Rap music as a musical form began among the youth of South Bronx, New York in the mid 1970’s. Individuals such Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash were some of the early pioneers of this art form. Through their performances at clubs and promotion of the music, rap consistently gained in popularity throughout the rest of the 1970’s. The first commercial success of the rap song “Rapper's Delight” by the Sugar Hill Gang in 1979 helped bring …showed first 75 words of 2695 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2695 total…A Guide to Rap Music and Hip-Hip Culture. New York: Harmony Books, 1991. Rose, Tricia. Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America. Hanover, Wesley University Press, 1994. Shomari, Hashim A. (William A. Lee, III). From the Underground: Hip-Hop Culture as an Agent of Social Change. Mt. Vernon, NY: X-Factor Publications, 1995. Small, Michael. Break It Down: The Inside Story from the New Leaders of Rap. Secaucus, New Jersey: Carol Publishers, 1992. www.aolnetsearch.com. Rap Music