Editing Rapping (section)

{{Short description|Type of musical delivery involving rhythmic speech}}
{{redirect2|Rap|Rapper|5=other uses|6=Rap (disambiguation)}}
{{about|rapping as a technique or activity|more information on the music genre|Hip-hop}}
[[File:50 cent en concierto.jpg|thumb|American rapper [[50 Cent]] (Curtis Jackson) performing at [[Warfield Theatre]], San Francisco, June 3, 2010]]
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'''Rapping''' (also '''rhyming''', '''flowing''', '''spitting''',<ref>{{cite book|title=The Urban Ethnography Reader|last=Duneier, Kasinitz, Murphy|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0-19-974357-5}}</ref> '''[[Master of Ceremonies|emcee]]ing''',{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=xii}} or '''MCing'''{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=xii}}{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=81}}) is an [[artistic]] form of vocal delivery and [[Emotion|emotive]] expression that incorporates "[[rhyme]], [[rhythm]]ic speech, and [commonly] street [[vernacular]]".<ref name=":0" /> It is usually performed over a backing [[Beat (music)|beat]] or [[music]]al accompaniment.<ref name=":0" /> The components of rap include "content" (what is being said, e.g., [[lyrics]]), "flow" ([[rhythm]], [[rhyme]]), and "delivery" ([[cadence (music)|cadence]], [[Timbre|tone]]).{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=x}} Rap differs from [[spoken-word poetry]] in that it is usually performed off-time to musical accompaniment.<ref>{{cite book|title=From Def Jam to Super Rich|last=Golus|first=Carrie|publisher=Twenty First Century Books|year=2012|isbn=978-0-7613-8157-0|pages=22}}</ref> It also differs from [[singing]], which varies in [[Pitch (music)|pitch]] and does [[Non-lexical vocables in music|not always include words]]. Because they do not rely on pitch inflection, some rap artists may play with [[timbre]] or other vocal qualities. Rap is a primary ingredient of [[Hip-hop|hip-hop music]], and so commonly associated with the genre that it is sometimes called "rap music". 

Precursors to modern rap music include the West African [[griot]] tradition,<ref name=":2" /> certain vocal styles of [[blues]]<ref name="tony" /> and [[jazz]],<ref name="digitopia" /> an African-American insult game called [[Dozens (game)|playing the dozens]] (see [[Battle rap]] and [[Diss (music)|Diss]]),<ref name="usso.uk">{{cite web |last1=Smith |title=Not just Yo' Mama but Rap's Mama: The Dozens, African American Culture and the Origins of Battle Rap |url=https://usso.uk/2014/10/16/not-just-yo-mama-but-raps-mama-the-dozens-african-american-culture-and-the-origins-of-battle-rap/ |website=U.S. STUDIES ONLINE PGR & ECR NETWORK FOR THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR AMERICAN STUDIES |date=October 16, 2014 |publisher=British Association of American Studies |access-date=March 4, 2023 |archive-date=March 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304210752/https://usso.uk/2014/10/16/not-just-yo-mama-but-raps-mama-the-dozens-african-american-culture-and-the-origins-of-battle-rap/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and 1960s African-American poetry.<ref name="ny-ali" /> Stemming from the [[Hip-hop culture|hip-hop cultural movement]], [[Hip-hop|rap music]] originated in [[the Bronx]], [[New York City]], in the early 1970s and became part of popular music later that decade.<ref>{{cite book|title=Rhythm and Blues, Rap, and Hip-Hop (American Popular Music)|last=Hoffmann|first=Frank|publisher=Checkmark Books|year=2007|isbn=978-0-8160-7341-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/rhythmbluesraphi00fran/page/63 63]|url=https://archive.org/details/rhythmbluesraphi00fran/page/63}}</ref> Rapping developed from the announcements made over the microphone at parties by [[Disc jockey|DJs]] and [[Master of ceremonies|MCs]], evolving into more complex lyrical performances.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-23 |title=Rap {{!}} History, Artists, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/rap |access-date=2024-08-02 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=October 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004015431/https://www.britannica.com/art/rap |url-status=live }}</ref>

Rap is usually delivered over a [[Beat (music)|beat]], typically provided by a [[Disc jockey|DJ]], [[Turntablism|turntablist]], or [[Beatboxing|beatboxer]] when performing live. Much less commonly a rapper can decide to perform [[a cappella]], meaning without accompaniment of any sort. When a rap or [[hip-hop]] artist is creating a song, "track", or record, done primarily in a production studio, most frequently a [[Record producer|producer]] provides the beat(s) for the MC to [[Flow (rapping)|flow]] over. Stylistically, rap occupies a gray area between speech, prose, poetry, and [[singing]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kovacs |first1=Karl |title=From Grassroots to Comercialization<!--sic-->: Hip Hop and Rap Music in the USA |date=2014 |publisher=Anchor Academic Publishing |isbn=9783954892518 |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M2WQAwAAQBAJ&q=rapping%20can%20be%20characterized%20as%20something%20between%20speech,%20prose,%20poetry,%20and%20song |access-date=March 19, 2023 |archive-date=April 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414175744/https://books.google.com/books?id=M2WQAwAAQBAJ&q=rapping%20can%20be%20characterized%20as%20something%20between%20speech%2C%20prose%2C%20poetry%2C%20and%20song |url-status=live }}</ref> The word, which predates the musical form, originally meant "to lightly strike",<ref>{{cite web| url = http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=rap| title = Dictionary.com| access-date = February 2, 2008| archive-date = June 27, 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090627164654/http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=rap| url-status = live}}</ref> and is now used to describe quick speech or [[repartee]].<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary''</ref> The word has been used in the [[English language]] since the 16th century. In the 1960s the word became a slang term meaning "to converse" in [[African American English|African American vernacular]], and very soon after that came to denote the musical style.<ref>[[William Safire|Safire, William]] (1992), "On language; The rap on hip-hop", ''[[The New York Times Magazine]]''.</ref>

Rap music has played a significant role in expressing social and political issues, addressing topics such as racism, poverty, and political oppression.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MasterClass |date=Jun 17, 2021 |title=Hip-Hop Music Guide: History of Hip-Hop and Notable Artists |url=https://www.masterclass.com/articles/hip-hop-guide |access-date=Jun 17, 2021 |website=MasterClass}}</ref> By the 21st century, rap had become a global phenomenon, influencing music, fashion, and culture worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Davis-Marks |first=Isis |title=Chronicling Hip-Hop's 45-Year Ascendance as a Musical, Cultural and Social Phenom |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/chronicling-decades-history-through-hip-hop-180978465/ |access-date=2024-08-02 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en |archive-date=August 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240802173804/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/chronicling-decades-history-through-hip-hop-180978465/ |url-status=live }}</ref>