Hip Hop Quiz

Hip-Hop: From the Bronx to the World

Hip-hop is one of the most culturally significant musical movements of the 20th century, originating in the South Bronx of New York City in the early 1970s. DJ Kool Herc is widely credited as one of the founding fathers of hip-hop, pioneering the use of the "breakbeat" - Isolating and looping the percussion breaks in funk and soul records. The culture encompasses four elements: DJing, MCing (rapping), breakdancing, and graffiti art.

By the 1990s, hip-hop had become the best-selling music genre in the United States, surpassing rock. Legendary artists like Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, Jay-Z, Nas, and Wu-Tang Clan defined the "Golden Age" of hip-hop in the 1990s. The East Coast-West Coast rivalry between Death Row Records (Los Angeles) and Bad Boy Entertainment (New York) was one of the most dramatic storylines in music history, tragically ending with the deaths of both Tupac (1996) and Biggie (1997). Explore the Pop Music Quiz or try the 90s Music Quiz for more music history.

In the 2000s and 2010s, Eminem, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Drake expanded hip-hop's reach and sound in different directions. Drake holds the record for the most Billboard Hot 100 entries of any artist in history. Kendrick Lamar won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2018 for his album "DAMN." - The first non-classical, non-jazz musician to receive the award. Today, hip-hop and its subgenre trap dominate global pop music charts. How much do you know about hip-hop history?