Over the course of rap’s 60 or so years of existence, it has been a source of controversy and a mixing pot of cultural and lyrical artistic expression (“How Rap Has Evolved Over Time”). The genre has evolved and developed since the day it was created and has fragmented into many different forms of lyrical art. Rap was created in New York when DJs started mixing and looping percussion breaks from soul and disco music to create rhythmic beats. MCs would introduce DJs and interact with the audience before songs. Grandmaster Flash was a major influence on the new genre and sourced most of his percussion breaks from soul songs from the 60s and ’70s. Grandmaster Flash introduced mixing and scratching techniques that DJs used to create variation between their mixes. His practice of adding short drum breaks while performing at parties and his technique of playing a looped drum break on one turntable while cueing another song on a second turntable gave him a unique sound that gained him wide recognition throughout the early developing hip-hop community.

The ’80s saw a rise in gangsta rap as rappers like N.W.A, Tupac Shakur, Two Live Crew, and Biggie gained infamous spots in the hip hop community by rapping about glorifying depictions of violent crime and the violence that shaped the environment and lifestyles of these rappers. With the subject matter of the music censorship and controversy with radio stations were common. A rap group that was heavily affected by this was N.W.A, a hip-hop group out of Compton, California. Their explicit lyrics and serious attitudes about the glorification of crime symbolized everything gangsta rap stood for. Radio stations banned their first two albums, however, both Dr. Dre and Ice Cube would go on to have successful solo rap careers. 

Dr. Dre went on to popularize the subgenre of g-funk to the mainstream on his landmark debut album The Chronic featuring renowned 90’s artists like Bushwick Bill, Nate Dogg, and Snoop Dogg. Although Dr. Dre practiced and popularized g-funk, he did not invent it, that credit goes to Gregory Hutchinson an American Jazz drummer. Also around this time, trap music was created, a subgenre of rap from the poorest neighborhoods in Atlanta that revolved around the lifestyle of selling crack cocaine and other drugs from a trap house which is a house where drugs are produced and sold.

Rap during the 2000s and early 2010s experienced significant growth as an industry. The popularity of rap began to rise and rappers like Eminem, Kanye West, and Drake began to branch away from just the music and began involving themselves with things from the clothing industry to energy drinks and other forms of entertainment like late-night talk shows and reality TV. The significant amount of exposure to hip hop and rap allowed for a much broader audience to be reached and many different subgenres were created like southern crunk, snap, and alternative hip hop.

Although the creation of all the subgenres of rap has allowed it to grow exponentially, lyricism took the backseat for some rappers in 2016 while the subgenre of mumble rap quickly picked up in popularity. At this time small independent artists would use a free music sharing platform called SoundCloud, earning them the title of “SoundCloud rappers.” As SoundCloud rappers like Lil Uzi Vert and Juice WRLD perform at live shows and music festivals, often going online to showcase their fast and expensive lifestyles to their fans usually documenting things like large quantities of money, recreational drug use, women, and luxurious cars. One of the rappers who took this to the extreme was Lil Pump, he was an artist from Miami, Florida, and was known for his party track style music, flashy style, and real-world antics. Lil Pump would generate internet and media attention or “clout” by creating controversy on social media, talking down on some of the biggest names in rap, and flexing an expensive lifestyle showing on Instagram; clout chasing. Chasing clout is usually an ultimately direct path to damage or ruin your career as a rapper. As seen with Lil Pump, rappers focus less on the music industry and instead devote their energy and image to publicity stunts as a quick cash grab that in the end provides no longevity. 

While 2016 held a lot of beat-oriented tracks, in 2018 it started to change with many Hip Hop and Rap fans feeling 2018 was one of the best years for the genres (“2018 WAS THE YEAR HIP-HOP FINALLY WON THE RESPECT IT DESERVES”). These claims are not unfounded as throughout the year different artists achieved new levels of success in both Rap and Hip Hop. Generally, the Rap community has struggled with misogyny, but in 2018 many women rappers got their spotlight. Cardi B is a good example of the persistent success the women’s Rap game saw during that year because not only did she make 28 million dollars but won 9 MTV Video Music Awards. Her success was not short-lived either as she’s still making headlines and well-received music with popular features and has gone on to balance motherhood, celebrity life, and making music. JAY-Z  made a tremendous stride for the industry as he was the first rapper ever to be recognized and honored by the Songwriters Hall of Fame. It was a massive win for the genre as it was the first time Songhall had recognized Rap as a lyrical art form. This wasn’t the last first time of that year as Kendrick Lamar took home the Pulitzer Prize after losing the Grammy Award for an album to Bruno Mars. This prestigious prize has never been awarded to anybody outside of Jazz and Classical Music. 

Rap recently has had the spotlight on rappers with cynical lyricism with sinister overtones and socio-political observations strewn about through their raps. J.Cole provides a good glimpse into this style of music. By just his lyrics you could likely assume he might be Trap, but the softness and nuance of his instrumentals and loops, it provides a warm sound of Hip Hop. The rappers of this age are everywhere and come all with different sounds, backgrounds, and cultural artistic expressions. Mumble Rap-party tracks are still common as artists need to produce more music to keep up with the industry and often release more music faster allowing rappers to stay relevant.