Hip hop music

Hip hop music is a style of popular music. It is composed of two main components: rapping (MC'ing) and DJing (mixing and scratching); along with breakdancing and graffiti (tagging), these are the four elements of hip hop, a cultural movement which began among African Americans and Puerto Ricans in New York City in the early 1970s. The terms rap and rap music are often used to describe hip hop music; the terms rap music and hip hop music are generally synonymous, although rap music is usually not used to describe hip hop songs without vocals.

Samples

• of Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five's "The Message", the first major hip hop message song.
• of Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force's "Planet Rock", a major single, using electronic beats and old school rhyme schemes.
• of Beastie Boys' "Rhymin’ and Stealin’" from Licensed to Ill, one of the first successful albums by a white hip-hop group.
• of Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" from It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, one of the first groups to bring political hip hop to the mainstream.
• of Eric B. & Rakim's "Follow the Leader" from Follow the Leader, sometimes considered the peak of the golden age of old school hip hop.
• of Method Man's "Sub Crazy" from Tical; the first solo album by a member of the popular Wu Tang Clan.
• of GZA's "Shadowboxing" from Liquid Swords, a seminal hardcore East Coast hip hop album.
• of Busta Rhymes with Rampage's "Abandon Ship" from The Coming, the debut album by Busta, whose distinctive vocal style made him a success.
• of Jay-Z's "Streets Is Watching" from In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, which established Jay-Z as one of the most respected rappers of the late 90s.
• of The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Niggas Bleed" from Life After Death, released posthumously, the album sold 5 million copies in the United States alone.
• of OutKast's "Spottieottiedopaliscious" from Aquemini, a critically-acclaimed Southern hip hop album.
• of Mos Def's "Mathematics" from Black on Both Sides, one of the most influential late 90s alternative hip hop releases.
• of DMX's "Dogs for Life" from 1999's Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, an album that helped re-establish hardcore East Coast hip hop.
• of Eminem's "Kill You" from The Marshall Mathers LP, an extremely controversial and successful album.