Children's Encyclopedia Selection. Related subjects: Musical
genres, styles, eras and events Rapping (also known as emceeing,
MCing, spitting, or just rhyming) is the rhythmic spoken
delivery of rhymes, wordplay, and poetry, one of the elements of
hip hop music and culture. The use of the word to describe quick
speech or repartee long predates the musical form, meaning
originally "to hit". The word had been used in British English
since the 16th century, and specifically meaning "to say" since
the 18th. It was part of the African American dialect of English
in the 1960s meaning "to converse", and very soon after that in
its present usage as a term denoting the musical style. Rapping
can be delivered over a beat or without accompaniment.
Stylistically, rap occupies a gray area among speech, prose,
poetry, and song. Rap is derived from the griots (folk poets) of
West Africa, and Jamaican-style toasting. It also has precedents
in traditional Celtic music. Modern rap battles, for instance,
bear a striking resembl