in the genre. After a successful tour, the remaining member of the duo, Oleg LSP, in the company of new musicians, announced plans to gather the largest concert halls in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The popularity of LSP continues to grow.

Rhyming couplets

Among music lovers, there are many who are fans of rhythmic recitative called rap. How did this trend originate and who was the very first rapper in the world?

Rap appeared a little over 40 years ago. It arose in the early 1970s. in the southern areas of the American Bronx, that is, where African Americans lived, so it is no coincidence that the performance of rhyming chants remains the prerogative of blacks to this day. The founder of this trend is considered to be the Jamaican DJ Cool Herc (Clive Campbell). Cool in the late 1960s. moved to New York and became one of the first DJs in the Bronx.

From his homeland, the first rapper brought with him the so-called Jamaican tradition of “ignition”: he composed rhymes on the go and shouted them to a reggae backing track. Since people liked what he did, other DJs picked up this innovation, reading simple rhyming couplets of their own composition to the music, addressed to the audience. The new movement immediately acquired its name, but at that time it was called not rap, but Mcing.

Rap spread

The spread of rap was greatly facilitated by amateur black radio, which played music that was popular with African Americans at the time, and the new movement began to gain more and more fans. The name of the style and its performers - rap and rappers, respectively - became firmly established in the direction in 1979, when a single by The Sugarhill Gang called “Rapper’s Delight” appeared.

By the way, this particular composition is considered to be the very first rap, since it contained typical rhymes and fundamental themes of modern hip-hop: details of everyday life, sex, MC competitions, mockery, ostentatious vanity. Since the general American public first became aware of the existence of rap with the appearance of this group and their debut single, Jack Gibson, former radio host and now founder and lead singer of The Sugarhill Gang, was officially awarded the title of the world's very first rapper. Jack Gibson later became the organizer of one of the very first rap conventions.

21st century art

Very often, especially in colloquial speech, the term “hip-hop” is used as a synonym for rap style, but this is not entirely correct. Hip-hop is a musical form of which rap is one element, and in the not-so-distant 1980s. it really came to represent the entire genre. However, in the 21st century, rap has turned into a real art, which has many facets, and nowadays rhythmic recitative is widely used in other musical styles: drum and bass, alternative rock, modern rhythm and blues, nu metal, raggamuffin, pop-rap, it can be heard even in some types of hardcore music, so it would not be entirely correct to consider “rap” and “hip-hop” synonyms.

Dinosaurs movement

The “dinosaurs” of the movement, who made an invaluable contribution to the development of rap and hip-hop, are considered, first of all, to be Grandmaster Flash and Africa Bombata, incredibly popular performers of the 1980s. , however, now their work already belongs to the “old school”. Modern performers, for example, Eminem, Jay-Z, 50 Cent and others, read a completely different rap, which is very different from what it was at the very beginning; rap as a movement has already taken on a completely different, new life.

It remains to be said that rap came to Russia in the 1980s, when discos became popular in the USSR and the activities of DJs began to develop. Well, the very first rap album was recorded in Kuibyshev in 1984 by DJ Alexander Astrov.

0 In Russia there is a huge number of all kinds of subcultures, some of them are quite strange and repulsive, while others evoke positive emotions. Most youth movements appeared in the West, and most often they are associated with the USA, where Pindos are idle and " suffer"creative ideas. As you understand, if a person is on unemployment benefits, sooner or later he will wake up" creativity", and he will begin to create various creations, from films to music tracks. Blacks are generally quite creative people who do not like to work, but love dancing and singing, and the origin of many teenage movements is associated with them. Today we will talk about more one phenomenon that has captured the minds of our schoolchildren, as well as very mature people, is Rap, which means you can read a little lower. Add this resource site to your bookmarks so that you always have access to the necessary and educational information.
However, before I continue, I would like to point you to a couple of other news items on the topic of musical slang. For example, who are Ravers, what does I purple you mean, the meaning of the word Viguki, what does Mash Up mean, etc.
So let's continue Rappers, what does it mean?? This term was borrowed from English" rapping", further from the word " rap", which can be translated as " blow", "knock"", thus hinting at the recitative and rhythmic nature of rap.

Rap is one of the elements of hip-hop, as well as a distinctive feature of most hip-hop music. It is a form of rhyming lyrical songs performed rhythmically against a musical backdrop of sampling, "scratching" and DJ mixing. Initially, rap was called MCing and accompanied DJing.

Rappers- these are fans of the musical genre called rap. In their lyrics, rap artists complain about a difficult life, or sing about chicks, expensive cars, their incredible coolness and the attractiveness of a boy's life.

Origin

Music outside the US has taken the rap style and mixed it with completely different elements. For example, Japanese dance music often uses rap to complement or break up singing sections, with lyrics containing upbeat themes set to energetic rhythms and clean, warm synths. Rap became instantly popular in the United Kingdom, perhaps drawing on the greater popularity of dub and reggae music. In addition, MCs began to be used at their performances Jungle and UK Garage Moreover, as a response to Garage, dubbed Grime appeared, more focused on rap. Rap stars such as Dizzee Rascal and Wiley have included this style in their repertoire.

The importance of rhyme

Rhyme is also an integral part of freestyle battles. These competitions force two rappers to lyrically insult each other and bully each other with improvised lyrics. Ability to create clever rhymes to insult an opponent " from the top of the dome» ("off the top of the dome" - " dome", a slang word for head) is a critical skill for winning these competitions.

Different types of rhymes

The importance of different methods

Modulation

Prosody

Diction

Style, voice, tone, attitude and soul

Speed

Pun

Other methods

Meaning