Rap is a cultural and musical movement that originated in hip-hop. Appeared in the early 1970s in the ghettos of the United States, rap is characterized by a very rhythmic diction and the use of rhyme.

Most often, a rap piece is a succession of verses separated by a chorus. Influenced by other musical genres ( reggae, blues, and jazz, rock ), rap gained increasing popularity throughout the 1980s. In the early hours, MCs (Master of Ceremony ) were used just to support the DJs, and the rapped parties were simply called MC-ing ( emceeing ) or ( aimesi-ing ).

The drumbeat is a core element of hip-hop production. While some rap beats are sampled, others are created by drum machines. The most widely used drum machine is the analog Roland TR-808, which has remained a mainstay for decades.

RapBeats.one, this site.

NK Music (Kendrick / J. Cole / Isaiah Rashad type rap beats)

Origami (Nujabes / anime type rap beats)

Ruins (ASAP Rocky / Playboi Carti / Travis Scott type rap beats)

Chxse Bank (Mac Miller / Kid Cudi type rap beats)

Juno (J Dilla, Ohbliv, Ahwlee type rap beats)

Beatowski Beats (90’s Chill boom bap type rap beats)

Balance Cooper (Kendrick / Drake / ASAP Rocky type rap beats)

False Ego (Kendrick / Isaiah Rashad / Pusha T type rap beats)

Jee Juh Beats (Jay-Z, Biggie, Tupac type rap beats)

Lethal Needle (MF DOOM / Wu-Tang type rap beats)

Nayz (artsy type rap beats)

versus beats (Isaiah Rashad / Saba type rap beats)

Apollo Young (Jack Harlow / Comethazine / $UICIDEBOY$ type rap beats)

Yondo (J. Cole / Kendrick type rap beats)

In the United States, it is defined as the retroacronym of “rhythm and poetry”. The first MCs accorded their syllables with rap beats in “rhythm” and “poetry”, because rap is above all the expression of one’s feelings or those of others, of truth or of a “trip”, of our desires. So they spoke of “rhythm and poetry” for the fact of assimilating the two and sharing your emotions on a musical line.

The word “rap” also comes from the English to rap, a verb meaning “to chat, blame, chatter” in slang. Enzo Gonçalves traces the use of the term since 1541 with the meaning of “pronouncing vigorously or suddenly”. The Dictionary of American Slang Wentworth and Flexner gives the definition to “speak, recognize, inform someone” (1931) and “talk openly or frankly”.

“Rap” can also mean “Rock Against Police” (following a rebellion of young people of the 1980s against the police, meaning used by certain pieces of francophone rap of the 1990s (example, the compilation Police released in 1997).

Rap was a term used as early as 1971 to describe vocals recorded on Isaac Hayes’ album, Black Moses, and more specifically on the tracks Ike’s Rap, Ike’s Rap II, Ike’s Rap III, and so on. For Del the Funky Homosapien the expression rap was used to describe the vocals in music in the early 1970s: “I was born in ’72 … at the time, what we called rap was mostly unsung lyrics that tried to convince us of something. This is rap, this is a way of speaking

• “Keep It Real” by Milkbone, Produced by Mufi.
• “Flava in Ya Ear” by Craig Mack, Produced by Easy Mo Bee.
• “Whoa” by Black Rob, Produced by Buckwild.
• “Runnin” by The Pharcyde, Produced by J Dilla.
• “The Light” by Common, Produced by J Dilla.
• “Superthug” by Noreaga, Produced by The Neptunes.
• “Touch It” by Busta Rhymes, Produced by Swizz Beatz.
• “Step Into a World (Rapture’s Delight)” by KRS-One, Produced by Jesse West.
• “Victory” by Puff Daddy, Produced by Diddy, Stevie J, and the Hitmen.
• “Top Billin'” by Audio Two, Produced by Daddy-O and Audio Two.
• “Dead Presidents” by Jay Z, Produced by Ski.
• “Grindin'” by Clipse. Produced by The Neptunes.
• “Who Shot Ya” by The Notorious B.I.G. Produced by Diddy with co-production by Nashiem Myrick.
• “Deep Cover” by Dr. Dre. Produced by Dr. Dre.
• “In Da Club” by 50 Cent. Produced by Dr. Dre with co-production by Mike Elizondo.
• “Scenario” by A Tribe Called Quest. Produced by A Tribe Called Quest.
• “N.Y. State of Mind” by Nas. Produced by DJ Premier.
• “Shook Ones Part 2” by Mobb Deep. Produced by Havoc.
• “Come Clean” by Jeru Da Damaja. Produced by DJ Premier.
• “Mass Appeal” by Gang Starr. Produced by DJ Premier. 

The first known rapper was Herc, noting that the most danceable evenings of funk, which then dominated clubs, house parties, and dance floors, were breaks. In order to ensure greater success, Herc, who then earned his living thanks to his sound system, began to play these breaks in a loop.

What would become the essence of rap, the choice, then the making of a powerful and gripping loop was already there, although in an artisanal way: at that time (1974-1976) there was no other way, to continuously repeat a passage than to put two identical discs and to pass from one to the other.

The technique was improved by an enthusiast of phonographic material: Joseph Saddler, better known as Grandmaster Flash. Flash crafted what would come to be known as DJ-ing. His first solo public trials were not successful, so he teamed up with Robert Keith “Cowboy” Wiggins, the Glover brothers (Melvin ”  Miss Mel  ” and Nathaniel “Kidd Creole”) to form the Furious and revolutionize music.

Rap beats seem, at first sight, to have roots in African culture. The chanted song of the MC in fact evokes the griot, poet, and musician who chronicles daily life or is invited to sing during celebrations (for example a wedding).

Likewise, the return to music based more on rhythm than on melody recalls the polyrhythms of African percussions. It would have passed through jazz (scat and bebop) and especially Jamaican music (a large part of the first DJs and MCs were of Jamaican origin, and Jamaican sound systems, as well as the practice of talk-over, played an essential role in the birth of rap in the heart of the black American ghettos ).

We also talk about the influence of the music of Brazilian origin, capoeira (music, song, dance-combat, against slavery). However, others have also raised the possibility of a Western origin of this expression, taking the example of the troubadours to support their thesis.

Rap beats’ closest ancestor is spoken word, which appeared in the early 1930s with the Golden Gate Quartet, a gospel group, with the song Preacher and the Bear.

Much later, some confidential groups including The Last Poets in New York, The Watts Prophets, in California, as well as Gil Scott-Heron (see in particular the song The Revolution Will Not Be Televised ) use the declamation of speech on rhythms beaten by the drums African with blackness as a favorite theme.

Along with the spoken word, and although hip-hop, in essence, has mostly funk as its roots, another possible influence in the genesis of rap is the appearance in the early 1970s of toasting in Jamaica.

DJs / entertainers began to talk-sing over instrumental mixes of reggae hits (often placed opposite the latter) on the radio or in sound systems.

These mixes designed for sound systems allowed the development of dub, while this way of singing-talking over it defined toasting, or other ragga, and suddenly the beginnings of rap to come. U Roy is one of the best examples. The connection with rap is obvious.

Hip-hop was born in 1974 with DJ Kool Herc, and the first raps were made by MCs ( Masters of Ceremonies ) who made simple rhymes to set the mood for the evening. 

The first piece of rap proper is not American, it is Italian. This is the title of Adriano Celentano, Prisencolinensinainciusol in 1972, seven years before King Tim III of the group Fatback Band and Rap-O Clap-O of Joe Bataan (1979).

In 1979, a few months later, the first rap hit was released on 45 rpm, Rapper’s Delight from the Sugarhill Gang, whose music was clearly influenced by funk. In 1980, the English punk group The Clash incorporated rap in the track The Magnificent Seven.

The 1980s saw the explosion of rap with political groups (like Public Enemy ) or entertainment (like Run – DMC ). In line with the diy of punks in New York (hip-hop was first dubbed the “punk black”), rappers rapping on synthetic and brutal rhythms from a drum machine cheap.

It is a really popular street music which developed its own themes: on the one hand under the influence of the Zulu Nation of Afrika Bambaataawho saw in hip-hop a way to keep young people away from drugs and gangs and to stimulate their creativity, on the other hand as a testament to a difficult life (“hardcore” rap).

Coming from underprivileged neighborhoods, early rap was often an outlet for the discomfort and demands of the young people who live there. Violent or raw remarks are frequent, readily provocative. Rap is both a social phenomenon and an art form in its own right.

In 1982, The Message from Grandmaster Flash is the revolution announced. This is the first hip-hop hit, a street culture that then consisted mainly of dance and DJ-ing.

It is also curious that, despite the fact that it is the rapper Melle Mel that we hear on the recording, the title is credited with the name of Grand Master Flash (the DJ – sound designer).

The rapper didn’t have the leading role he has today. American rappers such as Run – DMC criticize white racism in their songs, so the majority of listeners are blacks.

The Beastie Boys also began to make themselves known, proving and showing that hip-hop culture is indeed a mixture of black and white cultures and influences. Later, Puff Daddy has modeled rap music on very soft songs popular among whites in the United States.

FreeBeats.io is a resource for up-and-coming rappers, singers, and content creators who are seeking free beats and instrumentals for their multimedia projects.

Some people will charge around $1.99 for rap beats and others may charge $50. On a much bigger scale, rap beats can probably sell for anywhere from $300 to in the thousands. You will really do whatever you can to sell them for. As you get more well-known, you have more to offer an artist as well.

Just as your heart rate is determined by how many times your heart beats per minute, a song’s tempo is determined by how many beats there are per minute. Most of the rap music you listen to is constructed in what’s known as 4/4 time, which simply means there are four beats per bar (also known as a measure).

Non-exclusive means you can sell the same rap beats over and over again to as many people as you wish. So if your beat is really hot and 100 people are trying to buy that same beat from you in a non-exclusive contract, that means 100 people will be using that beat. That really brings down the value of your beats.

You cannot use someone else’s content without permission. Doing so is illegal copyright infringement. Any part of someone else’s music that is recognizable, whether that is a beat or a sample, is protected by copyright. No, you can’t circumvent copyright protections by giving credit.

So, when your song blows up and you used a leased beat in it, the next step is simply to purchase the exclusive rights of the rap beats assuming no one leased this beat before. That means you need to strike a deal with your producer. You need the exclusive rights of the beat so you can exploit your song freely.

In most cases, it is easier on your wallet and it is more beneficial to the producer. There are certain scenarios purchasing exclusive rights makes sense, especially when your song will blow up.

Rap beats are a mode of expression while hip-hop is a cultural and artistic movement that brings together four main modes of expression: rap, deejaying including the beatbox which is a sub-branch, dance, and music, graffiti.

These modes of artistic expression existed separately before the creation of the hip-hop movement. Reunited in the 1970s, they gave birth to a real state of mind with its own codes: values, attitudes, dress style, and urban cultures.

In addition to its musical dimension, rap beats also has the function of informing the public. The texts of political rap or gangster rap clearly explain that rap designates the report on a situation or a drama

Many artists or groups come from the suburbs whose language practices are described and perceived as inferior to normative written language. In fact, in the so-called “ghetto” language, there are some such as borrowings or slang which are frowned upon by defenders of the language.

These practices have a creative and cryptic function, that is to say, that their goal is to create a language that cannot be understood by all.

The loans are words that come from another language. Moreover, some artists are multilingual and sometimes integrate words, sentences, or paragraphs from other languages ​​into their texts.

Senegalese rap is a good example. Indeed, we can observe a mixture of French, Wolof, and English, which can be explained by the coexistence of several languages ​​in Senegal (Wolof is one of the local languages ​​and French and English belong to the international languages).

Slang is a linguistic phenomenon very present in rap music. These are language habits specific to a set of people from a given closed environment, the aim of which is to affirm their belonging to a group. In fact, verlan is a type of slang that consists of inverting the syllables of a word.

Loans and slang aside, there are other linguistic processes that rappers can use to enrich their lyrics. These include derivation and figures of speech, such as paronomasias, metaphors, and anaphors.

In addition, the artists also use the initials and the acronym, process which consists in reducing several words to their initials to form a smaller one.

In addition, a whole set of lexical transformations by addition or deletion of different elements, called metaplasms, is also observable. For example, abbreviations are part of deletion metaplasms and the most frequent are apocopes whose last sound is a consonant (eg biz, mic).

As another lexical creation process, there is also neologism by suffixation. We observe that words can be invented from several languages. The origins of these suffixes can be various: ancient Greek, Latin, French, English, etc.

For example, we can cite the term “tolerate”, coined by the Senegalese rap group Positive Black Soul, in their song “Explique”. It designates a government that bases its legitimacy on the force. “Dole” is a Wolof root meaning “force” and “cracy” is a root of Greek origin meaning “power.

Contrary to what might be said in the mass media about rap, the vocabulary used is not especially more violent or vulgar than that used by other musical genres. Indeed, this is what a 2015 study carried out by the French music platform Deezer noted.

Also, this same study highlighted the fact that the rap/hip-hop musical genre had the broadest and most diverse lexicon. Moreover, it is rapper Eminem, among the 99 artists who sold the most records, who has the richest vocabulary, with 8,818 lexemes used in the lyrics of his 100 longest songs.

In contrast, the average vocabulary size of other musical genres, such as rock, folk, funk, etc. averages 2,677 words. Eminem is followed in this ranking by rappers Jay-Z, Tupac Shakur, Kanye West, and folk singer Bob Dylan.

Moreover, according to Deezer’s study, rapper Rohff is the artist with the greatest lexical diversity in French rap (6,375 unique words)