How Rap and Electronic Music Have Influenced Each Other
How Rap and Electronic Music Have Influenced Each Other: A History
Rap and electronic music have had a long and complicated relationship. On the one hand, electronic music has been a key influence on the development of rap, providing the beats and sounds that rappers use to create their music. On the other hand, rap has also been a key influence on electronic music, helping to popularize genres like hip-hop and dubstep.
Introduction
Rap and electronic music have had a long and complicated relationship. In the early days of hip hop, DJs would often use electronic instruments to create their beats, resulting in a sound that was heavily influenced by electronic music. As time went on, rappers began to experiment with different sounds and styles, eventually creating their own unique subgenre of rap known as trap. This style of rap is heavily influenced by electronic music, with many trap songs featuring heavy beats and synthesizers. While trap is not the only style of rap that has been influenced by electronic music, it is certainly one of the most notable.
How Rap Has Influenced Electronic Music
Rap music has had a huge influence on electronic music, especially in recent years. A lot of electronic music producers have been incorporating elements of rap into their music, and vice versa. This has led to the two genres becoming more and more intertwined. In this article, we’ll take a look at how rap and electronic music have influenced each other.
The Birth of Hip Hop
Hip hop is a musical genre that was born in the United States in the 1970s. It is a style of music that is made up of four elements: MCing, DJing, break dancing, and graffiti writing. Hip hop is often tied to the African-American experience, but it has also been adopted by people of other cultures.
In the late 1970s, DJ Kool Herc laid the foundations for hip hop music by playing extended instrumental sections (or “breaks”) of popular songs at outdoor parties in the Bronx, New York. These “breaks” were usually accompanied by MCing (rapping), a style of vocal delivery that was inspired by Jamaican toasting. Herc and other DJs began isolating the percussion break from songs to extend its duration and add to its rhythmic energy. This created a new style of music called “breakbeat” or “hip hop.”
By the early 1980s, hip hop music had become a mainstream genre in the United States. It was characterized by its use of electronically produced music and sampling (the copying and pasting of sounds from other recordings), as well as its lyrical focus on urban themes such as violence, drugs, and poverty. In 1982, Afrika Bambaataa released the song “Planet Rock,” which helped to introduce hip hop to a wider audience. Hip hop would go on to become one of the most popular genres in America, with artists such as Run-DMC, Public Enemy, and NWA achieving mainstream success.
In Europe, meanwhile, electronic dance music (EDM) was beginning to take shape. This new style of music was influenced by a wide range of genres including techno, house, disco, and pop. Like hip hop, EDM was created using electronic equipment such as synthesizers and drum machines. However, unlike hip hop, EDM did not typically feature rap vocals; instead, it emphasized repetitive danceable rhythms.
EDM began to rise in popularity in Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1992, English DJ Paul Oakenfold released his album “Perfecto Presents: Another World,” which is widely considered to be one of the first commercially successful examples of EDM. By the mid-1990s, EDM had become a global phenomenon thanks to DJs like Tiësto and The Chemical Brothers who were regularly playing sold-out shows in front of massive crowds.
The Development of Electronic Music
The production of electronic music is often a complex and time-consuming process, involving the use of sophisticated hardware and software. This can make it expensive to produce, and can also limit the number of people who have the necessary skills to create it.
Rap music, on the other hand, has always been more accessible, both in terms of its production and its distribution. Because it is often created with little more than a microphone and a computer, it can be produced relatively cheaply and easily. And because it is often distributed online or through independent record labels, it can reach a wide audience without major corporate backing.
This accessibility has made rap an important influence on electronic music, as producers look to the genre for new ideas and ways to reach listeners. In particular, rappers have been at the forefront of using new technologies to create their sound, often adopting and adapting equipment that was originally designed for other purposes.
The Influence of Rap on Electronic Music
Rap music has had a profound influence on electronic music, both in terms of the production values used and the aesthetic sensibility of the music. Rap producers often use similar techniques to those used in electronic music, such as sampling and looping, to create their beats. Furthermore, many electronic artists have been influenced by the rhythmic and lyrical styles of rap music. In this way, rap and electronic music have influenced each other throughout their development.
How Electronic Music Has Influenced Rap
Rap and electronic music have had a long and complicated relationship. Rap started out as an underground music genre that was popularized in the black community. Electronic music, on the other hand, has its roots in the club scene. In the early 1990s, electronic music started to influence rap.
The Development of Rap
Rap music is a genre that has its origins in African American culture. It is a form of music that is often created by speaking or rhyming over a pre-recorded backing track. Rap music first began to gain popularity in the 1970s and has continued to become one of the most popular genres of music in the United States and around the world.
One of the things that has helped to make rap music so popular is its ability to cross over into other genres of music. One genre that rap music has had a significant influence on is electronic dance music, or EDM. While EDM and rap might seem like two very different genres of music, they actually have quite a lot in common. Both genres often feature heavily-produced tracks with a strong beat that is easy to dance to. In addition, both rap and EDM often feature samples of other songs or sounds, which helps to create an even more unique sound.
The influence that rap music has had on EDM can be heard in the work of some of the most popular DJs and producers in the world. For example, Diplo, who is one half of the electronic duo Major Lazer, has said that he was heavily influenced by southern rap when he was growing up. He has even gone so far as to produce remixes of some of his favorite rap songs. In addition, Skrillex, who is one of the most popular dubstep producers in the world, has also cited rap music as one of his major influences.
While there are many different factors that have contributed to the popularity of both rap and EDM, it is clear that they have both had a significant impact on each other. As these two genres continue to evolve, it will be interesting to see how they continue to influence each other in the years to come.
The Influence of Electronic Music on Rap
It’s no secret that electronic music and rap have had a longtime relationship, with the two genres often borrowing from each other. From early samples of techno and house in early hip-hop tracks to the rise of EDM-influenced trap music, the connection between rap and electronic music is evident. But how exactly has electronic music influenced rap? And how has rap reciprocated the influence? Let’s take a closer look at the ways these two genres have affected each other.
One of the most significant ways that electronic music has influenced rap is through the use of samples. In hip-hop’s earliest days, producers would often sample tracks from well-known songs, giving them a new twist. This allowed rappers to create catchy hooks that would get stuck in listeners’ heads. Today, samples are still a staple of many hip-hop tracks, with producers often scouring old records for obscure tracks to sample. In some cases, producers will even create their own samples, adding an extra layer of creativity to their work.
In addition to sampling, electronic music has also influenced rap through the use of synthesizers and other electronic instruments. These days, many hip-hop producers rely heavily on synthesizers to create unique sonic textures. By layering different synth sounds on top of each other, producers are able to create complex beats that drive the track forward. Synthesizers have also been used extensively in trap music, which has become one of the most popular subgenres of hip-hop in recent years.
Finally, electronic music has affected rap in terms of its overall sound and aesthetic. In the early days of hip-hop, DJs would often use drum machines and samplers to create their beats. This gave hip-hop its signature sound: raw and unpolished yet still infectious and addictive. As time went on, producers began to experiment with different sounds and production techniques, resulting in a more varied sonic palette for rappers to work with. Today, thanks in part to electronic music’s influence, Hip-Hop is one of the most sonically diverse genres around.
The Future of the Relationship Between Rap and Electronic Music
The relationship between rap and electronic music has been a long and complicated one. Rap music has its roots in African American culture, while electronic music emerged from European culture. Yet, despite their different origins, the two genres have always had a strong influence on each other.
In the early days of rap music, artists would often sample tracks from popular songs to create their own unique sound. This helped to introduce electronic music to a wider audience and influenced the way that rap producers approached making beats. As rap music became more popular in the mainstream, producers began to experiment with new sounds and production techniques, including elements of electronic music.
Today, the influence of electronic music can be heard in almost all forms of rap music. From trap to mumble rap, producers have borrowed elements of electronic production to create new sounds and textures. In some cases, producers have even collaborated with electronic artists to create hybrid tracks that combine both genres.
It’s impossible to predict the future of the relationship between rap and electronic music. However, it’s clear that the two genres will continue to influence each other in exciting and unexpected ways.
