Hip hop music

Hip hop is a cultural movement which developed in New York City in the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latinos. Its four main elements are emceeing (often called rapping), DJing, graffiti, and b-boying (breakdancing). Other elements include beatboxing, hip hop fashion, and slang. Since first emerging in The Bronx, the lifestyle of hip hop culture has spread around the world.

When hip hop music began to emerge, it was based around DJs who created rhythmic beats by looping breaks (smalls portions of songs emphasizing a percussive pattern) on two turntables. This was later accompanied by "rapping" (a rhythmic style of chanting). An original form of dancing, and particular styles of dress, arose among followers of this new music. These elements experienced considerable refinement and development over the course of the history of the culture.

The relationship between graffiti and hip hop culture arises from the appearance of new and increasingly elaborate and pervasive forms of the practice in areas where other elements of hip hop were evolving as art forms, with a heavy overlap between those who wrote and those who practiced other elements of the culture. Beatboxing is a mainly percussive vocal form in which various technical effects of hip hop DJs are imitated.