Hip Hop
Hip Hop is another extremely popular musical genre still developing and acquiring new forms today. It's main element is rap. Rap is defined as rhythmic recitative which is usually performed to a heavy beat. Unlike any other style of music rap may be performed without any accompaniment (because rapping emerged as a mre entertainment for black people in the streets of huge megapolises like New York or Chicago), thus it is not a "musical" style in the full sense of the word. Nevertheless, rap albums that are produced by producer's companies in most cases have accompaniment which often combines completely different styles of music, musical instruments, or even items that were never designed to use as musical instruments. Most often the major instrument for a hip-hop musician is DJ's equipment, usually a turntable where he or she combines sounds and beats by playing several discs simultaneously. Most often a DJ is not the person who sings or delivers his poetry to the audience (a rapper, as a rule, can't play any musical instrument).
Although the terms rap and hip hop are often used as synonyms, these are completely different notions. Hip hop may be defined as a style of music and rap is one of its major elements. These terms should not be confused also because rap may be present in other musical genres as well. Thus, many performers of drum and bass use rap lyrics in their works. In rock music it may be present in such genres as rapcore, nu-metal and alternative rock. Many pop or R&B performers also use rap in their songs.