rap music

American  

[rap myoo-zik] / ˈræp ˌmyu zɪk /

Also rap

noun

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of rap music

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

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

Abdoulaye N. started building a fan following two decades ago by sharing videos, set to rap music, on the French streaming platform Dailymotion under the social media handle Doudou Cross Bitume.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025

The RAP Act is a freedom-of-speech bill, and whether you’re into rap music or not, that’s something you should be able to support across the aisle.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2025

In Nottingham he visited the Community Recording Studio, an initiative supported by BBC Children in Need, where he applauded a rap music performance, giving a hug to one of the young people taking part.

From BBC • Sep. 9, 2025

My conception of New York City came from rap music.

From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah