Hip-hop began in the 1970s in the Bronx in New York City. It is considered an African-American innovation.
Hip-hop usually consists of DJs who manipulate sounds and beats on turntables. Other features often include break dancing and the performance of skilled rhyming using a combination of spoken word and scat singing, known as rapping.
Rooted in African-American jazz and poetry, the genre originated as a subculture wherein artists spoke out against their meager socio-economic circumstances.
Hip-hop became a commercial phenomenon in the late 1980s/early 1990s, gaining a mass audience as well as criticism. Some praised hip-hop for being a vehicle for social change, while others claimed it glamorizes violence, misogyny and criminal lifestyles.
Hip-hop sales have decreased in recent years, but the genre remains strong and continues to influence up-and-coming artists who continually redefine its parameters.