Worldwide Hip Hop Culture

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, or rap music is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech. It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching, breaking/dancing, and graffiti writing. Other elements include sampling (or synthesis) and beatboxing. While often used to refer to rapping, "hip hop" more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. The term hip-hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music, though rapping is not a required component of hip-hop music. The genre may also incorporate other elements of hip-hop culture, including DJing and scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.