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GENRE

HIP-HOP
MUSIC

South Bronx, 1973. DJ Kool Herc extended the break section of records, creating a loop. MCing followed. Graffiti and b-boying completed the culture. Hip-hop became the most influential music movement of the late 20th century — from 70–100 BPM boom-bap to trap's 808s to global drill.

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The Sound of Hip-Hop

ORIGIN
The Bronx, New York City, USA
ERA
1970s – present
BPM RANGE
70 – 100 BPM
KEY CHARACTERISTICS
Sampling · MCing & lyricism · Breakbeats · 808 bass · Boom-bap swing · Cultural storytelling

Key Artists

ARTISTS THAT DEFINE HIP-HOP

KENDRICK LAMAR
COMPTON · PULITZER
To Pimp a Butterfly and DAMN. are landmark albums. Lamar won the Pulitzer Prize for Music — the first hip-hop artist to do so.
JAY-Z
BROOKLYN · MOGUL
From Reasonable Doubt to The Black Album, Jay-Z's lyrical precision and business acumen made him hip-hop's defining figure of an era.
MF DOOM
LONDON/LONG BEACH · UNDERGROUND
The supervillain. Madvillainy with Madlib is the apex of underground hip-hop — labyrinthine lyrics and sampling genius in perfect harmony.
MISSY ELLIOTT
PORTSMOUTH · INNOVATION
Producer, rapper, visionary. Missy and Timbaland shattered the sound of hip-hop in the late 90s with rhythmic experimentation that still sounds futuristic.
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Hip-Hop by the Numbers

MARKET DOMINANCE
Hip-hop and R&B became the most consumed music genre in the U.S. in 2017, surpassing rock for the first time (Nielsen Music). By 2024, hip-hop accounted for approximately 27% of total U.S. music consumption.
STREAMING
Hip-hop is the most streamed genre on Spotify globally, with rap tracks accounting for over 30% of the platform's top 100 most-streamed songs of all time. Drake alone has surpassed 75 billion streams on Spotify.
GLOBAL REACH
The global hip-hop market was valued at approximately $18.3 billion in 2023 (Grand View Research). Hip-hop culture influences fashion, language, film, and visual art worldwide.
ORIGINS
DJ Kool Herc's back-to-school party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, on August 11, 1973, is widely recognised as the founding event of hip-hop culture. The date is now celebrated as Hip-Hop Appreciation Day.
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