Rap's Influence In Pop Culture

For the last 20 or so years, rap has been the most dominate influence in music and culture. Rappers like Eminem and P. Diddy have made millions and millions of dollars off their music; Kanye West, Macklemore, and countless other rappers have won Grammys every year; Dr. Dre recently sold his brand Beats to Apple for one billion dollars; Rap motifs and quotes appear in pop culture every day. Needless to say, hip hop is one of the most successful and popular genres in all of music. So, what makes it appeal to so many different people? The bottom line is that rap is more than a genre of music; it is an entirely different technique.

From the beginning, rap has been defined by the freedom of words. There are almost no limits with the art. An M.C. can rap over literally any beat, as long as it has a recognizable time signature. In the late 70s, hip hop started with kids taking their parents’ records and rhyming over them. Furthermore, due to the lack of melody and notes, the words of rap are truly free as well. The only agreed upon limitation is that the verses must rhyme in some way, but any rap fan would agree that is in no way a negative limitation. The words (vocal notes) can be said with any inflection, timing, etc., and the
Freestyle rap is very popular and uses many skills in the brain at once. Not only does one need to use effective rhymes, but the words themselves have to be coherent in context to the rest of the verse. Puns, wordplay, and other clever vocal techniques can be utilized to full effect in rap as well. In recorded rap, producers will often insert sound effect that describe the rapper’s words during a verse (a car engine when a car is mentioned, a beer opening when drinking is referenced, etc.) This allows even more creativity and engages the listener in a whole new way that is in depended of both words and instruments. In a way, this makes rap a much more story-centric