The truth about RAP

[blackcoffeeblues]

The word RAP----comes long before it was music....it is a term that was/is used in Law enforcement for decades--- you have probably heard the term "RAP SHEET" that is used to ask for the arrest history of someone which is short for.
"Repeatedly Arrested Person/Personality". (I don't know whether it's true or not my wife found it on the computer) but by listening to a lot of that kind of music it sounds like the shoe might fit.
.

 

[PapaRaptor]

I have to seriously question your explanation of "the truth about RAP." It's more like one theory about the name.
The word has been around for centuries, meaning a sharp blow, like "rapping on the door."
In the 60's it became a slang term for having a non-trivial conversation. The slang term was mainly used within the black community and the hippie culture. Co-opting the name from there seems a lot more likely as rap is primarily spoken word. There is still another theory that says the term came from Rhythm And Poetry, which is where the roots of rap music are founded.

The RAP in a "rap sheet" comes from old police slang and stands for Record of Arrests and Prosecutions (sheet).

 

[Silicon Valley Tom]

I have a different theory about the origin of the term used for music called RAP. Simply stated, to best describe RAP, one should simply place the letter C in front of it. Then and only then, will you be able to truly enjoy the fragrance.

Tom

 

[Jalapeno]

I like hip hop, but not all of it. And just like rock, blues, country and classical I am selective song by song what goes into the iPod. Genres mean little to my musical taste as there are good, bad, great and crap from all styles and performers.

Eeic

 

[Silicon Valley Tom]

I like hip hop, but not all of it. And just like rock, blues, country and classical I am selective song by song what goes into the iPod. Genres mean little to my musical taste as there are good, bad, great and crap from all styles and performers.

Eeic

AMEN! Well stated.

Tom

 

[snarf]

I don't think rap that could largely be associated with a rap sheet came along until the late 80s/early 90s when gangsta rap came along. That may be where some think the genre devolved, but, although an urban art, I don't remember it starting there (granted, by my own admission, I could count on one hand the number of times I heard rap prior to the hip hop/rap music that came along in the late 90s). Before that, rap was just lyrics quoted in a rhythmic manner over music.

As long as we're all theorizing, the musical usage of the word may've come from the use of the terminology of having a rap session. A rap session had nothing to do with a rap sheet. It had everything to do with having an spur of the moment chat amongst a group of folks about whatever they decided they were going to talk about. I remember my dad talking about having family rap sessions back when I was a really young buck in the 70s. I think that terminology came out of the beatnik culture (total speculation on that - no research invovled). I wasn't around during the Dobie Gillis generation, but I've seen plenty of the re-runs (Maynard is my hero!) I believe I've heard the one and only Maynard G Krebbs use the term "rap" on several instances, so it's been around since at least the late 50s/early 60s.

I think it's probably more likely that the term rap in the music industry came out of that beatnik slang than it is that it came out of the law enforcement vernacular. I could be wrong...wouldn't be the first time.

 

[Tom45]

I always thought rap came from the word rapport.

rap·port
/raˈpôr,rəˈpôr/
noun

1. a close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each other's feelings or ideas and communicate well.

Regardless of the origin of the word, I can't stand to listen to it. It may be rapport, but it isn't music!

 

[Paleo]

I seem to remember that when I was young I heard the older generation say Rock n' Roll isn't music.

And as I grew older I also heard that disco, punk and heavy metal aren't music either.

For some reason the word "subjective" comes to mind.

(Also when I was younger, if you stepped out of line you got a rap in the mouth.)


The Rapper (1970) by The Jaggerz - A group of law-abiding (as far as I know) guys from Pennsylvania.

Hey girl, I bet ya
There's someone out to get you
You'll find him anywhere
On a bus, in a bar, in a grocery store
He'll say "Excuse me, haven't I seen you somewhere before?"

Rapper, rapper, rap, they call him the rapper
Rap, rap, rap, you know what he's after

So, he starts his rappin'
Hoping something will happen
He'll say he needs you
A companion, a girl he can talk to
He's made up his mind
He needs someone to sock it to

Rapper, rapper, rap, they call him the rapper
Rap, rap, rap, you know what he's after

He's made an impression
So he makes a suggestion
Come up to my place
For some coffee or tea or me
He's got you where he wants you
Girl, you gotta face reality

Rapper, rapper, rap, they call him the rapper
Rap, rap, rap, you know what he's after
Rap, rap, rap they call him the rapper.

Applause wraps it up.

 

[Rancid Rumpboogie]

Rap only has one truth to me: IT SUCKS.