Rap is a genre of popular music that originated in the early 1970s by African Americans and Caribbean in New York City. It is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and [commonly] street vernacular"
. Rapping is a primary ingredient of hip hop music, and so commonly associated with that genre that it is sometimes called "rap music"
. It is usually performed over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The components of rap include "content" (what is being said, e.g., lyrics), "flow" (rhythm, rhyme), and "delivery" (cadence, tone)
. The roots of rapping are found in African American music and bear similarities to traditional particularly that of the griots of West African culture
