Hip-Hop , often referred to as Rap Music , is a cultural movement and art form that originated in the early 1970s among inner-city African Americans and Latino Americans in the Bronx borough of New York City. Its development arose from the social and economic challenges of the time, including post-industrial decline, urban decay, and the resulting poverty and social unrest. These conditions created a need for new forms of expression and community gathering.

The four foundational elements of hip-hop are DJing/turntablism, MCing/rapping, B-boying/breaking , and visual/graffiti art. Block parties in the Bronx served as early venues for these forms of expression. Hip-hop's influence has extended far beyond music, impacting fashion, dance, language, and popular culture globally. While it continues to evolve and incorporate new styles, its roots in the Bronx and its spirit of innovation, self-expression, and resilience remain central to its identity.

Pioneers such as DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash played important roles in shaping early hip-hop. DJ Kool Herc introduced the "breakbeat" technique, extending instrumental sections of records for dancers, and is credited with organizing some of the earliest hip-hop parties. Afrika Bambaataa organized the Universal Zulu Nation, promoting peace and unity through hip-hop culture, and coined the term "four elements," also experimenting with electronic sounds that influenced hip-hop's sonic development. Grandmaster Flash developed innovative DJing techniques like the backspin, cutting, and scratching, pushing the boundaries of what could be done with turntables.

As hip-hop evolved, it incorporated new technologies and musical approaches. The use of sampling and drum machines, such as the Roland TR-808, expanded the sonic palette of hip-hop, allowing for the creation of original beats and the manipulation of existing music. The mid-1980s to mid-1990s, often called the genre's "golden age", saw a surge in diversity, artistic innovation, and mainstream success, with new subgenres and styles emerging, and lyrical content becoming more complex and varied. The mid-1990s also saw the escalation of the East Coast–West Coast gang wars, resulting in the deaths of rappers Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G.

The deaths of Tupac and Biggie led to new production styles and a shift in rap's sound. The popularity of hip-hop music expanded in the "bling era" of the late 1990s to mid-2000s. Hip-hop was further proliferated by the rise of the internet, resulting in the "blog era" of the late 2000s to early 2010s. The mid-late 2010s "SoundCloud era" saw the rise of Internet-based rap subgenres, such as trap, cloud, drill, mumble, and emo rap. Hip-hop was now a worldwide phenomenon, and in 2017 it became the best-selling genre of popular music in the United States. Many countries also have local variations on the style.

Hip-hop culture is characterized by four foundational elements: DJing/turntablism, which involves the manipulation of records and turntables to create new musical passages, including techniques like "breakbeats" (isolating and repeating percussive sections); MCing/rapping, the rhythmic and lyrical delivery of speech, often over a beat, evolving from earlier forms of toasting and rhythmic chanting; B-boying/breaking, an energetic and acrobatic dance style performed to the "breaks" in music, involving moves like toprock, downrock, power moves, and freezes; and visual/graffiti art, the creation of visual art in public spaces, often using stylized lettering and imagery, as a form of expression and communication. Block parties in the Bronx served as early venues for these forms of expression.

Hip-hop fashion has changed over the years, with the style now being more of a high-end streetwear look. Due to the 90s Revival, 80's, 90's and early 2000's hip-hop looks have been coming back into style (this does not mean that modern hip-hop fashion is out of style, it is just more common). 70's, 80's, 90's and early 2000's hip-hop fashion usually consisted of affordable, oversized clothes (for both men and women) because 1) they were always moving and needed to be comfortable all the time and 2) youth in the Bronx didn't have much control over where they lived, so fashion gave them lots of freedom; as we moved into the 2000s women began wearing more dresses and heels. Sneakers were common, but skate shoes and high top Doc Martens have been seen as well.

Successful rappers put lots of emphasis on jewelry and displayed their riches through "iced out' rings, chains, and even on their teeth (grills). In the late 90s and early 2000s hip-hop fashion became popular and recognized by high-end brands, it wasn't uncommon to see rappers wearing a brand name article of clothing and a plain pair of pants, or a fashionable pair of sneakers and a run-of-the-mill tracksuit. hip-hop fashion today tends to gravitate towards higher-end brands (e.g Nike) and sportswear-type outfits commonly found on the streetwear scene. A majority of the fashion stays baggy, breathable and fashionable.