->''"A certain administration which I won't call by name took the arts out of the schools, and that left the brothers out on the street with nothing, so they went to the turntables and started rhyming. Then they had a way to express themselves, and that's the birth of hip-hop."''
-->-- '''Music/IsaacHayes'''

%% One quote is sufficient. Please place additional entries on the quotes tab.

Originally emerging as a subgenre of {{disco}} and branching out past those boundaries in the ensuing decades, hip-hop is a genre of music that's come in many, ''many'' permutations over the years. Its first iteration, retrospectively known as "old-school" hip-hop, comprised four ingredients -- [[GenericGraffiti graffiti]], DJ-ing, MC-ing, and beat boxing (breakdancing is another staple, but more within a cultural context rather than the music itself). Today, the term "hip-hop" is viewed as a synonym for "rap," though the latter refers more to the vocal technique prevalent in the genre.

Note that there are many different scenes, subgenres, and cultures within hip hop ''besides'' gangsta rap. Even gangsta rap has several sub-forms like Horrorcore, and Mafioso rap. Unfortunately, they rarely receive anywhere near the attention in other media (or anywhere near the record sales).

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!! Sub-genres include:

[[index]]
* AlternativeHipHop
* BattleRapping
* ChapHop
* ChristianHipHop (also called Gospel Rap and Holy Hip Hop, is considered a subset of GospelMusic)
* ConsciousHipHop
* {{Crunk}}
* {{Crunkcore}}
* CountryRap
* DirtyRap
* DiscoRap
* DrillMusic
* EastCoastRap
* FastRap
* GangstaRap
** GFunk
** TrapMusic
* GlamRap
* UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHipHop
* {{Grime}}
* HardcoreHipHop
* HipHopSoul (a subgenre that mixes rap, soul and R&B elements together, made famous by acts like Music/MaryJBlige and Music/{{TLC}})
* {{Horrorcore}}
* {{Hyphy}}
* JazzRap (a form of rap mixing Jazz music, made famous by a Music/ATribeCalledQuest)
* LatinRap
* LofiHipHop
* MelodicRap
* MiamiBass
* MidwestRap
* {{Nerdcore}}
* NewJackSwing (mostly associated with R&B, but it also has roots in New York hip hop)
* PoliticalRap
* PopRap
* RapRock
** PunkRap
** RapMetal
*** NuMetal
* SouthernRap
* SwagRap
* InstrumentalHipHop
* WestCoastRap

!!Hip-Hop acts
* Music/{{Threepac}}
* Music/{{Akon}}
* Creator/EricAndre
* Music/{{Antoinette}}
* Music/AxeMurderBoyz
* Creator/{{Awkwafina}}
* Music/IggyAzalea
* [[Music/BoBRapper B.o.B.]]
* Music/AzealiaBanks
* Creator/LamontBentley
* Music/BigSean
* Music/TheBlackEyedPeas
** Music/{{Fergie}}
** Music/WillIAm
* Music/BoogieDownProductions
* Creator/BreZ
* Music/{{BTS}}
** Music/JHope
* Music/{{Cage}}
* Music/DanBull
* Music/CaptainDanAndTheScurvyCrew
* Music/CardiB
* Music/AaronCarter
* Music/TheCarters
* Music/CentralCee
* Music/ChanceTheRapper
* Music/SeanCombs
* Music/{{Communion}}
* Music/DaddyYankee
* Music/DCTalk
* Creator/EsterDean
* Music/DJJazzyJeffAndTheFreshPrince
** Creator/WillSmith
* Music/{{DMX}}
* Music/DojaCat
* Music/{{Drake}}
* Music/DubalC
* Music/{{E40}}
* Music/EdOG
* Music/{{Eminem}}, the most commercially successful rapper of all time, benefiting from his skin colour, but also from his technical skillset, former PrettyBoy TeenIdol appeal and [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity controversial and hyperoffensive lyrics]].
** 1999 - ''Music/TheSlimShadyLP''
** 2000 - ''Music/TheMarshallMathersLP''
** 1999 - ''Music/TheEminemShow''
** 1999 - ''Music/{{Encore}}''
* Music/{{Esham}}
* Music/{{Eve|Rapper}}
* Music/FakeType
* Music/DieFantastischenVier
* Music/FatJoe
* Music/InsaneClownPosse
** 1992: ''Music/CarnivalOfCarnage''
** 1993: ''Music/BeverlyKills50187''
** 1994: ''Music/{{Ringmaster}}''
** 1995: ''Music/RiddleBox''
** 1996 - ''Music/TunnelOfLove''
** 1997: ''Music/TheGreatMilenko''
** 1999: ''Music/TheAmazingJeckelBrothers''
** 2000: ''Music/BizaarBizzar''
** 2002: ''Music/TheWraithShangriLa''
** 2004: ''Music/HellsPit''
** 2007: ''Music/TheTempest''
** 2009: ''Music/BangPowBoom''
** 2012: ''Music/TheMightyDeathPop''
** 2015: ''Music/TheMarvelousMissingLink''
** 2019: ''Music/FearlessFredFury''
** 2021: ''Music/YumYumBedlam''
* Creator/JamieFoxx
* Music/NellyFurtado
* Music/{{gmcfosho}}: A parody to SwagRap.
* Music/GucciMane
* Music/{{Halcali}}
* Music/HeavyD
* Music/JackHarlow
* Music/IceSpice
* Music/JDilla
** 2001 - ''Music/Welcome2Detroit''
** 2006 - ''Music/{{Donuts}}''
* Music/{{Jumpsteady}}
* Music/{{KAAN}}
* Music/{{Kalush}}
* Music/RKelly
* Music/WizKhalifa
* Music/KidNPlay
* Music/KidRock: A DJ, rapper and singer. Prior to 2003, his music was a GenreRoulette of Hip Hop, RapRock and [[CountryMusic Country Rock]]; since 2003, he's predominantly performed Country Rock, but has DJ'd at every concert he's given.
** 1993: ''Music/ThePolyfuzeMethod'' (1993)
** 1996: ''Music/EarlyMorninStonedPimp'' (1996)
* Music/KoolKeith
* Music/KottonmouthKings
* Music/KurtisBlow
* Music/KrisKross
* Music/{{Lifeseeker}}
* Music/LilDicky
* Music/LilNasX
** 2021 - ''Music/{{Montero}}''
*** "Music/MonteroCallMeByYourName"
* Music/LilWayne
* Music/LilYachty
* Music/LLCoolJ
* Music/{{Logic}}
* WebVideo/CrankLucas
* Music/{{Manafest}}
* Music/BizMarkie
** 1989 - "Music/JustAFriend"
* [[Creator/MarkWahlberg Marky Mark]]
* Creator/JoshMartin
* Music/MCHammer
* Malcolm [=McLaren=]
** 1983 - ''Music/DuckRock''
* Music/MeekMill
* Music/MeganTheeStallion
* Music/{{MFDOOM}}
** 2004 - ''Music/{{Madvillainy}}'' (with Madlib as Madvillain)
* Music/NickiMinaj
* Music/MissyElliott
* Music/MobbDeep
* Music/MrBTheGentlemanRhymer
* Music/MrMuthafuckinExquire
* Music/{{Nas}}
** 1994 - ''Music/{{Illmatic}}''
* Music/{{NF}}
* Music/{{Nujabes}}
* Creator/ShaquilleONeal
* Music/OutKast
* Music/ThePoetess
* Music/PositiveK
* Music/{{ppcocaine}}
* Music/{{Prof}}
* Music/ProfessorElemental
* Music/ProfessorGreen
* Music/QueenLatifah
* Creator/RavenSymone
* Music/{{Rubberbandits}}
* Music/SaltNPepa
* Music/SanE
* Music/SchoolboyQ
* Music/{{SDP}}
* Music/SexyyRed
* Music/ZachSherwin
* Music/SirMixALot
* Music/SpecialEd
* Music/{{Stormzy}}
* Music/{{Stupeflip}}
** 2003 - ''Music/{{Stupeflip|SelfTitledAlbum}}''
** 2005 - ''Music/StupReligion''
** 2011 - ''Music/TheHypnoflipInvasion''
** 2011 - ''Music/TheTerrorMaxi''
** 2012 - ''Music/{{Terrora}}''
** 2017 - ''Music/StupVirus''
* Music/TheSugarhillGang
* Music/SupremeNTM
** Creator/JoeyStarr
* Music/SweetCookie
* Music/SweetTee
* Music/TechN9ne
* Music/{{Timbaland}}
* Music/{{Tonedeff}}
* Creator/ToneLoc
* Music/{{Twiztid}}
* Music/VanillaIce
* Music/{{Watsky}}
* Music/PharrellWilliams
* Music/XClan
* Music/{{Xzibit}}
* Music/{{Yelawolf}}
* Music/YoYo
* Music/YoungThug
[[/index]]

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!!Tropes covered ''within'' Hip Hop & the industry itself:

%%* AbusiveParents
%%* {{Anvilicious}}
* BannedInChina: After gaining widespread popularity thanks to the success of the Chinese rap reality show, ''The Rap of China'' in 2017, the Chinese government started clamping down on hip hop the following year.
* BigApplesauce: Hip-Hop as we know it was born in the Bronx borough and, for a time, was exclusive to New York.
%%* BlackSheepHit
%%* BoastfulRap
* BrokenBase: And how! Read the entry for details.
* ControversyProofImage: Exceptions being [[Music/{{IceT}} Ice-T]]'s "Cop Killer" controversy, which for all intents and purposes ruined his mainstream career as a rapper[[note]]Even though the Music/BodyCount [[Music/BodyCountAlbum album]] was HeavyMetal, not rap[[/note]] and Music/{{Nelly}}, due to the "Tip Drill" controversy. Possibly Music/PublicEnemy as well thanks to Professor Grif's comments about Jews.
* CoolCar: Exotic cars , low-riders and modded car culture in general has always been a huge part of hip-hop culture.
* DistaffCounterpart: R&B music has become this to Hip Hop. It's very rare for a urban radio station to play Hip Hop and not also play R&B. And much like Rap is a male dominated genre, R&B is female dominated. Record labels often feature upcoming R&B acts on established Rap artist singles since the genres share overlapping target demographics.
* DomesticAbuse: There's a lot of songs covering the issue.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Old-school hip-hop, the first form of the genre, was simply a subgenre of later-period {{disco}} that traded out traditional melodic vocals for rhythm-oriented rapping, born out of the technique's popularity in low-income urban communities. Most notably, [[Music/TheSugarhillGang "Rapper's Delight"]], hip-hop's BreakthroughHit, was based around the backing track to Music/{{Chic}}'s "Good Times". As the genre evolved, it incorporated elements of rock, R&B, and SynthPop, eventually becoming far-removed from its disco roots.
* EnemiesEqualsGreatness: A lot of rap songs are all over this trope, especially songs from the {{Glam Rap}} and {{Swag Rap}} sub-genres. Just about every rapper loves to talk about their "haters" in their lyrics.
* ExecutiveMeddling: Especially after it became profitable.
* FandomRivalry: Whoo boy!...
* FollowTheLeader: Oh yes, also a huge cause of Hip-Hop beef and FandomRivalry.
* ForTheEvulz: The lyrics to Horrorcore Rap, and some forms of hardcore hip-hop and gangsta rap.
* FreestyleVersion: Extremely frequent in the culture.
* GenreTurningPoint: Circa 1988, where hip hop broke into the mainstream, and the beginning of the ''Golden Age''.
* GunPorn: A feature of the GangstaRap subgenre - discussing guns, and on rare occasions showing them off in music videos.
* HotterAndSexier: Specifically the music videos around the turn of the century. Which ironically makes the old 2 Live Crew videos ''tame'' by today's standards..
* IntercourseWithYou: This is dirty rap's very fundament, although songs about sex from artist who don't fall into that determinate subgenre are not unheard of.
* ItsPopularNowItSucks: Many fans of the genre (especially ones who are music enthusiasts) often cry foul when one of their favorite rappers becomes "too popular", and tend to ignore what tops the charts deliberately.
* LighterAndSofter: Current form of hip-hop is accused of this. Not just for specific artists but the genre as a whole, according to some.
* MagazineDecay: Some feel this way about hip-hop magazines, And not just ''The Source either''.
* MeanCharacterNiceActor: Despite a lot of rappers and hip-hop artists having mean/hateful/rude/arrogant/narcissistic lyrics in their songs, plenty of them are genuinely nice/humble/down-to-earth people in real life.
* MoneyToThrowAway: Literally, common in gangsta rap videos, the artist will flash cash, and start dealing out bills onto the ground to show that they make so much money (typically in the drug trade) they can throw it around.
* MotorMouth: Fairly common in the genre as a whole, especially among Midwestern artists (Music/BoneThugsNHarmony and Twista were the first major mainstream proponents of the "chopper" style, which emphasizes extremely fast and precise deliveries with no pauses and sharply enunciated words that tend to blur together). Music/{{Eminem}} and Music/TechN9ne are the most famous purveyors of the style.
* MurderBallad: Many songs are about killing people.
* MurderSimulators: Rap music has been a popular scapegoat for almost 20 years. The media frenzy died down around the mid 90's, then in '99, Music/{{Eminem}} made his debut and the controversy went right back into full swing. People often blame it (and video games) for teens' insensitivity to violence and for promoting stereotypes about women.
* MusicIsPolitics: Discussed and invoked.
* NWordPrivileges: Many black rappers use the word "nigga" constantly, White and Asian rappers do not. Hispanic rappers, oddly enough, do use the word however.
** Though some white rappers either challenged this concept, or were caught using it in the past much to their embarrassment. White rapper Lil Wyte has used it numerous times in his songs and White/Asian rapper V-Nasty mistakenly thought she had these privileges in her earlier songs and faced a huge backlash over it, much to her embarrassment (though she still continues to use it to this day). While Music/IggyAzalea hasn't used the word herself in any of her songs, she's used the word in public saying that "it's OK because black people do it". In general though, most non-black (or Hispanic) rappers won't touch this word with a ten-foot pole.
* PopCultureIsolation: The genre at its core is mostly known by urban audiences.
* ProtestSong: The genre produced a wide variety of these during the 90's. The biggest one arguably is " Fight The Power" by Public Enemy.
* PublicMediumIgnorance: Sometimes almost to a racist degree.
* RapeAsDrama: There have been rap songs talking about rape.
* SassyBlackWoman: Some female emcees, and songs discussing said sassy women.
* ScrewedByTheNetwork
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Rappers sometime talk about bypassing rules due to having lots of money.
* ShakingTheRump: Commonly done by women in a lot of rap videos, especially if the song is [[StuffyOldSongsAboutTheButtocks about that particular body part]].
* SingerNamedrop: Almost every rap song has one.
* SoapboxSadie: Conscious hip-hop, and political rap.
* TheNewRockAndRoll: Responsible for many rather racist moral panics, particularly in the 90s.
* TokenMinority: Female and/or non-black rappers, at least in North America. In countries where Africans are non-existent or a tiny minority, the majority of rappers will be whatever is most prevalent.
** Interestingly enough for most of TheNineties female emcees was quite common. So much so that arguably they wouldn't count as a TokenMinority. But after the turn of the millennium all that changed. This has been brought up in a lot of Hip Hop mags and blogs.
*** Female rap does seem to be entering something of a renaissance as of the early 2010s, though.
** In Australia, talents like Music/{{Diafrix}}, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu16zcw82dk&feature=relmfu 1/6]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_55ZdsfNqlI N'fa]] (who worked with Creator/HeathLedger, believe it or not) head the very small number of African-Australian emcees. [[UsefulNotes/FirstAustralians Indigenous]] hip-hop is another significant minority subculture.
* VillainProtagonist: The viewpoint adopted in several songs.
* VoiceOfTheResistance: Some see the genre as this, or is capable of being this.
* AWildRapperAppears: Crossovers with other genres have been around from the start, but have been growing in popularity since the 2000's.
* WolverinePublicity: Rappers tend to promote themselves by guest-starring in other artists' songs.

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