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 you toss your cigarette butt onto a train platform or play rap music loudly in the quiet car, you’d better hope Anthony Daniels isn’t around.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

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

Anderson adds, “When it comes to rap and hip-hop, VIP Records was the first to sell rap music on the West Coast, period.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2025

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

From Salon • Feb. 7, 2025

The rap music seemed to be hooked up to some sort of Internet-capable playlist and kept going, never repeating, as more and more guests arrived.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini