Rapping is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and [commonly] street vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The components of rap include "content", "flow", and "delivery". Rap differs from spoken-word poetry in that it is usually performed off-time to musical accompaniment. It also differs from singing, which varies in pitch and does not always include words. Because they do not rely on pitch inflection, some rap artists may play with timbre or other vocal qualities. Rap is a primary ingredient of hip hop music, and so commonly associated with that genre that it is sometimes called "rap music".
Old-school hip hop is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and the original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contemporary styles.
Germaine Williams, better known by his stage name Canibus, is a Jamaican-American rapper. He gained fame in the 1990s for his ability to freestyle, and released his debut album Can-I-Bus in 1998. Canibus has released 13 solo studio albums, as well as multiple collaboration albums and EPs with other rappers as a member of the Four Horsemen, Refugee Camp All-Stars, Sharpshooterz, Cloak N Dagga, the Undergods and one-half of T.H.E.M.
Freestyle is a style of Hip Hop where an artist improvises an unwritten verse from the head, with or without instrumental beats, in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure. It is similar to other improvisational music, such as jazz, where a lead instrumentalist acts as an improviser with a supporting band providing a beat. Freestyle originally was simply verse that is free of style, written rhymes that do not follow a specific subject matter, or predetermined cadence. The newer style with the improvisation grew popular starting in the early 1990s. It is now mainly associated with hip hop.
Filipino hip-hop or Pinoy hip hop is hip hop music performed by musicians of Filipino descent, both in the Philippines and overseas, especially by Filipino-Americans.
Micheal David Larsen, better known by his stage name Eyedea, was an American musician, rapper, and poet. He was a freestyle battle champion and songwriter from Saint Paul, Minnesota.
The Bridge Wars was a hip hop music rivalry during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s, that arose from a dispute over the true birthplace of hip hop music and retaliation over the rejecting of a record for airplay. The Bridge Wars originally involved the South Bronx's Boogie Down Productions, led by KRS-One, and Marley Marl's Juice Crew, hailing from Queensbridge. KRS-One and Marley Marl have since officially retired the feud, with the release of their collaborative 2007 album Hip Hop Lives.
Kashif Adham, better known by the stage name of MC Duke, was a British rapper from the East End of London. He was one of the pioneers of the early British hardcore rap sound and later went on to produce breakbeat hardcore. Throughout his career he worked with his DJ partner Leader One and was part of IC3.
Sharif Talib Lacey, better known by his stage name Reef the Lost Cauze, is an American underground rapper based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Cauze became well known on the underground circuit towards the late 1990s and more so in the early 2000s, making his mark by winning many battle competitions within New York and interstate and displaying rare skills of what many called true MCing.
Craig Curry, better known by his stage name Craig G, is an American rapper. He is perhaps best known as one of the members of hip hop producer Marley Marl's Cold Chillin' Records group Juice Crew.
Rock the Bells is an annual hip-hop festival that originally took place in Southern California only, but has since toured throughout the world. The concert features a line-up of high-profile alternative hip-hop artists, often headlined by a more mainstream artist. The first festival was held in 2004, featuring a re-united Wu-Tang Clan, who performed four months before Ol' Dirty Bastard's death. That festival is covered in depth by a 2006 documentary film also called Rock the Bells.
Keidje Torres Lima is a Portuguese language political hip hop artist, known professionally as Valete. that has enjoyed critical success in his home country of Portugal.
Battle rap is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults, wordplay and disses originating in the African-American community. Battle rap is often performed, or freestyled, spontaneously in live battles known as Rap battles, where participants will compete on the same stage to see who has the better verses.
Natural Elements are an American underground hip hop group from New York City, active since 1993.
Jonathan Owens, known by his stage name Casual, is an American rapper, producer, and one of the founding members of the alternative hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. He also reads and has been studying Egyptian Hieroglyphics for many years, makes videos on the subject on his YouTube channel Smash Rockwell as well writing about it on his blog rap god. As a rapper Casual initially became known for his freestyle battle rhymes in the Bay Area hip hop scene and later developing into a solo artist. He is known for diverse lyrics, a complex multisyllabic East Coast influenced flow but with a distinctive Oakland accent. Casual's debut album Fear Itself released on Jive records in 1994 when he was 17 years old garnered both critical and commercial success. Along with Del tha Funkee Homosapien Casual went on to become one of the most prominent and recognizable faces of the Hieroglyphics crew, releasing three albums all on the Hieroglyphics crew's own label, Hiero Imperium. He has released thirteen solo albums as of 2023.
Rami Matan Even-Esh, known professionally as Kosha Dillz, is an Israeli-American rapper.
Omar Rogelio Tull, better known by his stage name PackFM, is an American Underground hip hop artist and producer from Brooklyn, New York City. As a teenager in the mid-1990s, PackFM began his battle career, winning numerous prestigious freestyle titles. These wins include the 88HipHop MC Battle Champion, where he was inducted into their Hall of Fame after four undefeated months, Braggin Rites tournament in 1999, Everlast Harlem Lyricist Championship in 2003, and three undefeated months in the 24 Hour MC Battle sponsored by TDK.
Hip hop has been present in the "brasiliense" social and musical scene since the late 1980s. It is arguably the second biggest hip hop scene in Brazil. The first generation of rappers included GOG and DJ Jamaika. The second generation initiated with MC RAPadura in the 1990s. Nowadays, one of the most successful female rappers from Brasília is Flora Matos. Furthermore, the current generation, from the year 2000 onwards, has many groups and MCs who are releasing their projects and creating new events to expand the hip hop scene in Brazil's capital.
Michael Anthony Deering, known by his stage name Mikey D, is an American rapper. He is best known for being a lead member of the groups Mikey D & The L.A. Posse and Main Source. As a member of Main Source, he replaced Large Professor, who parted ways with the group due to business differences. In 1994, he appeared on Main Source's second album, Fuck What You Think, as the lead MC.
Terry Parker, known professionally as MC Juice, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois.
