Hip hop music

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Musical genres, styles, eras and events

Hip hop music (Rap)
Stylistic origins:	Jamaican Dancehall toasting alongside the rhythms of R&B, disco and funk
Cultural origins:	late 1960s/early 1970s: Kingston, Jamaica - early 1970s South Bronx, New York City
Typical instruments:	Turntable, rapping, drum machine, Sampler, synthesizer, human beatboxing
Mainstream popularity:	Since late 1980s in the United States, worldwide beginning in early 1990s, among best-selling genres of music by early 2000s.
Derivative forms:	Trip hop, Grime
Subgenres
Abstract - Alternative - Chopped and screwed - Christian - Conscious - Crunk - Gangsta - G-funk - Hardcore - Horrorcore - Hyphy - Instrumental - Jazz rap - Latin rap - Mobb - Nerdcore - Old school - Pop rap - Snap
Fusion genres
Country rap - Electro hop - Freestyle - Hip house - Hip life - Ghettotech - Hip hop soul - Miami bass - Neo soul - New jack swing - Ragga - Rapcore - Reggaeton - Urban Pasifika
Regional scenes
African - American: ( East - West - South - Midwest) - British - French - Japanese - Salvadoran - Others...
Other topics
Beatboxing - Breakdancing - Collaborations - DJing ( Turntablism) - Hip hop culture - Fashion - Feuds - Graffiti - History - List of rappers - Rapping - Roots - Slang - Timeline

Hip hop music, also known as rap music, is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid- 1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. It consists of two main components: rapping ( MCing) and DJing ( production and scratching). Along with hip hop dance (notably breakdancing) and urban inspired art, or notably graffiti, these compose the four elements of hip hop, a cultural movement that was initiated by inner-city youth, mostly African Americans and Latinosin New York City, in the early 1970s.

Typically, hip hop music consists of rhythmic lyrics making use of techniques like assonance, alliteration, and rhyme. The rapper is accompanied by an instrumental track, usually referred to as a " beat," performed by a DJ, created by a producer, or one or more instrumentalists. Historically, this beat has often been created using a sample of the percussion break of another song: usually funk and soul recordings have been utilized. However, in recent years, it has become more common for the beat to be built up from individual drum samples. In addition to the beat, other sounds are often sampled, synthesized, or performed. Sometimes a track can be instrumental, as a showcase of the skills of the DJ or producer.

Hip hop began in The Bronx, a borough in New York City, when DJs began isolating the percussion break from funk and disco songs. The early role of the MC was to introduce the DJ and the music and to keep the audience excited. MCs began by speaking between songs, giving exhortations to dance, greetings to audience members, jokes and anecdotes. Eventually this practice became more stylized and became known as rapping. By 1979, hip hop had become a commercially popular music genre and began to enter the American mainstream. In the 1990s, a form of hip hop called gangsta rap became a major part of American music, causing significant controversy over lyrics which were perceived as promoting violence, promiscuity, drug use and misogyny. Nevertheless, by the beginning of the 2000s, hip hop was a staple of popular music charts and was being performed in many styles across the world.

Genre history

The main historical eras of hip hop are the old school hip hop era (1970 to 1985), which spanned from the beginning of hip hop until its emergence into the mainstream, and the golden age hip hop era (1985 to 1993), which consolidated the sounds of the East Coast and the West Coast and transitioned into the modern era with the rise of gangsta rap and G-funk, created by the West Coast. The years after 1993 contain the hardcore hip hop, bling, and underground genres, which largely define the modern era.

Hip hop arose during the 1970s at block parties in New York City, at which the DJs began isolating the percussion breaks to hit funk, soul, R&B and disco songs. These songs were based on – "breakbeat" DJing. Early hip hop rhythms and (sampled) riffs were derived essentially from funk music. Some funk songs, such as James Brown's "Payback" (1974) are clearly predicting hip hop music and also speaking over the music was used extensively in funk, most notably on records produced by George Clinton. As hip hop became popular, performers began speaking while the music played, and became known as MCs or emcees. In 1979, the first commercially issued hip hop recordings were released: " Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang which became a Top 40 hit on the U.S. Billboard pop singles chart. 'Rapper' in reference to music was actually coined by this song. Some historians cite King Tim III (Personality Jock) by the Fatback Band to be the first commercially released hip hop recording but they were a funk and disco group.

During the 1980s, hip hop began to diversify and develop into a more complex form. At the same time, more sophisticated techniques were developed, including scratching, and electronic recording. In the late 1980s, a number of new hip hop styles and subgenres began appearing as the genre gained popularity. Hip hop musicians collaborated with rock bands and spread out into the genres of conscious hip hop, jazz-rap and gangsta rap.

In the 1990s, a prolonged confrontation between West Coast gangsta rappers and the resurging East Coast began. It centered around Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. and led to both of their deaths, in 1996 and 1997 respectively. In 1996, Cleveland-based rap group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony tied The Beatles' 32-year-old record for fastest-rising single with " Tha Crossroads," and in 2000, Scottish-American White rapper Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP sold over nine million copies and won a Grammy Award.

Social impact

Hip hop music is a part of hip hop, a cultural movement that includes the activities of breakdancing and graffiti art, as well as associated slang, fashion and other elements. The popularity of music has helped to popularize hip hop culture, both in the United States and to a lesser degree abroad.

Lifestyle

The late 1990s saw the rise in popularity of the " bling-bling" lifestyle in rap music, focusing on symbols of wealth and status like money, jewelry, cars, and clothing. Although references to wealth have existed since the birth of hip hop, the new, intensified "bling-bling" culture has its immediate roots in the enormously commercially successful late-to-mid nineties work (specifically, music videos) of Puff Daddy and Bad Boy Records as well as Master P's No Limit Records. However, the term was coined in 1999 (see 1999 in music) by Cash Money Records artist Lil' Wayne on B.G.'s hit single "Bling-Bling", and the Cash Money roster were perhaps the epitome of the "bling-bling" lifestyle and attitude. Though many rappers, mostly gangsta rappers, unapologetically pursue and celebrate bling-bling, others, mostly artists outside of the hip hop mainstream, have expressly criticized the idealized pursuit of bling-bling as being materialistic.

Product Placement, Advertising and Shilling

For many years rap music has included product placement for cars, alcoholic drinks, clothing and other products. Rappers will discuss at length the cars they drive and the drinks they consume and glorify the excess, decadence and luxury.

Homophobia

Because hip hop music almost always puts an emphasis on hyper-masculinity, its lyrics have been said to reflect a homophobic mindset. It is often suspected that there are a great number of gay or lesbian hip hop musicians who do not come out of the closet, for fear of the decline of their career. Rumors of such have involved hip hop artists such as Queen Latifah, Da Brat, and several others. In 2001, the first annual PeaceOUT World Homo Hop Festival, which features performers by openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered rappers was held in Oakland, California, and the festival, curated by artist/activist Juba Kalamka, has continued on an annual basis since then. In 2003 the openly gay hip hop and rap artist Caushun, was rumored to have signed to the Baby Phat imprint (a project of Kimora Lee Simmons,at the time married to hip hop mogul Russell Simmons); however, his record was apparently never released. In September 2005, the documentary Pick Up the Mic premiered at the 30th Annual Toronto International Film Festival, focusing on LGBT hip hop performers, such as Kalamka's group Deep Dickollective, JenRO, Tori Fixx and the duo God-Des and She.

Language

Hip hop has a distinctive slang. Due to hip hop's extraordinary commercial success in the late nineties and early 21st century, many of these words have been assimilated into many different dialects across America and the world and even to non-hip hop fans (the word dis for example is remarkably prolific). There are also words like homie which predate hip hop but are often associated with it. Sometimes, terms like what the dilly, yo are popularized by a single song (in this case, "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" by Busta Rhymes) and are only used briefly. Of special importance is the rule-based slang of Snoop Dogg and E-40, who add -izz to the middle of words so that shit becomes shizznit (the addition of the n occurs occasionally as well). This practice, with origins in Frankie Smith's non-sensical language from his 1980 single "Double Dutch Bus," has spread to even non-hip hop fans, who may be unaware of its derivation.

Censorship issues

Hip hop has probably encountered more problems with censorship than any other form of popular music in recent years, due to the use of expletives. It also receives flak for being anti-establishment, and many of its songs depict wars and coup d' etats that in the end overthrows the government. For example, Public Enemy's "Gotta Give the Peeps What They Need" song was edited without their permission, removing the words "free Mumia". The pervasive use of profanity in many songs has created challenges in the broadcast of such material both on television stations such as MTV, in music video form, and on radio. As a result, many hip hop recordings are broadcast in censored form, with offending language blanked out of the soundtrack (though usually leaving the backing music intact), or even replaced with completely different lyrics. The result – which quite often renders the remaining lyrics unintelligible or contradictory to the original recording – has become almost as widely identified with the genre as any other aspect of the music, and has been parodied in films such as Austin Powers in Goldmember, in which a character – performing in a parody of a hip hop music video – performs an entire verse that is blanked out.

In 1995 Roger Ebert wrote:

“

Rap has a bad reputation in white circles, where many people believe it consists of obscene and violent anti-white and anti-female guttural. Some of it does. Most does not. Most white listeners don't care; they hear black voices in a litany of discontent, and tune out. Yet rap plays the same role today as Bob Dylan did in 1960, giving voice to the hopes and angers of a generation, and a lot of rap is powerful writing."

”

World hip hop

Although hip hop music originated in the US, it has spread throughout the world. Hip hop was almost entirely unknown outside of the United States prior to the 1980s. During that decade, it began its spread to every continent and became a part of the music scene in dozens of countries. The spread of the music was intertwined with that of hip hop culture - as elements such as breakdancing gained popularity, so did rappers and hip hop groups. Today Eminem & 2 Pac are among the best selling artists and also best selling ever with close to 80 million albums sold each.

Europe

United Kingdom

In the late 1990s many hip hop artists were gaining an underground following including Roots Manuva and Blak Twang. Since the year 2000 acts such as The Streets, So Solid Crew, Dizzee Rascal, Goldie Lookin Chain, have enjoyed mainstream success. The popularity of garage music and grime which also feature emceeing have helped to boost the growth in popularity of UK hip hop. Other notable UK rappers include Lady Sovereign, Braintax, Jehst and Sway.

France

Hip hop first appeared in France in 1979, just as the genre was achieving some success in the US. By 1982, a number of hip hop radio stations had appeared, including Rapper Dapper Snapper, and the future star DJ Dee Nasty made his first appearance. That same year saw the first major hip hop concert, the New York City Rap Tour, sponsored by Europe 1 and featuring Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmixer DST, Fab 5 Freddy, Mr Freeze and the Rock Steady Crew.

By 1983, hip hop was a notable part of the French music scene. Dee Nasty's Paname City Rappin', released in 1984, was the first French hip hop record. France produced a number of native-born stars, such as IAM and Suprême NTM, though the most famous French rapper is probably the Senegalese-born MC Solaar.

In Europe, hip hop was the domain of both ethnic nationals and immigrants.

Germany

Germany, for example, produced the well-known Optik Army and its frontman Kool Savas as well as several other rap combos like Aggro Berlin, Die Fantastischen Vier, Ersguterjunge, Fettes Brot, Amstaff or Shok Muzik. Also several solo artists like Samy Deluxe or Azadare known across Europe.

Denmark

Danish hip hop was pioneered by the influential group MC Einar, named satirically after their lead singer Einar Enemark. Artists of the 80's had very little commercial success, as all attention to the genre was given to contemporary pop-acts experimenting. Present artists like Nik & Jay, L.O.C. and Joker J have seen an enormous rise in popularity and record sales, over the past decade.

Sweden

Swedish hip hop emerged in the mid 1980s and by the early 1990s a lot of "ethnic Swedish acts" like Looptroop, "immigrant acts" like The Latin Kings and mixed acts like Infinite Mass switched from English to rapping in " Rinkeby Swedish", (a kreol-like suburb dialect with lot's of loans from foremost Turkish), when they were making records for the domestic market.

Ireland

In Ireland the most famous rapper is Rob Kelly whose major debut release ( Bragging Rights) came to great critical and slight commercial success and was a revolution in Irish Hip Hop other notable emcees are Collie Craz-e, B-Wonder and groups like Man against machine. Ireland also has its own hip hop magazine called " Rap Ireland", which is owned by Kev Storrs alongside DJ Frank Jez of FM104 and TimDogg. Also on the urban brand are DJ Ahmed, DJ Tando and DJ Mo-K. There are also many polish emcee's residing from Ireland.

Poland

In Poland, hip-hop is among the most popular music styles and artists such as Kazik and Liroy who emerged in the early 1990s has been at the forefront of Polish music business. Nowadays, hip-hop has diversified and came out of the shadow to take a larger chunk of the mainstream music scene with rappers such as OSTR, WWO, Vienio, Gural, Pezet, Tede, Pokahontaz, Abradab, Syndesmo and independent music labels producing different sounds in hip-hop in many Polish cities.

Netherlands

The Netherlands' most famous early rappers were The Osdorp Posse, an all-white crew from Amsterdam, and The Postmen, from Cape Verde and Suriname. In recent years, hip hop artists of Moroccan ancestry such as Cilvaringz, Ali B and Raymzter have been both commercially successful and highly culturally influential. Raymzter is best known for his hit Kut Marokkanen??!, which wittily threw a semi-obscene anti-Moroccan racial slur back into the faces of its users. The ethnically Dutch rap duo Lange Frans & Baas B have had multiple #1 hits, including the tongue-in-cheek patriotic anthem Het land van ("The land of..."). In 2005, De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig ("The youth of today") made a major splash with their cheeky #1 hit Watskeburt?! ("Wuzhappenin?!").

Italy

Italy found its own rappers, including Jovanotti and Articolo 31, grow nationally renowned, while the Polish scene began in earnest early in the decade with the rise of PM Cool Lee. Opee has recently emerged into the French-speaking world as a major star from Romandy (French-speaking Switzerland).

Romania

In Romania, B.U.G. Mafia came out of Bucharest's Pantelimon neighbourhood, and their brand of gangsta rap underlines the parallels between life in Romania's Communist-era apartment blocks and in the housing projects of America's ghettos. The group has its own production label called Casa, signing and releasing albums of well known rap artists like Mahsat, Grasu XXL, M&G and Villy. The Parazitii group has become one of the most popular in Romania, with their lyrics reaching social, political and anti-censorship themes (They also own the 20 CM Records hip-hop label, signing rap group Anonim and Spike - in 2006 Cheloo, the main Parazitii producer released an album entitled Fabricant de gunoi-The Trash Maker, which features a guest appearance from the Killarmy, the Wu-Tang Killa Beez group). Also, R.A.C.L.A. (originally standing for White Rappers Legally Conceive Warnings) was the first rap group to release a Romanian hip-hop album, touching mainly "social" subjects, the group still exists today, releasing its 5th album in 2005 called "DEXteritate" (Dexterity). In 2005, another explosive rap group, Zale, launched its debut album, Chei Verbale(with the single "Depinde de noi"), which received positive public reaction. Since then, the group has made its own production label, called Chill Brothers Records, signing the well known ragga-rap artist Pacha Man (Known for his successful collaboration with African Reggae artists such as Moweed and Buppy Brown and British hip-hop artist Black Bishop of the Mobstarz and C-Rhyme Family crews), and a couple of other artists like Subsemnatu (Member of the Explicit rap group), Mike Pow ( a very talented R&B artist) and some well-known producers. They released their second album called Chill Brothers in the autumn of 2006.

Iceland

The first rap group to become well known in Iceland was Quarashi.

Albania

Albania and Kosovo have been a revolution in the hip-hop industry in Europe. Rap bands like The Bloody Alboz, Etno Engjujt, WNC, 2Po2, Double G Army, Tingulli 3, DMC, Rudi and others have striven to portray the real Albanian attitude of today. Albanian rappers like Rebel aka UniKKatiL, Lyrical Son and Milot have become successful in part because their high sound quality and excellent performance standards are considered the equal of anything available from American or other sources.

Serbia

Serbia is one of the better known rap states in Europe, thanks to the rap group Beogradski sindikat (The Belgrade syndicate). They, first of all, represent their neighbourhood Dorcol (Gornji, Donji Dorcol, Sipka (uCAzaKInje), Maj), and Belgrade, as one of the biggest cities in Europe. The group has "Nine to 99 members", but only a few of them appear on tracks (Fedja, Skabo, Ogi, Darko, Djolo Djolo...). Their last album "SVI ZAJEDNO" was one of the best selling albums in 2005 in Serbia. Other rappers like MC Jeretik (Jera) and Djole (they are group Full Trip) and Gru, Ajs Nigrutin ( Bad Copy), Marchelo, V.I.P. and others, are also influential.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina has famous rappers like Edo Maajka, Frenkie, Univerzalni Vojnici, etc. Edo Maajka is the one of best known rappers from the Balkans. He has a lot of songs about the Bosnian-War and about the situation in Bosnia now. Frenkie is a nationalist rapper in Bosnia and is a member of BH Fanaticos.

Croatia

In Croatia, the hip-hop scene developed in the late 1990s in Zagreb, supported by the Blackout Rap Show on Radio 101. The Blackout project gave birth to bands such as Tram 11, Bolesna Braca, Nered i Stoka, Elemental etc. Simmultaneously, a new style, less influenced by the american black culture, evolved in Split, with bands such as The Beat Fleet and STillness.

Bulgaria

In the late 1990s, Bulgaria saw the formation of the crews "Amnistia" and "Rubber Heads" (Gumeni Glavi), the latter of which included Misho Shamara, Dreben G, Konsa and more. "Rubber Heads"'s label was called R'n'B and was very popular. They even had their own clothing line. In 2000, another Bulgarian hip hop label was created and it was called Sniper Records, including famous names like Spens, DJ Stancho, Slim, Shosho and more. The most successful in commercial terms is Upsurt whose song "3 in 1" was ranked number 1 in the Bulgarian top ten for 2005. In 2006 they recorded a song with Mala Rodriguez called "Vtora cedka"(a slang phrase which can be interpreted as something(or someone) of low-quality or as a second-hand object(or lifestyle) which was also ranked first in the top 10.

Greece

Hip Hop caught on in Greece by the early 1990s. These days, groups like Goin' Through dominate the mainstream (being signed to the legendary hip hop label Def Jam), while Thessalonian pioneer Sifu VERSUS is among the top names of the underground (notably being one of the very few Greek hip hop artists to expand his career out of Greece).

Macedonia

The beginning of the Macedonian rap started with forming of the few rap groups in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Well known bands in this period are The Most Wanted and Cista Okolina (Clean Environment).

Asia

In Asia, the Philippines is said to have developed the first hip hop scene in all of Asia and the Pacific islands. The birth of Filipino hip hop music, or Pinoy Rap, occurred in the early 1980s with songs by Dyords Javier ("Na Onseng Delight") and Vincent Dafalong ("Nunal"). The genre developed slowly during the 1980s but soon hit the mainstream with Francis Magalona's debut album, Yo! which included the nationalistic hit "Mga Kababayan" (My countrymen). Magalona, who rapped in both English and Tagalog became a pioneer in the genre and a superstar as a result. Mainstream stars rose to prominence in the Philippines, led by Michael V., Rap Asia, MC Lara and Lady Diane, and in Japan, where underground rappers had previously found a limited audience, and popular teen idols brought a style called J-rap to the top of the charts in the middle of the 1990s.

In Seoul, the Korean hip hop scene has expanded into a form of cultural phenomenon. Some fans assert that Korean hip hop artists possess skills that can rival their U.S. counterparts. Notable performers include Jo PD, Drunken Tiger, Psy, and Epik High. Some suggest that Korean hip hop music firmly stands as the respectable and socially-conscious antithesis to an often superficial and confused pop genre that pervades the Korean music industry.

Hip hop music started gaining popularity in South Korea in the mid-1990s. Famous mainstream Korean hip hop performers often resemble R&B or pop music with artists mimicking the vocal (and dance) styles of rap acts from the United States. Early performers—who rarely penned their own songs—included Kim Gun Mo, Seo Taiji and Boys, Deux, and DJ DOC. The Korean language was initially used almost exclusively, unlike modern Korean hip hop songs that heavily incorporates English. Seo Taiji, coming from a questionable heavy metal music background, often featured heavy metal guitars in his mixes, and other artists also incorporated techno influences.

A few artists, including Seo Taiji and MC Sniper, also incorporated influences from traditional Korean music such as pansori or nongak (farmers' music). It was evident that the first acts were mimicking popular American acts. For instance, Seo Taiji's "Come Back Home" has vocal/production style resembling Cypress Hill. The first "rap" album that featured rap in every track was Kim Jin Pyo's first album in 1997. According to Epik High's rapper Tablo, "The form [of Korean Hip Hop], at least, has definitely been mastered now — the beats, the rhymes, the performances, the look — it’s indistinguishable from the United States scene. The social relevance, however, has a long way to go. The message is slowly catching up to the medium."

Many rap artists have been successful in the mainstream of Korean music. These include performers such as Jinusean, 1TYM, MC Sniper, Jo PD, and Epik High. Other lesser known underground artists who focus mainly on using non-flashy beats and lyrical skill include Quiett, PaloAlto, TBNY, etc.

Korean American hip hop began in the United States in the mid 1990s, mainly attributed to the efforts of the Korean rapper duo Tiger JK and DJ Shine of Drunken Tiger. Drunken Tiger was created after the song "Black Korea" by Ice Cube and used music as a means of cultural exchange and as an attempt to promote racial harmony. Following the success of Drunken Tiger, many new groups and production companies emerged to further popularize the musical style. In order to represent the elite group of Korea's best rappers, Tiger JK and Drunken Tiger formed The Movement Crew ( Bobby Kim, Drunken Tiger, Eun Ji-Won and Tasha Reid).

Japanese hip hop (nip hop or j-hip hop) is said to have begun in 1983 when Charlie Ahearn's Wild Style was shown in Tokyo. The movie focused on graffiti artists but also featured some early old school MCs like Busy Bee and Double Trouble, DJs like Grandmaster Flash and breakdancers like the Rock Steady Crew.

Following the showing, street musicians began to breakdance in Yoyogi Park. Crazy A soon emerged as a prominent b-boy, and he eventually founded the Rock Steady Crew Japan, while DJ Krush has become a world-renowned DJ after arising from the Yoyogi Park scene. More DJs followed, beginning in 1985. A year later, an all hip hop club opened in Shibuya. There was some hesitation at the time that the Japanese language, due to the lack of stress accents and highly variable verb endings, might prove unsuited for rapping. A few rappers emerged, however, including Ito Seiko, Chikado Haruo, Tinnie Punx and Takagi Kan.

In the 1990s, teen-oriented J rap music appeared, and hip hop entered the Japanese mainstream. The first hit was Scha Dara Parr's "Kon'ya wa Boogie Back". The following year saw "Da.Yo.Ne." and "Maicca" by East End X Yuri go platinum. Lately hip-hop in Japan has split into two forms: normal, "hardcore" Japanese hip hop, and the somewhat "weaker", more R&B influenced J-Urban. The group most commonly cited as the originator of J-Urban music is the group m-flo (AKA "mediarite flo). Originally composed of a single Japanese DJ (DJ Taku) and a single Korean-Japanese emcee (Verbal), they combined with a singer named LISA who is of Peruvian-Japanese descent. Their debut album, Planet Shining was released in 2000, and since then, many J-Urban acts such as Crystal Kay, AI, Heartsdales, and even collaborations with popstars like Namie Amuro and BoA. Other popular J-Urban acts like RIP SLYME have worked with m-flo.

Starting in the late 1990s, hip hop began gaining greater popularity in Greater China, beginning in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and eventually spreading to the Mainland. Taiwanese rapper MC Hot Dog gained stature with his creative beats, off-kilter flow, and vulgar depiction of life for disaffected middle class youth in the island nation. The hip hop collective Lazy Motherfucker, representing Hong Kong, have often been described as the Chinese Wu-Tang Clan given the large size of the group and their ill flow. However, frequent aesthetic misappropriations and shiny pop stylings have often left underground heads wanting.

It was hard for Asian hip-hop artists to break into the mainstream in the United States, but in 2002 Chinese-American rapper Jin Au-Yeung (better known as just Jin or Jin Tha Emcee), created a buzz. He won Freestyle Friday seven consecutive weeks on BET's 106 & Park, a show dedicated to hip-hop, and was retired. Jin announced he had signed with the label Ruff Ryders after he won the battle on his final week. This was a breakthrough for Asian-American artists, as he garnished much attention. Two years later, he released an album under Virgin/Ruff Ryder titled The Rest Is History. Jin became the first Asian-American to put out a solo album on the mainstream, though the album was not successful. Many hip hop lovers believe this was because of a lack of promotion as well as the album being pushed back seven months.

Middle East

Israel's hip hop grew greatly in popularity at the end of the decade, with several stars emerging from both sides of the Palestinian ( Tamer Nafer) and Jewish ( Subliminal) divide; though some, like Mook E., preached peace and tolerance, others expressed nationalist and violent sentiments. However currently hip hop music is very popular in Iran, with more than 100s of rappers and rap bands a similar situation to the east side, Westside situation is slowly forming. Zedbazi is seen as one of the best groups with songs that have had more than 8 million downloads.

Latin America

In Puerto Rico, Vico C became the first mainstream Spanish language rapper, and his recorded work was the beginning of what became known as reggaeton. Rap in Puerto Rico was at a popular high in 1989, when Vico C entered the charts with his super hit La Recta Final (The Final Stretch), which gave him worldwide fame.

During the diversification of hip hop in the 1990s, Proyecto Uno popularized this Genre in the New York City Area, especially in the Latino community which gave birth to merenrap, in the Dominican Republic, a fusion of hip hop and merengue.. Santi Y Sus Duendes and Lisa M released a single ("Soy Chiquito & No Inventes Papito, No Inventes)").

In Mexico, popular hip hop began with the success of Calo in the early 1990s. Later in the decade, with Latin rap groups like Cypress Hill on the American charts, Mexican rap rock groups, such as Control Machete, rose to prominence in their native land.

And with the success of groups such as Cypress Hill who popularised the hip hop and rap culture throughout Latin America. Groups such as the Chilean Tiro De Gracia began to form, whom enjoyed widespread popularity not just in Chile, but in Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

An annual Cuban hip hop concert held at Alamar in Havana helped to popularize Cuban hip hop, beginning in 1995. Hip hop grew steadily more popular in Cuba, due to official governmental support for musicians.

Hip hop has become increasingly popular in Brazil in the last 20 years. The b-boys and girls, DJs, rappers, and graffiti writers have traditionally organized themselves into what they call crews, which also perform community service and work to organize young people in their neighborhoods to pass on the art and social consciousness.

Africa

In the early part of the decade, breakdancing became the first aspect of hip hop culture to reach South Africa, where the crew Black Noise established the practice before beginning to rap later in the decade. Black Noise's raps, starting in 1989, provoked a ban by the apartheid-era government, which lasted until 1993. Later, South Africa produced its own distinctive style in the house fusion Kwaito.

Elsewhere in Africa, Senegalese mbalax fusions continued to grow in popularity, while Tanzanian Bongo Flava crews like X-Plastaz combined hip hop with taarab, filmi and other styles without forgetting the congolese Makoma.

Canada

North of the U.S. border, in Canada, hip hop became popular thanks to home-grown rap artist Maestro Fresh Wes in the late 1980s. His single, "Let Your Backbone slide", dominated the charts for over a year. In the early '90s, more artists such as Michie Mee and the Rascalz established themselves in the growing Canadian urban music scene, primarily located in the diverse backdrop of Toronto and Vancouver. More recently, rappers such as Choclair, Swollen Members, Saukrates, Kardinal Offishall, Sweatshop Union, Hugh "MC Son" Ryan, Black Jays, Jelleestone and k-os have become household names in the Canadian urban music scene, although they have failed to earn mainstream recognition south of the border in the U.S. market. The Somali-Canadian hiphop artist K'naan, with his distinctive use of both Somali- and English-language texts, has earned considerable celebrity in Canada, Europe and elsewhere. The eclectic, country-influenced underground hip hop of Buck 65 has also achieved considerable international success.

New Zealand

New Zealand hip hop scene has an unwritten, though generally apparent rivalry with its Australian counterpart. This rivalry is highlighted by the annual (but discontinued) "Australia Vs New Zealand: MC Battle For Supremacy".

Many of New Zealand's biggest hip hop stars are Māori or Pacific Islander. Artists from the 1990s onward included Savage, Che Fu, Nesian Mystik and Scribe, who became the first to top both the single and album charts at the same time in 2004, and also the most famous acts associated with the biggest record producer in the field, P-Money. Some of New Zealand's up and coming hip hop artists include PNC, Frontline, Tyna and Dei Hamo.

Aforementioned Tyna is noted as a battle rapper and represented New Zealand as part of their 8-man team for Out4Fames' 2004 Australia Vs New Zealand: MC Battle For Supremacy. He was knocked out of the competition by Australia's MC Anecdote, who went on to win Australia's second (of three) consecutive wins in the annual (though now defunct) tournament.