rapper

American  

[rap-er] / ˈræp ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that raps or knocks.

2. the knocker of a door.

3. Slang. a person who chats or talks, especially freely.

4. a person who performs rap music, especially professionally.

---

rapper British  

/ ˈræpə /

noun

1. something used for rapping, such as a knocker on a door

2. a performer of rap music

---

Etymology

Origin of rapper

1605–15; 1970–75, rapper for def. 3; rap ¹ + -er ¹

Explanation

A rapper is a musician who drops rhymes to the beat. “Rapper’s Delight,” the first rap to hit the Top 40, starts with “…to the hip, hip hop, and you don't stop” and ends 15 minutes later. The story is that the first rappers were MCs who talked between songs to entertain the crowd while the DJs changed records, then the MCs started talking with the beat, and then boom: rap was born. It came together as a music genre in the late 70s in New York City, but “rappers” didn’t suddenly pop up — rap emerged from African American traditions that had been around. The first rapper to sign to a major label was Kurtis Blow, in 1980.

Example Sentences

Country music superstar Carrie Underwood sang at the ceremony after rapper Snoop Dogg performed at a ball days before it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

She neglected to mention that literally everyone else except rapper Vanilla Ice had already quit.

From Salon • Jun. 3, 2026

Grammy-winning rapper J. Cole, a longtime basketball fanatic, has signed to play for the Nanjing Monkey Kings in the Chinese Basketball Assn.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026

"In the overall assessment, the cancellation of previous concerts by the American rapper in other countries and the concrete risk of counter-demonstration also weighed in."

From Barron's • May 31, 2026

But let’s be real: Your mom saying you’re a good rapper is like your mom saying you’re cute when you look a hot mess.

From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas