Rap originated in Jamaica in the 1960s with the emergence of sound systems and DJs who used music to make dances more lively. DJs would comment on political and social issues through spoken word performances over music. This tradition spread to the US in the 1970s as Jamaican immigrants introduced sound systems to New York City. The first rap records emerged in 1978 and contained early rap songs. Hip hop emerged in the late 1960s in the black and Latin neighborhoods of New York City, which faced issues like poverty, violence, and lack of opportunities for youth. In 1973, the first hip hop organization called the Zulu Nation was formed to address these issues through artistic competitions instead of violence between gangs.

2. The origin of Rap retraces to Jamaica, more or less in the 60s when the Sound Systems appeared. It first appeared in the streets of the Jamaican ghettos to make balls more lively. These balls were also used for the rappers’ speeches, true masters of ceremony, who commented on subjects, such as violence in the Kingston’s slums, and the political situation of the Island, and other prosaic subjects such as sex and drugs. In the beginning of the 70s, many young Jamaicans were forced to emigrate to the U.S.A., due to an economic and social crisis on the island. And one, in particular, the Jamaican DJ Kool Herc, introduced the tradition of the Sound Systems and of I spoken songs in NY. That was improved with the invention of scratch, a disciple of Herc. The first Rap records appeared by 1978 and were registered in vinyl and were addressed to the big market (the previous copies were illegal ones). They contained the famous King Tim III from the Fatback band.

3. The origins of Rap go to Funk and Jazz, North American black music that present similar elements. Another rhythm to which Rap owes a lot is ”Toast”, that consists of turning on an instrumental version or a DUB’s version of some Reggae song, always to the rhythm of the beat. This tradition was brought to the United States by Jamaican immigrants, such as DJ Kool Herc. In the United States, the basis of Reggae was substituted by a Funk beat, through the use of two identical records, from which only the instrumental part of the music, the Break, was used. The first Rap writings date back to the beginning of the 70s, with some groups as the Last Poets and Gil Scott Heron. At this time, RAP was simply about reading a text loud to the rhythm of African drums beat. Nowadays, the MCs use other kinds of music beats, cleverly extracted by DJs, or electronically mixed, though you can also listen to instruments played by musicians.

4. National Rap: Fausto Fawcett; Racionais Mc's; Facção Central; Dexter; Z'África Brasil; Apocalipse 16; Demenos Crime; Detentos do Rap; Ao Cubo; GOG; Expressão Activa; MV Bill; Realidade Cruel; Face da Morte; Rappin Hood; Sabotage; SNJ; SP Funk; Xis; Consciência Humana; Conexão de Fé; Ressurreição; Comando C'leste; Sam the Kid; Boss AC; International Rap: 2Pac; Coolio; DMX; Dr. Dre; Eazy-E; Ice Cube; Killa Beez; NaS; Noutorius B.I.G.; Snoop Dogg; Wu Tang Clan; Public Enemy; A Tribe Called Quest; De La Soul; The Roots; Busta Rhymes; Cypress Hill; Eminem; Jay-Z; Naughty by Nature; Kanye West; Ludacris; Twista; Run DMC; 50 Cent;

5. Hip-Hop emerged in the end of the 60s, in the black and Latin suburbs of New York. These suburbs, true ghettos, faced all types of problems: poverty, violence, racism, drug dealing, lack of infrastructures, education, etc. The young ones saw the street as the only room for leisure, and they usually got into gangs (the ones who were members of a gang, or who knew them well, also knew their territories and rules), which usually confronted violently with other gangs fighting for the territorial domain.

6. On the 12 th of November of 1973 the first Hip Hop , Zulu Nation organization was created. Its headquarters were situated in the Bronx. Zulu Nation has the objective to end some problems faced by young people in the suburbs. They started to organize “non- violent battles” between gangs with a pacifying objective. The battles consisted of an artistic competition.

7. Today there are several groups that represent the Hip-Hop Culture, such as: -Movement Rooted; -MHHOB; -Zulu Nation Brazil; -House of Hip-Hop Culture; - Hip-Hop’s Association of Bauru; -H2P; -Cedeca; -Cufa; …

8. Work Developed By : Arsénio Serra, no. 2 Filipe Batista, no. 11 João Caixeiro, no. 15 João Costa, no. 17