Rap first became popular in the 1970s as a street art form among African American teenagers. The Sugarhill Gang's 1979 hit "Rapper's Delight" brought rap into the mainstream. In the 1990s, rap matured from simple old-school lyrics to louder new-school styles featuring more complex lyrics from artists like The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, and Tupac. Rap involves speaking or chanting rhyming lyrics, often set to a beat, and addresses topics like sex, violence, and politics through sophisticated poetic rhymes.

1. By Ola Odusote

2. History of Rap
Rapping first gained popularity in the U.S. in the 1970s as a kind of street art,
especially among African American teenagers. But it wasn’t until 1979, when the Sugar
hill Gang released their breakaway hit, ‘Rapper’s Delight, that record producers took
notice of this emerging musical genre. once they did, numerous rap acts, including
Run-DMC and N.W.A., surfaced, and rap’s audience began to swell.
By the 1990s, rap matured from an old-school-style – which was based on relatively
simple lyrics – to a new-school-style, which was louder and included more complex
lyrics. Artists such as The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg and Tupac ruled the charts
during this time, as did Eminem – one of the most popular white rappers of all time.
Rapping essentially involves the speaking or chanting of rhyming lyrics, often set to a
beat. The rhyming created by rappers is considered by many to be one of the most
sophisticated styles of poetry. What’s more, these rhymes often address provocative
subjects such as sex, violence and socio-political issues.

3. Codes and Conventions
Typical conventions of rap music include:
Casual clothing, nothing too characterised but more subtle and loose.
• Sections of direct contact with the camera (the artist usually spends a lot
of time looking straight into the camera as if to talk or have a conversation
with the audience)
Props regarding costume tend to be used, for e.g. Jewellery (male rap artists
are commonly known to wear heavy chains or prominent rings)
• Show a clear display of emotions – if the tone of the song is angry, the
artist is likely to present this through their gestures and facial expressions.
• Strong editing cuts between concept and narrative (if the aim of the video
is for the audience to try and distinguish between two different views)
• Today, a lot of rap artists have another artist featuring in their track (if a
male rapper, they may decide to employ a female singer to vocalise the
chorus

4. Sub-genre
• Alternative Rap styles
– British Rap
– French Rap
– Jazz-Rap
– Left-Field Hip-Hop
– Political Rap
– Turntablism
– Underground Rap
http://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/alternative-rap-ma0000012203

5. LEADING- ARTIST

6. RECORD-LABELS

7. Target audience
The target audience who are usually with the rap
genre range from 15-30 (Teens to young Adults). The
target audience for rap is usually at young age as
statistic's show that young people are easily
influenced by, Money, sex and drugs.
the socio economic category for the Rap genre is
around the C2 Section as it mainly appeals to people
(working class) who can relate to the rap artists, and
that can relate to there lyrics. This is a mainstream
reason of why people become rappers today, as
everyone has a story. The demographics which are
usually stereotyped with this genre is social class C2-
E, Race and ethnicity Black, And lifestyle; (Working
class).

8. ISSUES/REPRESENTATIONS
The culture of rap in the present day surrounds itself with
a theme of: Gangsters, sex and money. The negative lyrics
which took on these kind of themes influence people
who listen to this type of music. Moreover as
representations are being challenged throughout the
genre; successful rappers such as Iggy azalea. Nicki Minaj,
Eve. Women are still objectified as sexual figures. As they
shown in music videos behind the male rap artist which
show they are inferior and hardly wearing any clothes,
portraying them as sexual figures. These kind of
representations give a negative impression on the young
African congregation today.