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

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

Misuse also featured heavily in rap music videos and Twitch streaming.

From BBC • May 27, 2025

Junior, Talloi, and I listened to rap music, trying to memorize the lyrics so that we could avoid thinking about the situation at hand.

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