rap music

American

[rap myoo-zik] / ˈræp ˌmyu zɪk /

Also rap

noun

a style of popular music, developed by disc jockeys and urban Black performers in the late 1970s, in which an insistent, recurring beat pattern provides the background and counterpoint for rapid, slangy, and often boastful rhyming patter intoned by a vocalist or vocalists.

the hottest new talent in rap music today.

Etymology

Origin of rap music

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The stranger was blasting rap music, “and nobody did anything, because everyone in Britain is afraid now.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

If crime rises at the same time as rap music becomes more popular, is the music driving behavior or responding to it?

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026

Ye's contributions to the history of rap music are undeniable.

From Salon • Feb. 7, 2025

Kendrick proved he cares about the art of rap music and can do it in his sleep.

From BBC • May 14, 2024

—Oh, don’t get me started about rap music . . . meaningless, mindless noise.

From "Tears of a Tiger" by Sharon M. Draper

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023