Hip hop music explained to kids

Hip hop music is a genre of popular music that originated in the United States in the 1970s. It is characterized by a distinctive style of rap vocalizing, as well as by certain types of musical accompaniment, most notably DJing and sampling. Hip hop music has become one of the most popular genres of music in the world, with artists such as Jay-Z, Eminem, and Snoop Dogg selling millions of records. The roots of hip hop music can be traced back to the African American communities in New York City in the 1970s. DJing and turntablism, as well as MCing, or rapping, were all born out of this initial scene. DJ Kool Herc is often credited as being the first DJ to use two turntables to extend the length of instrumental breaks in songs, which he did by playing the same record on both turntables and then manipulating the playback speed on one of them. This technique, known as "breaking," would go on to be an essential part of hip hop music. MCing, or rapping, also originated in the 1970s, and was initially developed as a way for MCs to communicate with the crowd at block parties. MCs would rap over the instrumental breaks in songs, often using rhyming lyrics. As hip hop music became more popular, MCs began to record their own songs, which led to the development of the first hip hop albums in the late 1970s. Today, hip hop music is heard all over the world, and has even been incorporated into other genres of music, such as pop and R&B. Hip hop culture, which includes fashion, dance, and graffiti art, is also a global phenomenon.