Hip-hop is portrayed more of a lifestyle and cultural movement, whereas rap is portrayed more as a musical act that falls, in part, within the hip-hop movement. Hip-hop is defined as more of an urban culture, one that is closely linked with rap music, as well as with the style (both fashion and cultural) of African-Americans in the inner-city. Rap, meanwhile, is defined more so as a slang term meaning to talk over the beat of rap music.
Billboard, the definitive source for charting album sales and radio play, actually features separate radio/album charts for hip-hop and rap. Hip-hop, however, is packaged with R&B and features more pop-friendly artists like Whitney Houston, Maxwell and the Black-Eyed Peas. Rap, meanwhile, features artists like Jay-Z and Eminem. There is some crossover, however, as artists like Pitbull and Kanye West have featured songs that charted on the Hip-Hop/R&B and Rap charts.
According to noted hip-hop historian Davey D, some view rap as a more disposable form of hip-hop, though he disagrees. "That's a false definition," he told Rap News. "One is part of a whole. Rap is part of a larger entity we call hip-hop, which is a culture."
Hip-hop and rap, in themselves, feature a number of genres. Among the many mini-genres within hip-hop and rap are Alternative (blends hard-core, gangsta and party rap), crunk (energy-driven hip-hop designed for the dance floor) and East Coast (featuring aggressive beats and jazz-infused grooves).
While rap is defined more musically, hip-hop is more so viewed as a lifestyle. This lifestyle includes rap, break dancing, deejaying, and graffiti art. According to rap musician KRS-One, "Rap is something you do, but hip-hop is something you live."