Rap originated in the 1970s in the Bronx and Queens areas of New York. There is debate around whether Fatback's "King Tim III" or Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" was the first mainstream rap song, though "Rapper's Delight" achieved more commercial success. The Mercedes Ladies were the first all-female rap group. While rap and hip hop are often used interchangeably, rap is a subgenre of hip hop. Rap has evolved from a means of spreading social and political messages to more of an entertainment form. Many modern rappers have successful acting careers following their music careers.

1. Rap
Music Appreciation

2.  There are many types of popular music today, I am choosing to focus rap and the
evolution of rap. Rap was first recognized in the mid 1970's to 1980's. Rapping is
the rhyming and speaking of lyrics to a beat, many people look at rap as a form of
poetry that’s just portrayed in a different light.
http://www.plasticlittleraps.com/history-of-rap-music.html Rap is known for
coming from Queens New York, the Broncs and Compton. There is a lot of debate
on whether Sugarhill’s song “Rappers Delight” or Fatback’s “Kim Tim III
(Personality Jock)” was the first mainstream rap song to be released, after much
research Fatback’s song was released in the summer of 1979 while Sugarhill’s song
was not released until the winter of 1979 a few months later.
http://colemizestudios.com/first-rap-song/ While Sugarhill is typically given the
credit for releasing the first major rapping record it is most likely due to the fact
that “Rappers Delight” went on to reach 40 billboards charts in 1980.
http://colemizestudios.com/first-rap-song/ The Mercedes Ladies were the first
all-female rap group founded in 1976, and although they never had their own
record deal they helped pave the way for many female rap artists.
http://www.oldschoolhiphop.com/artists/emcees/mercedesladies.htm

4.  A lot of people mix up the terms Rap and Hip hop and use them
interchangeably, although they should not be used interchangeably because
they are not the same things. The main difference between rap and hip hop is
that rap is a subcategory of hip hop. When rap started it could influence
people and it could be used to spread awareness on political and social issues
going on in the world, while today rap is used more as an entertainment.
Many rap artists do not realize the impact they could have with their music so
they continue to produce music that will sell instead of music that could
change the way people think and do things. Today rap artist have many
different options after and during their rapping career, and that is the ability
to transition into an acting career. Some of the most well-known actors today
started out as rappers such as Will Smith, Mark Wahlberg, and Queen Latifah.
http://www.aux.tv/2014/01/rapper-actors/

8.  I think rap is used as an outlet for a lot of struggling youth in particular.
Whether they make up their own raps about the things going on in their life or
just relating to something that someone else wrote, music can really help a
person put a certain situation into perspective or help them get over an
obstacle in their life. I think how rap differs from other music is that it shows
the emotion that the artist is feeling when the write it and when they are
actually physically wrapping it, rap is raw and uncut and I think that with all
the other music genres we have it is important to have something so crude in
the mix. My favorite rapper of all time is Eminem because he is one of the
rappers that started with nothing and made a name for himself and got
himself where he wanted to be with very little help or support from others.
Being able to look at where Eminem started compared to where he ended up
is inspirational, especially for someone who may be trying to get through their
own life.