   #copyright

Hip hop music

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Musical genres, styles,
eras and events

   Hip hop music (Rap)
   Stylistic origins: Jamaican Dancehall toasting alongside the rhythms of
   R&B, disco and funk
   Cultural origins: late 1960s/early 1970s: Kingston, Jamaica - early
   1970s South Bronx, New York City
   Typical instruments: Turntable, rapping, drum machine, Sampler,
   synthesizer, human beatboxing
   Mainstream popularity: Since late 1980s in the United States, worldwide
   beginning in early 1990s, among best-selling genres of music by early
   2000s.
   Derivative forms: Trip hop, Grime
   Subgenres
   Abstract - Alternative - Chopped and screwed - Christian - Conscious -
   Crunk - Gangsta - G-funk - Hardcore - Horrorcore - Hyphy - Instrumental
   - Jazz rap - Latin rap - Mobb - Nerdcore - Old school - Pop rap - Snap
   Fusion genres
   Country rap - Electro hop - Freestyle - Hip house - Hip life -
   Ghettotech - Hip hop soul - Miami bass - Neo soul - New jack swing -
   Ragga - Rapcore - Reggaeton - Urban Pasifika
   Regional scenes
   African - American: ( East - West - South - Midwest) - British - French
   - Japanese - Salvadoran - Others...
   Other topics
   Beatboxing - Breakdancing - Collaborations - DJing ( Turntablism) - Hip
   hop culture - Fashion - Feuds - Graffiti - History - List of rappers -
   Rapping - Roots - Slang - Timeline

   Hip hop music, also known as rap music, is a style of music which came
   into existence in the United States during the mid- 1970s, and became a
   large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. It consists of two
   main components: rapping ( MCing) and DJing ( production and
   scratching). Along with hip hop dance (notably breakdancing) and urban
   inspired art, or notably graffiti, these compose the four elements of
   hip hop, a cultural movement that was initiated by inner-city youth,
   mostly African Americans and Latinosin New York City, in the early
   1970s.

   Typically, hip hop music consists of rhythmic lyrics making use of
   techniques like assonance, alliteration, and rhyme. The rapper is
   accompanied by an instrumental track, usually referred to as a " beat,"
   performed by a DJ, created by a producer, or one or more
   instrumentalists. Historically, this beat has often been created using
   a sample of the percussion break of another song: usually funk and soul
   recordings have been utilized. However, in recent years, it has become
   more common for the beat to be built up from individual drum samples.
   In addition to the beat, other sounds are often sampled, synthesized,
   or performed. Sometimes a track can be instrumental, as a showcase of
   the skills of the DJ or producer.

   Hip hop began in The Bronx, a borough in New York City, when DJs began
   isolating the percussion break from funk and disco songs. The early
   role of the MC was to introduce the DJ and the music and to keep the
   audience excited. MCs began by speaking between songs, giving
   exhortations to dance, greetings to audience members, jokes and
   anecdotes. Eventually this practice became more stylized and became
   known as rapping. By 1979, hip hop had become a commercially popular
   music genre and began to enter the American mainstream. In the 1990s, a
   form of hip hop called gangsta rap became a major part of American
   music, causing significant controversy over lyrics which were perceived
   as promoting violence, promiscuity, drug use and misogyny.
   Nevertheless, by the beginning of the 2000s, hip hop was a staple of
   popular music charts and was being performed in many styles across the
   world.

Genre history

   The main historical eras of hip hop are the old school hip hop era
   (1970 to 1985), which spanned from the beginning of hip hop until its
   emergence into the mainstream, and the golden age hip hop era (1985 to
   1993), which consolidated the sounds of the East Coast and the West
   Coast and transitioned into the modern era with the rise of gangsta rap
   and G-funk, created by the West Coast. The years after 1993 contain the
   hardcore hip hop, bling, and underground genres, which largely define
   the modern era.

   Hip hop arose during the 1970s at block parties in New York City, at
   which the DJs began isolating the percussion breaks to hit funk, soul,
   R&B and disco songs. These songs were based on – "breakbeat" DJing.
   Early hip hop rhythms and (sampled) riffs were derived essentially from
   funk music. Some funk songs, such as James Brown's "Payback" (1974) are
   clearly predicting hip hop music and also speaking over the music was
   used extensively in funk, most notably on records produced by George
   Clinton. As hip hop became popular, performers began speaking while the
   music played, and became known as MCs or emcees. In 1979, the first
   commercially issued hip hop recordings were released: " Rapper's
   Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang which became a Top 40 hit on the U.S.
   Billboard pop singles chart. 'Rapper' in reference to music was
   actually coined by this song. Some historians cite King Tim III
   (Personality Jock) by the Fatback Band to be the first commercially
   released hip hop recording but they were a funk and disco group.

   During the 1980s, hip hop began to diversify and develop into a more
   complex form. At the same time, more sophisticated techniques were
   developed, including scratching, and electronic recording. In the late
   1980s, a number of new hip hop styles and subgenres began appearing as
   the genre gained popularity. Hip hop musicians collaborated with rock
   bands and spread out into the genres of conscious hip hop, jazz-rap and
   gangsta rap.

   In the 1990s, a prolonged confrontation between West Coast gangsta
   rappers and the resurging East Coast began. It centered around Tupac
   Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. and led to both of their deaths, in
   1996 and 1997 respectively. In 1996, Cleveland-based rap group Bone
   Thugs-N-Harmony tied The Beatles' 32-year-old record for fastest-rising
   single with " Tha Crossroads," and in 2000, Scottish-American White
   rapper Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP sold over nine million copies
   and won a Grammy Award.

Social impact

   Hip hop music is a part of hip hop, a cultural movement that includes
   the activities of breakdancing and graffiti art, as well as associated
   slang, fashion and other elements. The popularity of music has helped
   to popularize hip hop culture, both in the United States and to a
   lesser degree abroad.

Lifestyle

   The late 1990s saw the rise in popularity of the " bling-bling"
   lifestyle in rap music, focusing on symbols of wealth and status like
   money, jewelry, cars, and clothing. Although references to wealth have
   existed since the birth of hip hop, the new, intensified "bling-bling"
   culture has its immediate roots in the enormously commercially
   successful late-to-mid nineties work (specifically, music videos) of
   Puff Daddy and Bad Boy Records as well as Master P's No Limit Records.
   However, the term was coined in 1999 (see 1999 in music) by Cash Money
   Records artist Lil' Wayne on B.G.'s hit single "Bling-Bling", and the
   Cash Money roster were perhaps the epitome of the "bling-bling"
   lifestyle and attitude. Though many rappers, mostly gangsta rappers,
   unapologetically pursue and celebrate bling-bling, others, mostly
   artists outside of the hip hop mainstream, have expressly criticized
   the idealized pursuit of bling-bling as being materialistic.

Product Placement, Advertising and Shilling

   For many years rap music has included product placement for cars,
   alcoholic drinks, clothing and other products. Rappers will discuss at
   length the cars they drive and the drinks they consume and glorify the
   excess, decadence and luxury.

Homophobia

   Because hip hop music almost always puts an emphasis on
   hyper-masculinity, its lyrics have been said to reflect a homophobic
   mindset. It is often suspected that there are a great number of gay or
   lesbian hip hop musicians who do not come out of the closet, for fear
   of the decline of their career. Rumors of such have involved hip hop
   artists such as Queen Latifah, Da Brat, and several others. In 2001,
   the first annual PeaceOUT World Homo Hop Festival, which features
   performers by openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered rappers
   was held in Oakland, California, and the festival, curated by
   artist/activist Juba Kalamka, has continued on an annual basis since
   then. In 2003 the openly gay hip hop and rap artist Caushun, was
   rumored to have signed to the Baby Phat imprint (a project of Kimora
   Lee Simmons,at the time married to hip hop mogul Russell Simmons);
   however, his record was apparently never released. In September 2005,
   the documentary Pick Up the Mic premiered at the 30th Annual Toronto
   International Film Festival, focusing on LGBT hip hop performers, such
   as Kalamka's group Deep Dickollective, JenRO, Tori Fixx and the duo
   God-Des and She.

Language

   Hip hop has a distinctive slang. Due to hip hop's extraordinary
   commercial success in the late nineties and early 21st century, many of
   these words have been assimilated into many different dialects across
   America and the world and even to non-hip hop fans (the word dis for
   example is remarkably prolific). There are also words like homie which
   predate hip hop but are often associated with it. Sometimes, terms like
   what the dilly, yo are popularized by a single song (in this case, "Put
   Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" by Busta Rhymes) and are only used
   briefly. Of special importance is the rule-based slang of Snoop Dogg
   and E-40, who add -izz to the middle of words so that shit becomes
   shizznit (the addition of the n occurs occasionally as well). This
   practice, with origins in Frankie Smith's non-sensical language from
   his 1980 single "Double Dutch Bus," has spread to even non-hip hop
   fans, who may be unaware of its derivation.

Censorship issues

   Hip hop has probably encountered more problems with censorship than any
   other form of popular music in recent years, due to the use of
   expletives. It also receives flak for being anti-establishment, and
   many of its songs depict wars and coup d' etats that in the end
   overthrows the government. For example, Public Enemy's "Gotta Give the
   Peeps What They Need" song was edited without their permission,
   removing the words "free Mumia". The pervasive use of profanity in many
   songs has created challenges in the broadcast of such material both on
   television stations such as MTV, in music video form, and on radio. As
   a result, many hip hop recordings are broadcast in censored form, with
   offending language blanked out of the soundtrack (though usually
   leaving the backing music intact), or even replaced with completely
   different lyrics. The result – which quite often renders the remaining
   lyrics unintelligible or contradictory to the original recording – has
   become almost as widely identified with the genre as any other aspect
   of the music, and has been parodied in films such as Austin Powers in
   Goldmember, in which a character – performing in a parody of a hip hop
   music video – performs an entire verse that is blanked out.

   In 1995 Roger Ebert wrote:

   “ Rap has a bad reputation in white circles, where many people believe
     it consists of obscene and violent anti-white and anti-female guttural.
      Some of it does. Most does not. Most white listeners don't care; they
       hear black voices in a litany of discontent, and tune out. Yet rap
     plays the same role today as Bob Dylan did in 1960, giving voice to the
         hopes and angers of a generation, and a lot of rap is powerful
                                    writing."                               ”

World hip hop

   Although hip hop music originated in the US, it has spread throughout
   the world. Hip hop was almost entirely unknown outside of the United
   States prior to the 1980s. During that decade, it began its spread to
   every continent and became a part of the music scene in dozens of
   countries. The spread of the music was intertwined with that of hip hop
   culture - as elements such as breakdancing gained popularity, so did
   rappers and hip hop groups. Today Eminem & 2 Pac are among the best
   selling artists and also best selling ever with close to 80 million
   albums sold each.

Europe

United Kingdom

   In the late 1990s many hip hop artists were gaining an underground
   following including Roots Manuva and Blak Twang. Since the year 2000
   acts such as The Streets, So Solid Crew, Dizzee Rascal, Goldie Lookin
   Chain, have enjoyed mainstream success. The popularity of garage music
   and grime which also feature emceeing have helped to boost the growth
   in popularity of UK hip hop. Other notable UK rappers include Lady
   Sovereign, Braintax, Jehst and Sway.

France

   Hip hop first appeared in France in 1979, just as the genre was
   achieving some success in the US. By 1982, a number of hip hop radio
   stations had appeared, including Rapper Dapper Snapper, and the future
   star DJ Dee Nasty made his first appearance. That same year saw the
   first major hip hop concert, the New York City Rap Tour, sponsored by
   Europe 1 and featuring Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmixer DST, Fab 5 Freddy,
   Mr Freeze and the Rock Steady Crew.

   By 1983, hip hop was a notable part of the French music scene. Dee
   Nasty's Paname City Rappin', released in 1984, was the first French hip
   hop record. France produced a number of native-born stars, such as IAM
   and Suprême NTM, though the most famous French rapper is probably the
   Senegalese-born MC Solaar.

   In Europe, hip hop was the domain of both ethnic nationals and
   immigrants.

Germany

   Germany, for example, produced the well-known Optik Army and its
   frontman Kool Savas as well as several other rap combos like Aggro
   Berlin, Die Fantastischen Vier, Ersguterjunge, Fettes Brot, Amstaff or
   Shok Muzik. Also several solo artists like Samy Deluxe or Azadare known
   across Europe.

Denmark

   Danish hip hop was pioneered by the influential group MC Einar, named
   satirically after their lead singer Einar Enemark. Artists of the 80's
   had very little commercial success, as all attention to the genre was
   given to contemporary pop-acts experimenting. Present artists like Nik
   & Jay, L.O.C. and Joker J have seen an enormous rise in popularity and
   record sales, over the past decade.

Sweden

   Swedish hip hop emerged in the mid 1980s and by the early 1990s a lot
   of "ethnic Swedish acts" like Looptroop, "immigrant acts" like The
   Latin Kings and mixed acts like Infinite Mass switched from English to
   rapping in " Rinkeby Swedish", (a kreol-like suburb dialect with lot's
   of loans from foremost Turkish), when they were making records for the
   domestic market.

Ireland

   In Ireland the most famous rapper is Rob Kelly whose major debut
   release ( Bragging Rights) came to great critical and slight commercial
   success and was a revolution in Irish Hip Hop other notable emcees are
   Collie Craz-e, B-Wonder and groups like Man against machine. Ireland
   also has its own hip hop magazine called " Rap Ireland", which is owned
   by Kev Storrs alongside DJ Frank Jez of FM104 and TimDogg. Also on the
   urban brand are DJ Ahmed, DJ Tando and DJ Mo-K. There are also many
   polish emcee's residing from Ireland.

Poland

   In Poland, hip-hop is among the most popular music styles and artists
   such as Kazik and Liroy who emerged in the early 1990s has been at the
   forefront of Polish music business. Nowadays, hip-hop has diversified
   and came out of the shadow to take a larger chunk of the mainstream
   music scene with rappers such as OSTR, WWO, Vienio, Gural, Pezet, Tede,
   Pokahontaz, Abradab, Syndesmo and independent music labels producing
   different sounds in hip-hop in many Polish cities.

Netherlands

   The Netherlands' most famous early rappers were The Osdorp Posse, an
   all-white crew from Amsterdam, and The Postmen, from Cape Verde and
   Suriname. In recent years, hip hop artists of Moroccan ancestry such as
   Cilvaringz, Ali B and Raymzter have been both commercially successful
   and highly culturally influential. Raymzter is best known for his hit
   Kut Marokkanen??!, which wittily threw a semi-obscene anti-Moroccan
   racial slur back into the faces of its users. The ethnically Dutch rap
   duo Lange Frans & Baas B have had multiple #1 hits, including the
   tongue-in-cheek patriotic anthem Het land van ("The land of..."). In
   2005, De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig ("The youth of today") made a major
   splash with their cheeky #1 hit Watskeburt?! ("Wuzhappenin?!").

Italy

   Italy found its own rappers, including Jovanotti and Articolo 31, grow
   nationally renowned, while the Polish scene began in earnest early in
   the decade with the rise of PM Cool Lee. Opee has recently emerged into
   the French-speaking world as a major star from Romandy (French-speaking
   Switzerland).

Romania

   In Romania, B.U.G. Mafia came out of Bucharest's Pantelimon
   neighbourhood, and their brand of gangsta rap underlines the parallels
   between life in Romania's Communist-era apartment blocks and in the
   housing projects of America's ghettos. The group has its own production
   label called Casa, signing and releasing albums of well known rap
   artists like Mahsat, Grasu XXL, M&G and Villy. The Parazitii group has
   become one of the most popular in Romania, with their lyrics reaching
   social, political and anti-censorship themes (They also own the 20 CM
   Records hip-hop label, signing rap group Anonim and Spike - in 2006
   Cheloo, the main Parazitii producer released an album entitled
   Fabricant de gunoi-The Trash Maker, which features a guest appearance
   from the Killarmy, the Wu-Tang Killa Beez group). Also, R.A.C.L.A.
   (originally standing for White Rappers Legally Conceive Warnings) was
   the first rap group to release a Romanian hip-hop album, touching
   mainly "social" subjects, the group still exists today, releasing its
   5th album in 2005 called "DEXteritate" (Dexterity). In 2005, another
   explosive rap group, Zale, launched its debut album, Chei Verbale(with
   the single "Depinde de noi"), which received positive public reaction.
   Since then, the group has made its own production label, called Chill
   Brothers Records, signing the well known ragga-rap artist Pacha Man
   (Known for his successful collaboration with African Reggae artists
   such as Moweed and Buppy Brown and British hip-hop artist Black Bishop
   of the Mobstarz and C-Rhyme Family crews), and a couple of other
   artists like Subsemnatu (Member of the Explicit rap group), Mike Pow (
   a very talented R&B artist) and some well-known producers. They
   released their second album called Chill Brothers in the autumn of
   2006.

Iceland

   The first rap group to become well known in Iceland was Quarashi.

Albania

   Albania and Kosovo have been a revolution in the hip-hop industry in
   Europe. Rap bands like The Bloody Alboz, Etno Engjujt, WNC, 2Po2,
   Double G Army, Tingulli 3, DMC, Rudi and others have striven to portray
   the real Albanian attitude of today. Albanian rappers like Rebel aka
   UniKKatiL, Lyrical Son and Milot have become successful in part because
   their high sound quality and excellent performance standards are
   considered the equal of anything available from American or other
   sources.

Serbia

   Serbia is one of the better known rap states in Europe, thanks to the
   rap group Beogradski sindikat (The Belgrade syndicate). They, first of
   all, represent their neighbourhood Dorcol (Gornji, Donji Dorcol, Sipka
   (uCAzaKInje), Maj), and Belgrade, as one of the biggest cities in
   Europe. The group has "Nine to 99 members", but only a few of them
   appear on tracks (Fedja, Skabo, Ogi, Darko, Djolo Djolo...). Their last
   album "SVI ZAJEDNO" was one of the best selling albums in 2005 in
   Serbia. Other rappers like MC Jeretik (Jera) and Djole (they are group
   Full Trip) and Gru, Ajs Nigrutin ( Bad Copy), Marchelo, V.I.P. and
   others, are also influential.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

   Bosnia and Herzegovina has famous rappers like Edo Maajka, Frenkie,
   Univerzalni Vojnici, etc. Edo Maajka is the one of best known rappers
   from the Balkans. He has a lot of songs about the Bosnian-War and about
   the situation in Bosnia now. Frenkie is a nationalist rapper in Bosnia
   and is a member of BH Fanaticos.

Croatia

   In Croatia, the hip-hop scene developed in the late 1990s in Zagreb,
   supported by the Blackout Rap Show on Radio 101. The Blackout project
   gave birth to bands such as Tram 11, Bolesna Braca, Nered i Stoka,
   Elemental etc. Simmultaneously, a new style, less influenced by the
   american black culture, evolved in Split, with bands such as The Beat
   Fleet and STillness.

Bulgaria

   In the late 1990s, Bulgaria saw the formation of the crews "Amnistia"
   and "Rubber Heads" (Gumeni Glavi), the latter of which included Misho
   Shamara, Dreben G, Konsa and more. "Rubber Heads"'s label was called
   R'n'B and was very popular. They even had their own clothing line. In
   2000, another Bulgarian hip hop label was created and it was called
   Sniper Records, including famous names like Spens, DJ Stancho, Slim,
   Shosho and more. The most successful in commercial terms is Upsurt
   whose song "3 in 1" was ranked number 1 in the Bulgarian top ten for
   2005. In 2006 they recorded a song with Mala Rodriguez called "Vtora
   cedka"(a slang phrase which can be interpreted as something(or someone)
   of low-quality or as a second-hand object(or lifestyle) which was also
   ranked first in the top 10.

Greece

   Hip Hop caught on in Greece by the early 1990s. These days, groups like
   Goin' Through dominate the mainstream (being signed to the legendary
   hip hop label Def Jam), while Thessalonian pioneer Sifu VERSUS is among
   the top names of the underground (notably being one of the very few
   Greek hip hop artists to expand his career out of Greece).

Macedonia

   The beginning of the Macedonian rap started with forming of the few rap
   groups in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Well known bands in this
   period are The Most Wanted and Cista Okolina (Clean Environment).

Asia

   In Asia, the Philippines is said to have developed the first hip hop
   scene in all of Asia and the Pacific islands. The birth of Filipino hip
   hop music, or Pinoy Rap, occurred in the early 1980s with songs by
   Dyords Javier ("Na Onseng Delight") and Vincent Dafalong ("Nunal"). The
   genre developed slowly during the 1980s but soon hit the mainstream
   with Francis Magalona's debut album, Yo! which included the
   nationalistic hit "Mga Kababayan" (My countrymen). Magalona, who rapped
   in both English and Tagalog became a pioneer in the genre and a
   superstar as a result. Mainstream stars rose to prominence in the
   Philippines, led by Michael V., Rap Asia, MC Lara and Lady Diane, and
   in Japan, where underground rappers had previously found a limited
   audience, and popular teen idols brought a style called J-rap to the
   top of the charts in the middle of the 1990s.

   In Seoul, the Korean hip hop scene has expanded into a form of cultural
   phenomenon. Some fans assert that Korean hip hop artists possess skills
   that can rival their U.S. counterparts. Notable performers include Jo
   PD, Drunken Tiger, Psy, and Epik High. Some suggest that Korean hip hop
   music firmly stands as the respectable and socially-conscious
   antithesis to an often superficial and confused pop genre that pervades
   the Korean music industry.

   Hip hop music started gaining popularity in South Korea in the
   mid-1990s. Famous mainstream Korean hip hop performers often resemble
   R&B or pop music with artists mimicking the vocal (and dance) styles of
   rap acts from the United States. Early performers—who rarely penned
   their own songs—included Kim Gun Mo, Seo Taiji and Boys, Deux, and DJ
   DOC. The Korean language was initially used almost exclusively, unlike
   modern Korean hip hop songs that heavily incorporates English. Seo
   Taiji, coming from a questionable heavy metal music background, often
   featured heavy metal guitars in his mixes, and other artists also
   incorporated techno influences.

   A few artists, including Seo Taiji and MC Sniper, also incorporated
   influences from traditional Korean music such as pansori or nongak
   (farmers' music). It was evident that the first acts were mimicking
   popular American acts. For instance, Seo Taiji's "Come Back Home" has
   vocal/production style resembling Cypress Hill. The first "rap" album
   that featured rap in every track was Kim Jin Pyo's first album in 1997.
   According to Epik High's rapper Tablo, "The form [of Korean Hip Hop],
   at least, has definitely been mastered now — the beats, the rhymes, the
   performances, the look — it’s indistinguishable from the United States
   scene. The social relevance, however, has a long way to go. The message
   is slowly catching up to the medium."

   Many rap artists have been successful in the mainstream of Korean
   music. These include performers such as Jinusean, 1TYM, MC Sniper, Jo
   PD, and Epik High. Other lesser known underground artists who focus
   mainly on using non-flashy beats and lyrical skill include Quiett,
   PaloAlto, TBNY, etc.

   Korean American hip hop began in the United States in the mid 1990s,
   mainly attributed to the efforts of the Korean rapper duo Tiger JK and
   DJ Shine of Drunken Tiger. Drunken Tiger was created after the song
   "Black Korea" by Ice Cube and used music as a means of cultural
   exchange and as an attempt to promote racial harmony. Following the
   success of Drunken Tiger, many new groups and production companies
   emerged to further popularize the musical style. In order to represent
   the elite group of Korea's best rappers, Tiger JK and Drunken Tiger
   formed The Movement Crew ( Bobby Kim, Drunken Tiger, Eun Ji-Won and
   Tasha Reid).

   Japanese hip hop (nip hop or j-hip hop) is said to have begun in 1983
   when Charlie Ahearn's Wild Style was shown in Tokyo. The movie focused
   on graffiti artists but also featured some early old school MCs like
   Busy Bee and Double Trouble, DJs like Grandmaster Flash and
   breakdancers like the Rock Steady Crew.

   Following the showing, street musicians began to breakdance in Yoyogi
   Park. Crazy A soon emerged as a prominent b-boy, and he eventually
   founded the Rock Steady Crew Japan, while DJ Krush has become a
   world-renowned DJ after arising from the Yoyogi Park scene. More DJs
   followed, beginning in 1985. A year later, an all hip hop club opened
   in Shibuya. There was some hesitation at the time that the Japanese
   language, due to the lack of stress accents and highly variable verb
   endings, might prove unsuited for rapping. A few rappers emerged,
   however, including Ito Seiko, Chikado Haruo, Tinnie Punx and Takagi
   Kan.

   In the 1990s, teen-oriented J rap music appeared, and hip hop entered
   the Japanese mainstream. The first hit was Scha Dara Parr's "Kon'ya wa
   Boogie Back". The following year saw "Da.Yo.Ne." and "Maicca" by East
   End X Yuri go platinum. Lately hip-hop in Japan has split into two
   forms: normal, "hardcore" Japanese hip hop, and the somewhat "weaker",
   more R&B influenced J-Urban. The group most commonly cited as the
   originator of J-Urban music is the group m-flo (AKA "mediarite flo).
   Originally composed of a single Japanese DJ (DJ Taku) and a single
   Korean-Japanese emcee (Verbal), they combined with a singer named LISA
   who is of Peruvian-Japanese descent. Their debut album, Planet Shining
   was released in 2000, and since then, many J-Urban acts such as Crystal
   Kay, AI, Heartsdales, and even collaborations with popstars like Namie
   Amuro and BoA. Other popular J-Urban acts like RIP SLYME have worked
   with m-flo.

   Starting in the late 1990s, hip hop began gaining greater popularity in
   Greater China, beginning in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and eventually
   spreading to the Mainland. Taiwanese rapper MC Hot Dog gained stature
   with his creative beats, off-kilter flow, and vulgar depiction of life
   for disaffected middle class youth in the island nation. The hip hop
   collective Lazy Motherfucker, representing Hong Kong, have often been
   described as the Chinese Wu-Tang Clan given the large size of the group
   and their ill flow. However, frequent aesthetic misappropriations and
   shiny pop stylings have often left underground heads wanting.

   It was hard for Asian hip-hop artists to break into the mainstream in
   the United States, but in 2002 Chinese-American rapper Jin Au-Yeung
   (better known as just Jin or Jin Tha Emcee), created a buzz. He won
   Freestyle Friday seven consecutive weeks on BET's 106 & Park, a show
   dedicated to hip-hop, and was retired. Jin announced he had signed with
   the label Ruff Ryders after he won the battle on his final week. This
   was a breakthrough for Asian-American artists, as he garnished much
   attention. Two years later, he released an album under Virgin/Ruff
   Ryder titled The Rest Is History. Jin became the first Asian-American
   to put out a solo album on the mainstream, though the album was not
   successful. Many hip hop lovers believe this was because of a lack of
   promotion as well as the album being pushed back seven months.

Middle East

   Israel's hip hop grew greatly in popularity at the end of the decade,
   with several stars emerging from both sides of the Palestinian ( Tamer
   Nafer) and Jewish ( Subliminal) divide; though some, like Mook E.,
   preached peace and tolerance, others expressed nationalist and violent
   sentiments. However currently hip hop music is very popular in Iran,
   with more than 100s of rappers and rap bands a similar situation to the
   east side, Westside situation is slowly forming. Zedbazi is seen as one
   of the best groups with songs that have had more than 8 million
   downloads.

Latin America

   In Puerto Rico, Vico C became the first mainstream Spanish language
   rapper, and his recorded work was the beginning of what became known as
   reggaeton. Rap in Puerto Rico was at a popular high in 1989, when Vico
   C entered the charts with his super hit La Recta Final (The Final
   Stretch), which gave him worldwide fame.

   During the diversification of hip hop in the 1990s, Proyecto Uno
   popularized this Genre in the New York City Area, especially in the
   Latino community which gave birth to merenrap, in the Dominican
   Republic, a fusion of hip hop and merengue.. Santi Y Sus Duendes and
   Lisa M released a single ("Soy Chiquito & No Inventes Papito, No
   Inventes)").

   In Mexico, popular hip hop began with the success of Calo in the early
   1990s. Later in the decade, with Latin rap groups like Cypress Hill on
   the American charts, Mexican rap rock groups, such as Control Machete,
   rose to prominence in their native land.

   And with the success of groups such as Cypress Hill who popularised the
   hip hop and rap culture throughout Latin America. Groups such as the
   Chilean Tiro De Gracia began to form, whom enjoyed widespread
   popularity not just in Chile, but in Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Puerto
   Rico.

   An annual Cuban hip hop concert held at Alamar in Havana helped to
   popularize Cuban hip hop, beginning in 1995. Hip hop grew steadily more
   popular in Cuba, due to official governmental support for musicians.

   Hip hop has become increasingly popular in Brazil in the last 20 years.
   The b-boys and girls, DJs, rappers, and graffiti writers have
   traditionally organized themselves into what they call crews, which
   also perform community service and work to organize young people in
   their neighborhoods to pass on the art and social consciousness.

Africa

   In the early part of the decade, breakdancing became the first aspect
   of hip hop culture to reach South Africa, where the crew Black Noise
   established the practice before beginning to rap later in the decade.
   Black Noise's raps, starting in 1989, provoked a ban by the
   apartheid-era government, which lasted until 1993. Later, South Africa
   produced its own distinctive style in the house fusion Kwaito.

   Elsewhere in Africa, Senegalese mbalax fusions continued to grow in
   popularity, while Tanzanian Bongo Flava crews like X-Plastaz combined
   hip hop with taarab, filmi and other styles without forgetting the
   congolese Makoma.

Canada

   North of the U.S. border, in Canada, hip hop became popular thanks to
   home-grown rap artist Maestro Fresh Wes in the late 1980s. His single,
   "Let Your Backbone slide", dominated the charts for over a year. In the
   early '90s, more artists such as Michie Mee and the Rascalz established
   themselves in the growing Canadian urban music scene, primarily located
   in the diverse backdrop of Toronto and Vancouver. More recently,
   rappers such as Choclair, Swollen Members, Saukrates, Kardinal
   Offishall, Sweatshop Union, Hugh "MC Son" Ryan, Black Jays, Jelleestone
   and k-os have become household names in the Canadian urban music scene,
   although they have failed to earn mainstream recognition south of the
   border in the U.S. market. The Somali-Canadian hiphop artist K'naan,
   with his distinctive use of both Somali- and English-language texts,
   has earned considerable celebrity in Canada, Europe and elsewhere. The
   eclectic, country-influenced underground hip hop of Buck 65 has also
   achieved considerable international success.

New Zealand

   New Zealand hip hop scene has an unwritten, though generally apparent
   rivalry with its Australian counterpart. This rivalry is highlighted by
   the annual (but discontinued) "Australia Vs New Zealand: MC Battle For
   Supremacy".

   Many of New Zealand's biggest hip hop stars are Māori or Pacific
   Islander. Artists from the 1990s onward included Savage, Che Fu, Nesian
   Mystik and Scribe, who became the first to top both the single and
   album charts at the same time in 2004, and also the most famous acts
   associated with the biggest record producer in the field, P-Money. Some
   of New Zealand's up and coming hip hop artists include PNC, Frontline,
   Tyna and Dei Hamo.

   Aforementioned Tyna is noted as a battle rapper and represented New
   Zealand as part of their 8-man team for Out4Fames' 2004 Australia Vs
   New Zealand: MC Battle For Supremacy. He was knocked out of the
   competition by Australia's MC Anecdote, who went on to win Australia's
   second (of three) consecutive wins in the annual (though now defunct)
   tournament.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_hop_music"
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