The History of Rap (in less than 5 minutes)

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Written, performed, produced and edited by Rob Bradley ‪@robakajackflash‬

This is an education resource created for The Rap School. It's intended for school students but I hope everyone enjoys it! If you'd like to use this for any reason please ask permission. Other than that. Enjoy. And keep remembering and celebrating the roots of this art form and culture.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of hiphop this song reflects on the birth, development and global expansion of rap as an artform.


Lyrics
Picture the scene, we’re in the Bronx
The DJ’s playing funk and soul songs
and tonight, he has a new trick up his sleeve
he’s pioneering a musical technique
it’s never done before this
you know how most songs go ‘verse, chorus, verse, chorus’
then there’s a little instrumental break
well that the part the DJ is gonna take
He’ll play just that on the first turntable
then switches to the second one and play it once more
then play it again, then plays again
and right there the sound of hiphop was born
a continuous rhythm is made
when the same part is repeatedly played
and the record spins round like a hoop
it’s called - playing a ‘break-beat on a loop’
DJ Kool Herc, was the creator
living in the bronx, and born in jamaica
that’s where he learned about a thing called toasting
and he used it at the parties he was hosting
It’s where someone speaks on the mic
on top of the music, to get the crowd hyped
to the beat, they would stay in time
and to make it memorable, they’d make it rhyme
This was the birth of the MC
It’s how rap as we know it came to be
it’s popularity would grow and grow
before we continue, you need to know
about
DJ Kool Herc
DJ Hollywood
Coke La Rock
Grandmaster Flash

This new sound took the city by storm
This was the rise of the rap art form
it wasn’t only at parties anymore
NOW Rappers went to the studio to record
The first rap songs ever were released
It was in the late 1970s
The beats were catchy, the rhymes were simple
Sugarhill Gang released their first single
It was a song called rappers delight
it shot into the charts, rap reached new heights
Then a song called ‘the Breaks by Kurtis Blow’
Went top 5, also you need to know
about

FAB 5 FREDDY
KOOL MOE DEE
SALT N PEPA
RUNDMC

Now rap had proved it could be commercial
it’s appeal was clearly universal
but rap was changing and beginning to mature
the sound got harder, the beats more raw
the rhymes became more complex and lyrical
rappers got dissed if they failed to be original - political
they showed this with their style and flow - it began to change the status quo
it was the golden age, and you need to know about
Nas, Rakim
LL Cool J,
Wu Tang
Public Enemy
Big Daddy Kane,

Now rap was born in New York, it meant the East Coast had most of the success
But in the 90s, new stars were born, especially in California, over on the West
and The style was fresh, it was a new vibe
but there tension growing between the two sides
a rivalry between the two coasts
sadly two G.O.A.Ts, became two ghosts
Notorious BIG
and Tupac
RIP
Plus you need to know about
Snoop Dogg
Dr Dre
Warren G
Cypress Hill
Ice Cube
Ice T


Then a new era began
rap took over the world - sweden to Japan
new zealand to sudan, almost every chart
was dominated by rap’s new megastars
they became multimillionaires
heavy rotation on the radio, they’re always on the air
they pushed the boundaries of style and flow
and lyrical skill, that’s why you need to know

about

Lauryn Hill, Eminem, Kanye West
Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Drake, Outkast


Rap has always changed with the time
So nowadays rappers blow up online
more music is available now
and rap’s popular as ever, there’s no way it’s fading out
American rap used to run the game
But now rappers in the UK are household names
and it’s the same thing all around the globe
a universal language and you need to know about

Stormzy, Dave, Nicki Minaj
J Cole, Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar


Look how far rap has come, its been decades
it started at a party with one DJ
from that idea, to take a break and loop it
came the world’s most popular genre of music
and through the years so many contributed
and there’ll be thousand more in the future
to keep the art-form thriving and growing
so the party can keep on going