A form of rap aimed at the chart music-buying audience and often gaining acceptance in the mainstream, pop-rap ditches many of the hard-hitting lyrics and edginess of most rap music in favor of upbeat rhythms and lighter lyrical content. Pop-rap tracks are typically quite catchy and memorable. Early examples include artists such as Will Smith and M.C. Hammer, while in the 21st century, rappers including P. Diddy and Ja Rule could be considered to produce pop-rap music.
Almost a polar opposite of pop-rap, hardcore rap tends to emphasize an aggressive attitude from the artist, and its lyrical content is generally explicit, humorous and menacing. Musically, hardcore rap favors hard beats and lots of sampling, and the style has a very gritty, urban feel to it. Originating in the late 1980s, hardcore rap has since risen to world-wide attention thanks to artists such as Ice-T, the Wu Tang Clan and the Notorious B.I.G.
A style very similar to hardcore rap, gangsta rap features plenty of overlap with the aforementioned subgenre. Edgier and perhaps noisier than hardcore rap, gangsta rap usually contains explicit and profane lyrics which depict harsh urban environments populated by criminals, gang members and drug users.
A blend of the rhythms found across other sub-genres of rap and the samples of jazz music, jazz rap originates in the hardcore rap scene, and gained prominence at the end of the 1980s. Removing the explicit lyrics and menacing vibe of hardcore rap, jazz rap instead features community-focused messages, and tends to be more chilled out in mood. Another common theme in jazz rap's lyrical content are ideas of Afrocentric progress. Artists include A Tribe Called Quest and Guru.
Inspired by the tensions and problems associated with urban environments such as ghettos in 1980s America, some rappers turned to expressing their frustrations and thoughts on socio-political topics via their music. Lyrics cover subjects such as gangs and drug issues, while artists include Public Enemy and the Poor Righteous Teachers.
This rap style is very much what the title suggests, fusing the titanic riffs of metal with the sampling and vocal delivery of rap. Perhaps most popular in the 1990s, rap-metal features both collaborations between established rap and metal artists, such as the partnership formed by Public Enemy and Anthrax, as well as artists whose music blends the two styles, such as Rage Against The Machine, who are fronted by a rapper but are otherwise a metal band.