WHAT IS HIP HOP MUSIC?

One proponent asserts that hip hop music is a synonym which means hip-hop, rap music, or hip-hop music, He claims that hip hop is a music genre that is characterized by a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping. Rapping is further described as a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted.

However, Shaka Shaw, writing in Ebony Magazine on The Difference Between Rap & Hip-Hop, begs to differ. Shaka laments the that the two are merged on iTunes as the same and explains that

One common understanding is that hip-hop is a culture and rapping is one of four elements contained therein—the others being breakdancing, DJing and graffiti.

Another writer opined rather vaguely, in my opinion, that hip hop is

a style that stays aside all the other music trends. Not aside, but somewhat deeper. The reason is it is a reflection of the race, the plurality of people united by roots and origin. What attracts people in rap? Is it catchy?

I wonder whether or not hip hop record labels in Brooklyn care about those debates.

Is rap the expression of the African ancestry of African Americans?

Some believe that rap expresses the continuation of the language and traditions of Afro-American culture. They say that rap is a mixture of speech and music and that it is actually speech laid on music or beats. That sounds rather poetic. To non-natives, however, the flow of speech in rap music is too quick rapid and unintelligible. It is this expression that record labels in Brooklyn, NY try to capture through their music artists.

Is rap music the urban poetry of lyrical resistance?

As the debate continues, others classify rap music as the urban poetry of lyrical resistance. They say that it is not village music, nor is it a synonym of country music, but rather the gathering power of those united by music in big cities and that it aims to resist grief because misfortunes are more dramatic and numerous in urban areas.

Rap, they say, speaks to the mind and emotions and also to speaks to the social consciousness. If the words or courage to say those words are not there, the subconscious takes over and the rap lyrics kick in. But once captured by the beat, most people – mainly younger ones – begin to hear the words, and the words may describe just how they are feeling that day. Maybe that is why rap singers often emphatic in their expressions:

First goes the beat, and then goes the lyrics! It is not as smooth and tender as classical music, not as glossy as pop, but it has the scream of pain of real emotion of the world’s harshness. One may even state that rap is the most pain expressing music style.
Those who sing it or it is better to say read it revive their feelings not only concerning love, as most of the other styles do. Their message is about life and the problems, especially the ones of the Afro-American people. The music of pain and oppression, rap is a remedy to the latter.

Is rap music similar to dub music?