My rap research

1. Rap
• Rap originally was seen as righteous street
poetry of the Watts Prophets and the Last Poets.
Rap is closely associated with Hip Hop and R&B.
Hip hop music takes its roots from Jamaican
reggae and dancehall music that was quite
popular in the late 1960s. It was mainly
originated in Jamaica and was later spread to
America and much later all over the world, but
rap music didn’t begin to take full shape until
Sugarhill Gang’s “Rappers Delight” was released
in 1979. After that rap spread to New York,
throughout the U.S then to countless countries.
Since 1979 new styles, flows and artists have
been introduced and they have played a massive
part in the rap game, rap has progressed to be
one of the most listened to genres of all time.
The music is popular with African Americans and
Latinos and there are more White people
becoming involved in Rap. The sound of Rap
music is mainly synthetic which comes out of
synthesizers, drum machines, turntables,
samplers and many more such machines.

2. Styles
• There are many different styles of rap including these…
• Grime - Grime is a genre of music that emerged in East
London in the early 2000s. It is primarily a development
of UK garage and jungle. Prominent artists include Kano,
Lethal Bizzle, Skepta, and Wiley
• Underground - Underground rap is an umbrella term for
rap music which is more niche. It is typically associated
with independent artists, signed to independent labels
or no label at all. Underground hip hop is often
characterized by socially conscious, positive, or anti-
commercial lyrics. An example of underground artists are
Flatbush Zombies
• Pop – Pop is most mainstream style of rap, it is a trendy
style of music marketed as rap music, sounds similar to R
and B. Normally includes singing as well as rapping.
Drake could be an example of this. This is what most
“plastic fans” listen to.

3. • Gangster – Gangster rap is a style of
rap featuring aggressive macho
lyrics, often with reference to gang
violence, an example of gangster
rap is NWA.
• Trap – The percussion samples of
choice when making trap music are
usually originate from the Roland
TR-808 Drum Machine. When
speaking of the “originators” in the
trap music game, southern rappers
like Waka Flocka Flame, Gucci
Mane, Young Jeezy come to mind.
• Alternative – Alternative rap is a
subgenre of hip hop music that
encompasses the wide range of
styles of hip hop that have not
become identified as mainstream.
Alternative rappers blur genres,
drawing equally from funk and
pop/rock, as well as jazz, soul,
reggae, and even folk. this includes
artists like Kendrick Lamar.

4. Artists
• There are so many great rappers, from rappers that had amazing careers
with loads of achievements to rappers that are at the peak of their career.
Below is a list of rappers which are my personal favourites and I think have
played a big part in rap history and made great music
• Tupac
• The Notorious B.I.G
• NWA
• Eminem
• Snoop Dogg
• Doctor Dre
• Wu-Tang Clan
• Jay Z
• 50 Cent

5. New Guns
• Since the life of Tupac (1971-1996) and Biggie (1972-1977) we’ve been
introduced to many different rappers and styles of rap, All great in their
own ways but sometimes hated on old school rap lovers. Here’s a list of
some different who are all unique and are at the peak of their career.
• J Cole
• Drake
• Stormzy
• Flatbush Zombies
• Joey Badass
• Asap Rocky
• Tyler, The Creator
• The Underachievers
• Kendrick Lamar

6. My Magazine
• I will use my knowledge of rap and the artists to help create my magazine,
I will have a main image which represents the genre with the style that I
choose, Knowledge of the language, the way the music's made and the
areas where its popular will also help me make my double page spread
and give me ideas for content to include. I will either base my magazine on
old school rap or new styles of rap. My questionnaire results have also
given me an idea of what my target audience prefer and would be
interested in reading about.