Rise of rapping

Rapping developed in the Bronx in New York City in the 1970s as one element of hip hop culture, alongside DJing, breakdancing and graffiti. At block parties, DJs such as Kool Herc used two turntables to extend the instrumental breaks of funk and soul records, while MCs began to speak rhymes over the beats to keep the crowd moving. Its roots lie in African American oral traditions and in Jamaican toasting, which Herc, who was born in Jamaica, had known. In 1979 the Sugarhill Gang's single Rapper's Delight brought the style to a wide audience. Rap grew into one of the world's dominant forms of popular music and spread across languages and countries.

Open on the timeline