Hip Hop is a genre of popular music developed in the United States by inner-city African Americans and Latino Americans in the Bronx borough of New York City in the 1970s. DJ Kool Herc, a Jamaican DJ, is credited for officially originating hip hop music through his "Back to Schoom", hosted on August 11, 1973, at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue.

It consists of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted. It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, break dancing, graffiti writing. Other elements include sampling beats or bass lines from records (or synthesized beats and sounds), and rhythmic beatboxing.

While often used to refer solely to rapping, "hip hop" refers to the practice of the entire subculture. The term hip hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music, though rapping is not a required component of hip hop music; the genre may also incorporate other elements of hip hop culture, including DJing, turntablism, scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.

Subgenres[edit]

Alternative Hip Hop • Christian Hip Hop • Crunk • Experimental Hip Hop • Gangsta Rap • Hardcore Hip Hop • Horrorcore • Instrumental Hip Hop • Mumble Rap • Native American Hip Hop • Nerdcore • Trap

Fusion Genres[edit]

Chillhop • Country Rap • Eedo • Emo Rap • Glitch Hop • Hip House • Lounge Hop • Neo Soul • New Jack Swing • Nu Metal • Psychedelic Rap • Trip Hop