rap music

American  

[rap myoo-zik] / ˈræp ˌmju 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

See Examples For:

rap music

I’m one of the few still kvetching about rap music and why isn’t “Saturday Night Live” funny anymore?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

And while Tiffany used to mainly focus on rap music, she says her taste has "grown" and "evolved" and she is "so keen" to showcase a wider range of music in future.

From BBC ● Jan. 2, 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

I studied the red exposed brick wall of the room and tried to identify the rap music coming from a car passing by.

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