One of the first rappers at the beginning of the hip hop period, at the end of the 1970s, was also hip hop's first DJ, DJ Kool Herc. Herc, a Jamaican immigrant, started delivering simple raps at his parties, which some claim were inspired by the Jamaican tradition of toasting.
Coke La Rock is known for being the first rapper to ever spit rhymes after teaming up with DJ Kool Herc in 1973 and both are recognized as the original founding fathers of Hip Hop.
Gilbert Scott-Heron (1949-2011) is considered to be the father of rap. His most famous song was The Revolution Will Not Be Televised from 1970. In addition to being a musician, Scott-Heron was also a novelist and a poet.
Jay-Z. Jay-Z is a rapper who can be highly sophisticated but prefers to keep things simple. This genuine skill allows him to focus on honing and communicating his message. No other rapper has had the same level of consistency as Jay-Z.
Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), professionally known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record/film producer, b-boy, DJ, public speaker and minister. He is the first commercially successful rapper and the first to sign with a major record label.
While a number of people were influential in the creation of hip-hop, much credit is given to Kool Herc (Clive Campbell), a Jamaican immigrant who was the first major hip-hop disc jockey.
With his dominant album sales, YouTube views and social-media scores, Eminem takes the title as the current King of Hip-Hop. Unlike our Queen of Pop ranking, which Lady Gaga took in a walk, Marshall Mathers's win was somewhat closer – note the fairly tight point range among our top three.
Jay-Z is the richest rapper in the world, according to Forbes' real-time billionaires list. As of June 2023, Jay-Z's net worth is estimated at $2.5 billion.
Eminem. Hailed as one of the best rappers ever – Marshall Bruce Mathers III, aka Eminem and “Kind of Hip Hop”, is THE best selling solo rapper of all time, and one of the largest selling musicians of the century. Eminem's LP “The Marshall Mathers” sold almost 11 million copies in the USA alone.
Rap as a genre began at block parties in New York City in the early 1970s, when DJs began isolating the percussion breaks of funk, soul, and disco songs and extending them. MCs tasked with introducing the DJs and keeping the crowd energized would talk between songs, joking and generally interacting with the audience.
Rap as we know it first came into being in 1973, in the Bronx, New York. DJ Kool Herc, the founding father of hip-hop, used to host events such as school parties.
Hip Hop Pioneers. Several people were influential in creating hip hop. However, the most notable pioneers are DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash. These three innovators are known as the “Holy Trinity” of hip hop.
Emerging in the late 1980s, gangsta rap's pioneers include Schoolly D of Philadelphia and Ice-T of Los Angeles (originally New Jersey), later expanding with artists such as N.W.A, Tupac Shakur, and the Notorious B.I.G.
1989: Queens duo MC Serch and Pete Nice debut as 3rd Bass, the first white rap act for whom whiteness is not at least in part an uproarious crossover gimmick.
MC Sha-Rock was the first woman to rap on national television in 1981, but hip-hop's double standards have left her legacy as the first female MC buried.
Sharon Green (born 1962), also known as MC Sha-Rock, is considered the "first female rapper" or emcee. Born in Wilmington, North Carolina, she grew up in the South Bronx, New York City during the earliest years of hip hop culture.
She voices the chorus in Lil' Kim's “Not Tonight (Ladies Night)” and drops an iconic verse. Missy Elliott is the G.O.A.T., the best female rapper of all time. She continues to produce hits that set the bar for female MCs.
The Brooklyn-born artist's net worth is now $2.5 billion, according to the latest estimate from Forbes. Jay-Z became rap's first billionaire back in 2019, with stakes in Armand de Brignac champagne and D'Usse cognac valued at over $400 million at the time, as well as various investment properties in New York and LA.
Introduction. Elvis Presley is, quite simply, the King of Rock & Roll. In 1954, the performer kicked off a musical revolution by modernizing traditional genres such as blues, country and bluegrass for contemporary (and more youthful) audiences.