Similarities Between Rap And Hip Hop

For as along as I can remember loving music I can remember being fascinated by rap and hip-hop, even from a very early age. I don’t know what it is about both rap and hip-hop that makes kids love it and parents hate it, but before diving into that both terms need to be properly defined. While often synonymous with one another, the two may share a few similarities but for the most part vary greatly. Lets start with hip-hop, which was described by KRS-One and Marley Mar in their song Hip Hop Lives as, "Hip and Hop is more than music, Hip is the knowledge, Hop is the movement Hip and Hop is intelligent movement,” (lyrics to Hip Hop Lives). What this means to me is that hip-hop is something that is constantly evolving and changing to meet popular

On the other hand, rap is seen as the more traditional musical style that is less subject to change and more stuck in its ways. Rap is more the art of rhyming and story telling than hip-hop, which is generally catchier and pop-style than rap. Rappers preach the importance of lyrics, flow, story, and word play and take great pride in their abilities to spin stories. Mista Lawnge, the esteemed MC of Black Sheep, once said of rap, "If people paid close attention in English class when they were talking about literature, if they knew what a good poem or a good short story was, they 'd know what a good rap song was,” (Small 1992: 41). This further drives home the idea that rap is more poetic than hip hop and it also may even suggest that rapping is harder than making hip-hop songs. While the two styles seem to vary greatly and have many differences, the main similarity that these two share is that both of these arts forms will disappear and die without the younger generations of

The history of both hip-hop and rap is lined with unforgettable names like Biggie Smalls, Tupac, and others who have died and left us with their music, but their time is up. It is also extremely important to remember that rap and hip-hop were not always as popular as they are today. DJ Grandmaster Flash was once asked about the early days of rap and he responded, "Rap is like the polio vaccine. At first no one believed in it. Then, once they knew it worked, everyone wanted it,” (Small 1992: 4) which just goes to show that even those who we considered pioneers of the industry today were not necessarily accepted and popular in their earliest days. Yes, the music of the past is used to help shape the current state of music and even the future, but to get hung up in the past is a grave mistake. In order to properly pay respects to those who came before, be it in hip-hop or rap, you as an artist owe it to them and to your craft to innovate and leave your