The rapa musical genre that unites rhythm And wordshas deep roots, a rebellious soul and has crossed decades evolving into multiple forms and influencing global culture. Rap was born in 70s In the Bronxthe famous neighborhood of New York Cityas an integral part of the Hip-Hop culture. Over time, rap has evolved in numerous subgenreseach with distinctive characteristics. This continuous transformation shows that the raping It is not only a musical genre, but a dynamic language, capable of adapting to cultural and technological changes without losing its authenticity and global relevance. What was born in the African American community in response to difficult social conditions and cheap Now it is one of the most listened to by the new generations, at the top of the rankings around the world and which has contributed to the growth of an industry of billions of dollars.
What music is rap, as was born and who was the first rapper
To discover the origins of the rap music We have to take a time machine to return to the beginning of the 70s And walking on the streets of New York City. In those years the African American community present in Bronxa neighborhood of the Big Apple, found in music an instrument of protest and awareness. The term rap originates in colloquial English with the meaning of “hit” or “Beat quickly”. This use then evolved into Hip-Hop culture to describe the practice of Speak in rhymewith assonances, metaphors and rhetorical figures, above one musical base.
To fully understand the origins of rap, it is essential to analyze the birth of thehip hop. The central role in this evolution was played by DJ Kool Hercpseudonym of Clive Campbell. HERC used to organize the “festivals of the block”, the so -called Block Partyand during one of these evenings a revolutionary technique was invented: use two turntable To isolate and repeat i breakbeatbattery rhythms characterized by the use of a case that is not the rhythm of 4/4, of the songs funkor the most rhythmic and danceable instrumental sections. This expedient not only offered a continuous and engaging musical base for the dancers present in those events, known as B-Boys And B-Girlsbut also created the perfect soil for vocal improvisation. The public, inspired by these pressing rhythms, began to mark rhyme And sloganthus laying the foundations for what would later become rap.
These rhymes soon turned into real rhythmic performances, opening the way to the birth of the MCi Master of Ceremonies. These figures could perform on new sounds created by Disc jockey (DJ) of the time through innovative techniques that allowed to manipulate the records in real time, such as the cuttingThe backspin And it scratching,
The first recorded rap song is “Rapper’s Delight” (1979) from the Sugarhill Gang and among the first MCs to transform rap into a more structured and aware form there is Melle Melmember of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Fiveknown for the song “The Message” (1982). This song, with his deep and realistic texts on the hard life in urban ghettos, marked a turning point for rap, showing that it was not only an expression of celebration and entertainment, but also a powerful means of social denunciation and narration.
The eighties and nineties: the rise of the rap gangsta
While in New York the new hip-hop sound grew in the Block Party and mixed with street culture, on the west coast, a Los Angelesthe music scene was very different. In the early 1980s, the festivals of La were dominated by the techno and the funkhowever, the influence of the sounds of the East Coast began to be felt, pushing some artists and groups to merge these melodies with the lifestyle of the street gang.
Thus was born the rap gangstaa direct response to the difficult reality of the most marginalized neighborhoods, marked by poverty, violence and continuous tensions with the police. This genre soon becomes a powerful means of social complainttelling the daily life in the ghettos without filters. The real turning point comes with the NWAiconic group composed of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-e, Mc ren And DJ Yella. With the album Straight Outta Compton (1988), the NWAs offer a raw representation of life to Compon (county of Los Angeles, California), and songs like Fuck Tha Police They become symbols of the protest against the brutality of the police.
The texts are filled with dissingterm of aprostaNitense slang deriving from the word disrespecting (lack of respect), in which the various artists collide, insult and threaten to the sound of rhymes.
In 90sthe rap gangsta expands rapidly on the national scene and with the rise of new stars on the East Coast A strong rivalry is born with the West Coast. At the center of this competition there are two record labels: the Death Row Recordsled by Suge Knight, who dominates the western scene with artists of the caliber of Snoop Dogg And Tupac Shakurand the Bad Boy Recordsfounded by Puff Daddy, which represents the eastern coast with The Notorious Big The New York scene is characterized by sophisticated lyrics and rough beats, while on the western coast Tupac stands out for its ability to alternate songs of strong social denunciation with deeply introspective texts. This rivalry, initially only artistic, soon turns into a personal and media clash, culminating in the tragic deaths by Tupac in 1996 and Biggie Smalls in 1997.
Despite these dramatic events, the rap gangsta has left a indelible sign In pop music and culture, bringing to the attention of the world social issues until then ignored and deeply influencing the evolution of hip-hop and contemporary society.
How rap is today
With the new millennium, rap has become a dominant genre in the popular musiccontaminating with pop, R&B and electronic music. Artists like Eminem, 50 cents And Jay-Z They marked the global ascent. In addition to sounds, over time, themes and accessibility to music in the world have also changed. The texts now range between topics such as the social complainttheself -celebrationThe luxury and the inner battlesreflecting the evolution of contemporary society. This change has contributed to expanding the public of rap, making it a form of universal expression capable of speaking to different generations. Digital and it streaming They have revolutionized production and distribution, making music more achievable and reducing access barriers allowing new artists to emerge without the support of large record labels.
The rise of rap in Italy
Hip Hop culture has also reached theItaly at the turn of the 80s And 90inspired by the American scene but with a strong local identity. In this period pioneers emerged like 99 Posse they Article 31 who mixed committed rhymes and innovative sounds using rap to spread political and social messages. At the same time, Jovanotti He experimented with a lighter version, often gathering in English on themes far from traditional hip-hop. In the 2000s, the genre evolved with artists like Fabri Fibra, Marracash he is Dogo Clubwhich led him definitively to the mainstream.
Today rap is among the most listened genres in Italy, with Sfera Ebbastaone of the best -known Italian artists internationally, who marked several records in Italian music. With his album Rockstar (2018), became the First Italian artist to enter the SPOTIFY World Top 100 And, in 2020, he was the artist who sold the most in Italy in the decade 2010-2019, with beyond 4.2 million of copies between albums and individuals. At 2024 he holds the record for the highest number of songs in the first place of the Singles (28) and for the greatest number of weeks at the top (50). In addition, he is the artist with multiple platinum records certified by Fimi, the Italian music industry federation.
In recent years, women in Italian rap have gained more and more space, singers like Madame, Anna, Rose Villain They are among the most representative artists of this new wave, distinguishing themselves by poetic and personal style, international sound and a strong identity. Their ascent reflects a change in the music scene, where the female voices Rap themes are redefining.
The differences between rap and trap: techniques, rhythms and content
Over time, rap has branched out in Numerous subgenreseach with its own distinctive characteristics. The rap gangsta, born in the 80s and 90s, told the reality of the roads with raw and direct texts, the conscious rapon the other hand, gave voice to political and social issues, while the Lo-fi rap He focused on relaxed and intimate sounds. In recent years, the trap it emerged as one of the most popular evolutions and next to it, genres like the drinwith darker atmospheres and incisive rhythms, they conquered an ever wider slice of the audience.
There trapborn to Atlanta in the south of the United States at the end of the 90s, has revolutionized rap with electronic beatpowerful bass and texts focused on success, luxury And social revenge. From a technical point of view, the trap stands out of the traditional rap for the massive use of electronic percussion that give life to more frenetic beats (up to 140 BPMagainst the 80-100 bpm of rap) and for the flow, more Cantilenta and cadencedoften accompanied byAutoumanan instrument that allows you to automatically intone the voice of the singers. In Italy he had explosive growth thanks to artists such as Sfera Ebbasta, who brought the genre internationally.
