Rap dictionary. rap styles. Detailed description of RAP styles
Like any direction of music, rap has a huge number of styles, some of them were almost from the beginning, some looked like after a certain amount of time. So now we're going to look at a few main styles of rap.
old school rap
Old School Rap - This style is used by very fast rap artists who came from New York City in the late 70s and early 80s. Old school (“old school”) is easily distinguished from other directions by its relatively simplified rap - most lines take about the same time, and speech rhythms rarely change direction along the beats of the composition. The modulation (lowering of the voice) usually hits the beat exactly, and when that doesn't happen, it's not for long - the sound returns to its original palette for quick consonance (coordination). The main emphasis was not on the lyrical side of the music, but simply on the "good old days" - this was a far cry from the socially concerned team Grandmaster Flash, which greatly expanded the horizons of rap music. Most of the old school rap material had a cheerful and playful flavor of the city parties and discos where it originated. Keeping a nice slow pace, old school rap obviously had a great breeding ground for female rap, but no one was more successful than Grandmaster Flash & Furious Five or Sugarhill Gang. Some old school compositions were played in disco or funk tracks, while others were diluted with synth accompaniment (the latter type of music, with or without rap, was known as electro). The history of recorded albums in the style of Old school rap begins in 1979 with the appearance of two singles from Fatback King Tim III and Sugarhill Gang Rapper's Delight, although this movement developed almost 10 years before that. Sugarhill Records quickly became the center of old school rap and dominated the recording market until Run-D.M.C. did not contribute to the development of sound technology and did not begin to develop the direction of hardcore urban. Their sound and style soon completely took over the rap space, turning the club-oriented old school and funk heritage of the 70s into something old-fashioned. Compared to the complicated rhythms and rhymes of contemporary modern-day rap - or even hip-hop (which came out less than 10 years after Rapper's Delight) - old school rap can seem outdated and a bit sluggish. However, the best old school tracks live on as the best party music - regardless of new era in which we live. This is surprising, considering the active development of musical culture.
Southern Rap
Southern Rap, similar to the "third wheel" between East Coast and West Coast hip-hop, appeared in the 90s on the music scene rich in Miami, New Orleans and Atlanta. In the late 80s, Southern rap was synonymously associated with Miami bass music and was also known as booty rap for its fiery beats and lyrical dominance. The main performers include Luther Campbell's 2 Live Crew, who pushed the theme of sex in his lyrics to the maximum limit, provoking noisy protests from censors around the country. The sounds of Miami bass spread throughout the southern United States, the main dance rhythm of the nation in the 90s. The scene was dominated by the likes of Tag Team, 95 South, the 69 Boyz, Quad City DJ's and Freak Nasty. All of them released a large number of hit singles (filled with far more explicit lyrics than Campbell). Atlanta owned a number of heavy party rap artists, and also developed a more distinctive (and critically acclaimed) style that combined classic Southern soul. Arrested Development's intellectual team was the first to have huge success on the national music scene in 1992. A few years later, their success was repeated by Organized Noize, especially OutKast and Goodie Mob.
If Atlanta has become creative center direction of Southern rap, then New Orleans was, of course, his commercial mecca. Master P built a profitable empire with the help of No Limit record company. Most of the albums recorded at No Limit were West Coast G-funk, Wu-Tang-style hardcore and nothing more than gangsta lyrics. The No Limit studio produced music products with factory production line performance and became a regular member of the national album charts of the late 90s. By the end of the decade, Cash Money (New Orleans) and its house producer Mannie Fresh - whose special approach allowed the reworking of Southern bass sound material - made a real national breakthrough, introducing the Juvenile team on the musical style as a legitimate competitor to existing favorites.
Underground Rap
Underground Rap falls into two categories. This or hardcore hip-hop, which pushes the boundaries of music and is much more different interesting texts than gangsta cliches - or hardcore gangsta rap, which has collected all the musical and lyrical stereotypes of these genres. The two styles converge in that they pay equally little attention to the traditions and conventions of the mainstream musical culture - they glorify their status of independence. Underground rap is recorded on major studios less than hip-hop, but often sounds the same.
Pop Rap
Pop-Rap is a hybrid of hip-hop beat and rap with a powerful melodic content, which is usually part of the choral section (chorus) in the structure of a standard pop song. Pop-rap tends to be less aggressive and more lyrical than street hip-hop, although in the mid-to-late 90s, some musicians mixed this style with hardcore elements in an attempt to prevent public backlash regarding the lightness and accessibility of their music. . Pop-rap style originated in the late 80s when artists such as Run-D.M.C., L.L. Cool J and Beastie Boys began to enter the mainstream music scene. Shortly thereafter, rappers such as Tone Loc, Young MC, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince recorded several singles focusing on their ability to speak good-natured things from the stage. life stories which was the reason for their huge success in the charts. Many musicians followed suit, releasing a number of the same type of good party melodies. Since the possibility of general acceptance of other directions was very real, other musicians at this time began to develop a fusion of rap with R&B and dance music. They used samples to create melodies. With the rise of MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice in the 1990s, pop-rap has often been ridiculed (and sometimes even sued) for wanting to emulate well-known hits without making any significant changes to them, or not changing them at all. Such cases did not completely undermine the reputation of this style, as many musicians of the 90s continued to hold the leading positions of the charts, while developing their own sound (PM Dawn, Naughty by Nature, House of Pain, Arrested Development, Coolio, Salt- N-Pepa, Sir Mix-a-Lot, etc.). Meanwhile, the flamboyant G-funk owned by Dr. Dre and Puff Daddy's Hammer continued to plagiarize elements of 80s pop hits, which helped such genres as gangsta and hardcore soar to the top of the charts. By the end of the 90s, pop-rap was dominated by musicians influenced by gangsta and hardcore, as well as artists mixing rap and urban soul.
political rap
In an attempt to move forward, leaving the old-school rap party atmosphere behind, and also driven by the desire to forget the frustrations associated with inner-city blues (urban blues in the 80s version), several hip-hop bands decided to mix live rhythm with political doctrine to create a new rap style. Bands such as Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron, Public Enemy, inspired in the 70s by the political figures of the country, became the best musicians among political rap groups. The leader of this trend, Chuck D, did the fusion of rhythms better than all rappers, continuing to blame the government (in the compositions Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos, Fight the Power). In his work, he also addressed topics such as the culture of white America (Rebel Without a Pause, Burn Hollywood Burn) and various socio-political conflicts (911 Is a Joke, Night of the Living Baseheads). Crews such as Bomb Squad, KRS-One and his group Boogie Down Productions have also begun to speak their minds, with harsh attacks and reproaches against the authorities. An example of this is the compositions Illegal Business (“Illegal Business”) and Stop the Violence (“Stop the Violence”), which supported blacks and appealed to the leaders of the capitalist world.
What at first seemed like fertile ground for the development of musical culture, in fact, turned out to be very short-lived. Public Enemy fizzled out after 1991, and despite a large number of recent recordings from a new generation of political rappers (Poor Righteous Teachers, Paris, X-Clan, Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy), the commercial supremacy and success of the new hip-hop direction - gangsta rap or G-funk - made record companies less active on less successful music.
party rap
Party Rap is a bass-driven, noisy hip-hop whose only job is to keep the beat going. Inconsistent, inconsistent lyrics, without the political overtones inherent in the direction of hardcore rap, plus a touch of old school rap craftsmanship. Instead of all this, you get only music dominated by bass and drums. This direction is closely related to the music of the Miami bass, but usually in the compositions you can find one single vocal "highlight" - like Da Dip or the choir in Rump Shaker - that makes this record memorable.
Jazz rap
The Jazz-Rap style was an attempt to bring together the African-American music of past decades with the new dominant form of the present, in order to pay homage and inspire new life into the first element of this fusion, and expand the horizons of the second. While the rhythms of jazz-rap were borrowed entirely from hip-hop, the samples and sonic texture mainly came from such genres of music as cool jazz, soul-jazz and hard bop. This style was hip-hop's coolest and most famous, and many artists showed an Afro-centric political consciousness, adding historical authenticity to this style. Given the intellectual bent of the movement, it's no surprise that jazz-rap never became a street party favorite, but no one thought about it at the time. The representatives of Jazz-rap themselves called themselves supporters of a more positive alternative to the hardcore/gangsta movement, which ousted the leading position of rap in the early 90s. They also sought to spread hip-hop to listeners who cannot accept or understand the growing aggression of urban music culture. Thus, jazz-rap found the bulk of its fans in student hostels, and was also supported by a range of critics and white alternative rock fans. The Native Tongues (Afrika Bambaataa) - this open-minded New York collective of African-American rap groups - has become a powerful force representing the jazz-rap style, including bands such as A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and the Jungle Brothers . Also famous musicians, who started their work, were Digable Planets and Gang Starr before. In the mid-late 90s, when alternative rap began to break into a large number of sub-styles, jazz-rap did not often become an element of the new sound, however, the Roots team often inserted it into "live" instrumental hip-hop compositions.
hardcore rap
While the term can refer to several musical genres, Hardcore Rap is characterized by confrontation and aggression, both in the lyrical sense - it's a heavy, dvive beat, noisy samples and sound recording, and in any other combination. Hardcore rap is hard, street, intense and often menacing (although the latter epithet is not always the case, there is also room for humor and bright colors). The style of Gangsta rap is most closely related to hardcore rap, but not all of hardcore rap is gangsta-owned, although there is a lot of overlap, especially with 90s hardcore rappers. Hardcore rap first appeared on the East Coast in the late 80s, when musicians began to move away from club rhythms. The music and lyrics became more reflective of the often harsh environments of the city in which it was typically created and performed. Before the invention of a specific formula for the direction of gangsta rap, musicians such as Boogie Down Productions (New York) and Ice-T were (Los Angeles) created detailed descriptions of daily street life in their work. Plus, Public Enemy's chaotic sound combinations set new standards in the recording industry, and the N.W.A. marked the grimness of the ghetto and gangsta lifestyle with the appearance of an energetic masculine. In the early 90s, hardcore rap became synonymous with West Coast gangsta rap. This continued until the advent in 1993. The Wu-Tang Clan, whose loose, minimalist beats, catchy pipes and synth samples, have become widely imitated. The harsh, street sounds of hardcore rap helped it become the most popular hip-hop style in the last half of the 90s. Its basis today is a partial combination of club melodies, gangsta obsession with money/sex/violence and occasional social commentary on what is happening. Albums by musicians such as the famous B.I.G., DMX and Jay-Z have gone platinum in terms of sales. And the Master P brand that underpins gangsta-oriented Southern hardcore has also become a lucrative commercial force, even when it hasn't created a fusion of hits to the same level.
gangsta rap
Gangsta Rap began its development in the late 80s. This direction originates in hardcore rap. Gangsta rap style had a hard, noisy sound. Lyrically, it was as edgy as rappers' rough-and-tumble stories about urban turmoil. Sometimes the texts were accurate depictions of reality, and sometimes they were just comics filled with exaggeration. In any case, this direction became the most commercially successful in the history of hip-hop development from the late 80s to the early 90s. In the course of its development, gangsta rap became the cause of considerable controversy, as some conservative-minded organizations tried to ban the distribution of these musicians' albums. Even as activist groups ousted several bands from the leading record labels, they continued to create obscene music.
east coast rap
At the very beginning of the hip-hop era, all rap belonged to the East Coast Rap movement. All of the popular early rap artists have their origins in the New York City area - "old school" legends such as DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, the Sugarhill Gang, Kurtis Blow and Run-D.M.C. As the rap style developed and advanced, it became more diverse and multifaceted during the 80s, so music centers began to appear throughout the country. But, nevertheless, the direction of East Coast rap remained dominant throughout the 80s. Although the sound of East Coast rap was not entirely uniform, from the mid to late 80s, the style gravitated towards more aggressive beats and sample combinations, and many rappers prided themselves on their technical prowess with lyrical content. In other words, with rare exceptions, East Coast rap has become a style of music more for the tense listener than for the dance floor, which has helped turn the genre into a respected art form more thoughtful and complex. Typical representatives of this "golden era" of the East Coast were artists such as Eric B. & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions and Slick Rick, all of which featured an old-school lyrical direction, as well as the heavy sound of EPMD and Public Enemy. On the basis of East Coast, a positive team of musicians from Central Africa "Native Tongues", assembled by Afrika Bambaataa, began its work. Bands such as De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, the Jungle Brothers and most other New York bands were the main influences on hip-hop in the late 80s, as they could easily be distinguished by their musical eclecticism rather than by geographic location. In 1989, the N.W.A. released the album Straight Outta Compton, which became evidence that the West Coast (area west coast) toughened up his sound and continued to work with edgy, street themes, and combined with West Coast rap's ability to retain that sound's primary function as party music, helped establish it as the dominant force in hip-hop in the '90s. The further rise of Southern rap showed that East Coast rap could no longer remain dominant, but the 90s were marked by success in this region. In addition to Bad Boy, the record company owned by Puff Daddy and bringing in huge profits, the East Coast has brought to the scene a number of diverse but very popular musicians, including virtuoso lyricist Nas, electronic Fugees and Roots, as well as the Wu-Tang Clan, which was heavily influenced by hardcore.
foreign rap
Foreign Rap is hip-hop with rap inserts in any language except English and Spanish. Basically, the direction of foreign rap has European roots. This music is reminiscent of Euro dance as well as American hip-hop. This style is not as rigid as American or British hip-hop, it takes the path of least resistance using familiar techniques instead of looking for completely new possibilities. A famous exception to this rule was jazz-rap, which, like European hip-hop, was heavily influenced by English acid house and acid jazz. Later, all these developments were collected in European hip-hop.
down beats
In hip hop terminology, downbeats are a relaxing, rather slow rhythmic pattern with a soft, warm bass. This term appeared in connection with the publication in the press of reviews of Mo Wax's instrumental hip hop. In general, all non-drum and bass breakbeat economy can be attributed to this category. In January 1998, the French team AIR released their debut album Moon Safari, which is a great example of this category.
Dirty Rap
Dirty Rap ("Dirty rap") is hip-hop dedicated exclusively to the topic of sex. The founding fathers of this genre were musicians from the 2 Live Crew, which was one of the leaders in the field of heavy Miami bass. Therefore, it is this bass style that underlies dirty rap. Most dirty rap songs were just meant to party and turn on the crowd, but they rarely contained anything interesting in terms of music or lyrics.
comedy rap
Comedy Rap is hip-hop that is meant to be entertaining and fun. Quite often, these rap rhymes are funny, but the music itself - (especially in the case of Biz Markie, by some accounts the hottest comedy rap rapper to date) can be intelligent and funny at the same time. Comedy rap flourished in the 80s when hip-hop was lighter compared to the 90s (gangsta rap was the darkest music style then). There were a few rap parodies around this time, such as Arsenio Hall's Chunky A, but most comedy rap is a combination of real hip-hop and street humor.
british rap
Although British Rap is rarely heard outside of the UK and Europe, the style has its own tradition and style. Although it doesn't have a lot of American hip-hop heritage, many British rappers grew up with rich Caribbean ragga traditions and then introduced local vernaculars into hip-hop styles. British rap originated in the late 80s and used sound combinations from Public Enemy as a springboard. Soon, many British rappers began to mix acid-house elements into their music, resulting in a musical style in a more “heavy” category than its American counterpart. Although there were faded copies taken from American rappers, the best English hip-hop musicians were divided into three camps. There were bands like the Prodigy that mixed hip-hop and rave. There were teams like Leftfield that worked in club style hip. And there were also artists like Massive Attack who slowed down the hip-hop rhythm by adding acid-jazz, which added up to a trip-hop. Even as these three bands continued to break new ground, the music scene was dominated by British rappers who simply copied the Americans.
Alternative Rap
Alternative Rap refers to hip-hop bands that refuse to follow any of the traditional rap stereotypes such as gangsta, funk, bass, hardcore and party rap. Instead they mix various genres, adding equal elements of funk and pop/rock, as well as jazz, soul, reggae and even folk. Although Arrested Development and the Fugees have managed to achieve success and make themselves known, most alternative rap bands remain primarily musicians for alternative rock fans, and not for hip-hop or pop audiences.
hip hop
In the mid-70s, as a way of self-expression of the low-income working strata of the population, new, absolutely revolutionary music sounded for the first time on the streets of the black quarters of New York. most distinctive feature a new generation of music was a broken beat - created by Dj`s (DJs) using turntables and electronic equipment, and the presence of vocals, which was very rare for vinyl-electronic music at that time. In the terminology of rap music, Hip-Hop is usually referred to as a culture - drawing on the walls of houses, dancing breakdance and spinning "vinyl" in addition to rap rhymes - surrounding music. As a musical style, however, hip-hop refers to the type of music that is created by taking all of these attributes into account. Since the trend has been around long enough in the music scene to have a history of its development, the hip-hop bands began to look back at the work of such old-school masters as MCs Kurtis Blow and Whodini, as well as DJs Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa. In fact, the last surge in popularity (Zulu Nation) occurred in the late 80s around two of the most famous hip-hop artists - De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. In the 90s, when there was a real breakthrough in rap music, dozens of hip-hop musicians began to return to the origins of the old school ("old school"), including such underground rappers as Mos Def and Pharoahe Monch.
Hip Hop/Urban
Hip-Hop and Urban music appeared in the late 70s, their development stories were often intertwined. The direction of Urban Soul came from the soft models of Philly Soul and entertaining disco. Urban also borrowed a lot (if not more) from the popular pop style, as well as from the classic soul. Thus, thanks to the layers of synth, professional music production and ballad orientation, Urban Soul rarely felt like a real soul. It sounded more like pop, which was one of the reasons for its dominance in African-American music. musical genre 80s. Some musicians, such as Michael Jackson and Prince, revived this genre, breaking the tradition, but most Urban musicians continued to follow them - some were better (Luther Vandross), some were worse. By the end of the decade, the Urban style began to experiment with Hip-Hop novelties. Hip-Hop is an umbrella term for rap and the culture it has spawned. Initially, rap was extremely simple, vocalists read it under scratch and drum beats, but as it developed, this direction became more complicated. Hardcore rappers like Run-D.M.C. and Boogie Down Productions preferred to keep the beat to a minimum and emphasize the lyricism of the compositions, sometimes adding hard-rock guitar parts. They set the stage for the emergence of Public Enemy, whose jarring, political rhythms and hard beats became groundbreaking in the late 80s and early 90s. By this time, Urban absorbed elements of Hip-Hop, expressed in the form of New Jack Swing - the direction of Urban soul music with rap rhythms. Moreover, rappers such as MC Hammer, Young MC and Vanilla Ice took the liberty of softening the rough edges of Hip-Hop in order to be able to release the first successful pop-rap singles. Some rap groups such as these have responded with gangsta rap. Team N.W.A. used the sound of PE, but made the main emphasis on caricature scenes of violence, sex, lawlessness, but after the split of the group, the musicians Ice Cube, Eazy-E and Dr. Dre started solo careers, and gangsta rap began to develop in an interesting direction. Under the direction of Dre, the gangsta acquired the booming beat and heavy bass from Funkadelic. Sonically it was much less confrontational, the music of Public Enemy, so this sound soon shifted to the Urban style performed by the likes of Mary J. Blige. A few years later, rappers like Puff Daddy finally erased the boundaries between Hip-Hop and Urban soul - these two directions cannot be distinguished.
break beat
Breakbeat ("broken" beat) stylistically finally formed in 1994. Great Britain is considered to be the place of his birth, and the main cities where this style was initially most widespread are London and Bristol. Most likely, the rapid growth in the popularity of breakbeat was due to the fact that by that time people were already somewhat tired of the rather boring house beat. Also, the popularity was greatly influenced by the fact that funk grooves are often used in breakbeat, and only the deaf will not notice the very noticeable influence of hip hop. The main criterion for defining a breakbeat is clean, almost untreated drums and percussion (with the possible exception of compression) and a standard 4/4 rhythm. Solo albums most often hit the second and fourth beats. There may also be a few extra breaks in the rhythm. In simple terms, the rhythmic basis of the breakbeat is based on the shift of the beat (syncoping) of some drums or the entire piece of the rhythm. Most often syncopation occurs on the third beat. For the first time historically, this method was used by the drummers of James Brown. It should be noted that breakbeat is only a general classification of all the music that uses the rhythm structure described above (with the exception of hip hop, which appeared earlier).
Ragga
Ragga style refers to reggae, which uses background instrumental music (or other various musical instruments) in digital format. This style is mainly associated with the dance floor, and since not all dancehall reggae is electronic (and therefore ragga is not), the two styles have a lot in common. Ragga is short for raggamuffin, a term originally used to refer to teenagers from the Kingston ghetto. In music, this word took root in relation to the musical style of the new generation of the mid-to-late 80s. Due to the relatively low cost of creating synth rhythms, the ragga style has become a preferred style by many Jamaican musicians and composers. This allowed them to release thousands of singles a year and come up with more interesting new rhythms instead of just borrowing the sound of their old rock songs. This also led to the explosive success of rhythm albums (rhythm album), where many musicians recorded their own lyrics and melodies on the same rhythm track. Although many associate the ragga style with DJ prowess, some artists often express an interest in romantic and Rastafarian sentiments - and the two vocal styles are quite often mixed with each other. The first ragga recording was by Wayne Smith with his single Under Me Sleng Teng (1985), which was written by King Jammy. This single is built on a rhythm that was discovered in Casio keyboard presets. The momentum was instantaneous, as many imitators mushroomed, and Jammy himself turned for a while into Jamaica's most influential musician and producer.
How download music from VK you can find out on the website musicsig.ru
Among the many musical genres and trends, rap music stands apart. This direction is rightfully considered popular, because its appearance was in no way connected with commerce.
The origins of rap
In Africa, for many centuries there has been a tradition to talk about various news and events, accompanying speech with drumming. Wherein important information diluted with various jokes, prayers, anecdotes. Gradually, things began to change. Rhythmic lyrics that were spoken to the music became a way of self-expression for African Americans. The youth composed hits right on the streets, telling them about everything that happened around. Sometimes it turned into a kind of competition, a test for the ability not only to pronounce capacious texts, but also to compose new ones, rhyme and create original and very interesting recordings.
Subsequently, it became so interesting and unusual that rap culture rapidly spread throughout the world. Today you can listen to your favorite songs online for free! Music is available on our website. Clear navigation and convenient search will allow you to quickly find the desired song, download mp3 without registration and enjoy high-quality sound.
Free rap is a real find for connoisseurs, a kind of manifestation of youth, emotional nourishment. Today, rap goes beyond music, turning into a certain culture, which is characterized by some behavioral characteristics. Even the clothes of rappers are different from what we are used to, and talented listeners often join the art of creating rhymes themselves and share their lyrics with the world.
Rhymed couplets
Among music lovers there are many who are fans of the rhythmic recitative called rap. How did this direction originate and who was the very first rapper in the world?
Rap appeared a little over 40 years ago. It emerged in the early 1970s. in the southern regions of the American Bronx, that is, where African Americans lived, so it is no coincidence that the performance of rhymed chants remains the prerogative of blacks to this day. The ancestor of this direction is considered the Jamaican DJ Kula Gerk (Clive Campbell). Cool in the late 1960s. moved to New York and became one of the first DJs in the Bronx.
From his homeland, the first rapper brought with him the so-called Jamaican tradition of “ignition”: he composed rhymes on the go and shouted them out to the backing track of reggae. Since people liked what he did, other DJs picked up this innovation, reading uncomplicated rhyming verses of their own composition to the music, addressed to the audience. The new movement immediately got its name, but at that time it was called not rap, but Mcing.
Rap spread
The spread of rap was greatly facilitated by amateur Negro radio, which played music that was popular with African Americans at that time, and the new movement began to gain more and more fans. The name of the style and its performers - rap and rappers, respectively - firmly entrenched in the direction in 1979, when a single by The Sugarhill Gang called "Rapper's Delight" appeared.
By the way, it is this composition that is considered to be the very first rap, since it contained typical rhymes and fundamental themes of modern hip-hop: details of everyday life, sex, MC competitions, swearing, ostentatious vanity. Since the general American public first became aware of the existence of rap with the advent of this group and their debut single, Jack Gibson, a former radio host and now founder and lead singer of The Sugarhill Gang, was officially awarded the title of the very first rapper in the world. Later, Jack Gibson became the organizer of one of the earliest rap conventions.
Art of the 21st century
Very often, especially in colloquial speech, the term "hip-hop" is used as a synonym for rap style, but this is not entirely correct. Hip-hop is a musical form, one of the elements of which is rap, and in the not so distant 1980s. he, indeed, appeared to refer to the entire genre. However, in the 21st century, rap has become a real art, which has many facets, and today rhythmic recitative is widely used in other musical styles: drum and bass, alternative rock, modern rhythm and blues, nu metal, raggamuffin, pop rap, it can be heard even in some areas of hardcore music, so consider "rap" and "hip-hop" synonymous won't be quite right.
Dinosaurs movement
The "dinosaurs" of the movement, which made an invaluable contribution to the development of rap and hip-hop, are considered, first of all, by Grandmaster Flash and Africa Bombata, incredibly popular performers of the 1980s. , but now their work already belongs to the "old school". Contemporary performers, for example, Eminem, Jay-Z, 50 Cent and others are already reading a completely different rap, which is very different from what it was at the very beginning, rap as a direction has already begun to live a completely different, new life.
It remains to be said that rap came to Russia in the 1980s, when discos became popular in the USSR, and the activity of DJs began to develop. Well, the very first rap album was recorded in Kuibyshev in 1984 by DJ Alexander Astrov.
Due to the growing interest in battle rap and the entire hip-hop industry in general, we present you with a detailed conceptual apparatus (rap dictionary) for Rap so that you can understand what MCs are talking about in their battles.
Autotune– A program for processing and correcting the voice, used to correct the singer's singing from notes. In rap, it has become a household name and identifies all voice correction programs.
underground(underground - underground, underground) - a number of artistic trends in contemporary art(in music, literature, cinema, fine arts etc.), opposing themselves to mass culture, mainstream.
Acapella- The text recorded on the microphone, separately from the minus.
Battle- Competition between rap artists is usually accompanied by humiliation of the opponent. A battle track is often nothing more than a diss on an opponent. Battles are divided into online battles (take place on the Internet) and live battles (everything takes place live).
Beat (Beat)- Drum-bass part minus. Previously, they read to a percussion part created by beat-boxing or tapping objects. Initially, this word was used as a beat in rap music. On this moment Any music that is rapped to is called a beat.
beatbox- A beat created solely with the help of the mouth, without the use of musical instruments.
Beatmaker- A person who creates beats in specialized programs such as Cubase, FL Studio and others. A good level of beat making is using live instruments and not using samples.
beef(Beef) - A feud between rap artists, hangouts or labels, accompanied by diss and frequent live showdowns.
bootleg(bootleg) - a pirated compilation of tracks, which the artist may never even know about.
Becky- An additionally recorded audio track, where the performer usually pronounces only the second part of the line or highlights rhymes and phrases.
Backing vocalist- A person who helps the performer on stage. As a rule, he pronounces the second part of the line, so that the performer has the opportunity to take a breath at this time.
Versus() - One of the two most popular live battles in Russia. Based in St. Petersburg.
ghostwriter- A specialist who writes texts for money.
Double time- Reading twice as fast as the rhythm of the music. Outstanding representatives of this style are Ceza, Tech N9ne, FIKE, Dom1no and other artists.
double rhymes(Double-rhyme) - The end of the line has two words at once, on which the rhyme will be selected in the next line, also in two words. That is, if the first line ends with “brain and heart”, then it will be necessary to choose a consonance for the word “brain” and a separate consonance for the word “heart”. For example - “poster on the door” (brain - poster, heart - door).
diss(diss, disrespect) - A track aimed at another artist or someone or something with the intent to "lower him". In such tracks, obscene speech is practiced, abuse towards the opponent and his relatives, threats, jokes below the belt, and so on. Dises are often used in beefs.
EP (EP)- A small album, usually up to 7 songs.
sound engineer- Specialist who mixes and masters tracks.
indabattle(Utkonos) - Battle taking place on the portal indarnb.ru. The second largest battle in Russia. It bears the slang name "Utkonos", because the father of the main organizer of the battle (Snake), is the owner of the Utkonos chain of stores.
instrumental- Synonym for the general meaning of the word bit
Cover(cover) - A new version of the track recorded (re-read) by another artist.
mouth guard- Slang name for the word "acapella".
square rhymes- Rhymes in the text are added at the end of the line, and rhyming words have the same endings. An example of "hand-flour", "mountain-time". It is believed that this is the easiest way to rhyme.
Concert Director– A specialist responsible for organizing the performer's concerts.
crunk(Crunk) is a style of southern rap music, with repetitive phrases and fast dance rhythms.
live(live) - Audio or video recording from the performer's concert. As a rule, the mark live is put in the title of the track, so that it would be clear that this is not a studio version, but a recording from a concert.
label(label) - 1) Abroad, a label is a record company that has the rights to release and distribute artists' albums. 2) In Russia, a rap group is called a label. Often this group is primarily united by the studio.
Mike– Microphone
Mastering- the final stage of work on the song, which is designed to make a well-mixed mix louder, brighter, clearer, more transparent and put it on the same level with popular commercial tracks in terms of volume. Also at this stage, you can correct minor errors made during mixing.
Mix(mix) - several pieces of music (tracks) arranged in a continuous sequence. As a rule, mixes are compiled by DJs for various purposes (for example, for inclusion on the radio in thematic programs). Usually mixes consist of tracks that are similar in genre, mood and other features. On average, the duration of the mix ranges from 25 to 74 minutes.
Mixtape(Mixtape) - 1) In foreign rap, this word means a release made from remixes or mixed tracks. 2) In Russian rap, a mixtape is a collection of tracks recorded on backing tracks, illegally taken from other people's tracks. As a rule, mixtapes in Russia violate the copyrights of performers. A mixtape is also called a collection of tracks recorded for minus, laid out by beatmakers for general use.
Minus- A synonym for the general meaning of the word bit.
Independent battle- A battle taking place on the site hip-hop.ru, which is organized not by the forum administration, but by the forum members themselves.
Noname(Noname) - Not popular enough or unknown artist who does not have a "name". A relatively objective indicator in this aspect can be the number of audio in vk and the number of concerts, as well as the number of visitors who came to the concert.
HP (New Rap) - The largest news rap public vk.
Newschool – A new style hip-hop, the hallmarks of which are the use of fast flow, dashes and various plug-ins and effects, such as melody and autotune.
Old school(Oldschool) – An early style of hip-hop, also referred to as old school. Prominent representatives of this style are 2Pac, Wu-TangClan and Onyx. Often this is a measured flow without the use of many effects and fast flows.
Official battle - Battle, held on the site hip-hop.ru, organized by the administration of the forum. The biggest battle in Russia.
Punch, punchline(Punch) - This is a concise phrase / line designed to hook an opponent. It can be both a vivid metaphor and a joke below the belt. “The presence of an opponent is optional. It's like a punch line to a joke. Just a catchy phrase or line"
Parts– The written part of one artist per joint track.
Jumps, acceleration- The fundamental part of fast flow. Increase the speed of reading text.
PR– Distribution of the artist's creativity or any information and offer of services.
Innings- Emotions embedded in the reading, placed intonations, the way of pronouncing words, the use of vocals, dashes, accelerations and other specific rap techniques.
Producer– A specialist who is fully engaged in the promotion of the artist, dealing with all legal and financial issues. Often, the name of the performer (nickname) is registered by the producers to themselves, and when the performer changes the producer, he is forced to change the nickname as well, since all rights to the old nickname will belong to the old producer. For this reason, Loc-Dog was forced to change his nickname to Loc Dog.
promo(promo) - release to get acquainted with the work of a particular artist.
Release- Premiere of an album, track, video or collection
Remix(Remix) - A new arrangement of an already released track.
rapcore- a subgenre of rock music, characterized by the use of rap as vocals. Rapcore combines the instrumental and vocal properties of styles such as punk, alternative rock, and hip-hop.
Mixing- the stage of work on a song, during which the recorded audio tracks (instruments, main vocals, takes, etc.) are combined into one audio file using various devices and techniques, such as equalization, compression, volume manipulation, placement in space, adding sound effects. Note: vocal correction, synchronization of duplicates and backings - this is not a mixing process, this is a previous one
Note the installation phase.
swag(swag) - An expression of coolness and personality.
skils(Skills) - Submission and different kinds building rhymes.
SlovoSpb() - One of the two most popular live battles in Russia. Based in Krasnodar.
Compound rhymes- The end of the line in the next line rhymes with several words at once. Example: "Apocalypse - In the meantime, get well"
Storytelling- a track that tells a story, while sequentially describing the events, actions and deeds of real or fictional characters.
Sample– A relatively small fragment of a melody (music), taken as the basis for creating a minus. Beats are applied to the samples.
take- recorded fragment, attempt. Usage example: I recorded it all in one take, i.e. with one try.
Track(Track) - A synonym for the word "song" in rap.
Triplets is the musical scale. In rap, it is now customary to call a reading with broken chips, like a tanguist, accelerations, etc.
True(True) - A performer who reads the truth, that is, what he really thinks, does and what happened in his life.
Platypus- Slang name for Indabattla.
fast flow(FastFlow) - A serving style based on dashes and accelerations.
fit(ft. or feat) - Means that this is a joint track of two or more artists
Flava(flave) - Hangout, company, group or label.
flow(Flow) - Speed of execution.
Freestyle(Freestyle) - Improvisation in rap. Reading the text composed by the performer on the go.
fake(Fake) - Performers whose lyrics are based on lies. Their characteristic feature is not the ability to "responsible for the words."
Hype- enthusiastic rumors, often deliberately inflated for marketing purposes.
hasl- Any kind of income related to rap or breaking the law (selling drugs, etc.)
hater- A listener who condemns any creativity and has an acute dislike for it.
Homey(Homie) - A friend or loved one.
H.x.ru(persimmon) - One of the most popular forums dedicated to hip-hop culture, hip-hop.ru.
We provoke the wrath of the gods, making up the top popularity of Russian rappers based on social networks.
How to understand which rapper is cooler? By the ability to weave rhymes or by a killer flow? Or maybe by the number of bullet holes in the body or the Grammy on the shelf? Or take touring or iTunes sales? Perhaps here everyone will have their own measures of coolness, fame and popularity. But measuring how much a rapper is loved by his fans is not so difficult - it's 2016 in the yard, and relatively objective popularity figures are right in front of you - in the musicians' social networks.
Enlisting the help of our friend from the public Imho Analytics, we tried to rank the popularity of Russian rappers based on social networks. Why social networks? Because they have long become as commonplace as an aluminum pan in the kitchen or a smartphone in your pocket. Even neighbor grandmothers have accounts in classmates, and only DMX is still unable to use a computer. And even despite the possibility of cheating, the numbers from social networks are more stable and generalized data than, for example, music sales figures or the density of the tour schedule.
How did we count?
We deduced the average number of musicians' followers on Twitter, Instagram and VKontakte. many listeners are subscribed to their favorite musicians on several social networks at once, and we did not want to inflate the numbers due to duplicate information.
And now let's go.
As you can see, the last ten turned out to be quite diverse - here you have a veteran Pencil, and youngsters like Basota, and connoisseurs of punk Anacondaz. Unexpectedly, Lupercal closes the top, which has been on the radar all this year, and in the fall he took part in the revolution of the game, releasing the release "House of a Thousand Drafts". Pharaoh was supposed to be somewhere nearby, who was also well-known for the past year, but the Dead Dynasty association has a common VK account, so he did not pass the contest mechanics.
Here we have an even more motley dozen. Her parody projects Khleb and Big Russian Boss close, the sweet-voiced Tati is next to her label colleague and hero of the year, Scryptonite, and Kravets and Joniboy dilute the patriotism of Misha Mavashi and Harry Topor with romance.
In the middle of the list, strong rap fighters are concentrated - confidently and without surprises. ST starts the top ten, and Slim closes it, which goes almost head to head with his Centr colleague Ptah - 125 thousand subscribers against 128. In the middle of the list is the namedropping master Janix, Smokey Mo, Rem Digga, The Chemodan Clan, MC Doni, Tony Raut and hit rock 25/17.
Perhaps the most controversial and interesting ten, because of which the editors argued the most. Is it possible to add Dolphin to this list from old memory? How close to rap are Dorn or Jah Khalib with Bianca? Also pay attention to the 14th position - the Ukrainian rapper Yarmak turned out to have a strong and large community of fans.
If the artists of the Gazgolder label are evenly distributed according to the rating, then the representatives of Black Star aimed at the top ten. There are four of them at once - Mot, Christina C, L "One and Timati. Plus Djigan, who left the ranks of the Blackstar mafia. At the same time, Timati took the first place with an impressive margin from Basta, and Oksimiron, who flickered literally everywhere, only closes the top ten.
What you need to know before you start swearing in the comments?
1. The data are taken for the end of December and the first days of January of this year. Over the past time, the artists managed to gain a thousand or two additional subscribers, but due to the holidays, the activity was not the highest and these figures did not affect the final results.
2. Groups like Kasta, Kaspiysky Gruz, TGK and others were counted by the total indicators and individual subscribers in the musicians' accounts.
3. The sum of subscribers and individual data on social networks were rounded separately, so when summing up the data, the final picture may differ upwards or downwards by a thousand, but this does not affect the final places.
