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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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