Boom bap is a

subgenre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

and music production style that was prominent in the East Coast during the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The term "boom bap" is an

onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', '' ...

that represents the sounds used for the

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

(kick) drum and

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used i ...

, respectively. The style is usually recognized by a main drum loop that uses a hard-hitting, acoustic bass drum sample on the downbeats, a snappy acoustic snare drum sample on the upbeats, and an "in your face"

audio mix Audio mixing is the process by which multiple sounds are combined into one or more channels. In the process, a source's volume level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated or enhanced. This practical, aesthetic ...

emphasizing the drum loop, and the kick-snare combination in particular. Prominent hip hop artists that incorporated "boom bap" in their music include Craig Mack, Run-DMC, Nas,

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

Gang Starr Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Texas record producer DJ Premier and Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: ...

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

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, R.A. the Rugged Man,

Boot Camp Clik Boot Camp Clik is an American hip hop music, hip hop Supergroup (music), supergroup from Brooklyn, New York City, which is composed of Buckshot (rapper), Buckshot (of Black Moon (band), Black Moon), Smif-N-Wessun (Tek (rapper), Tek and Steele (rap ...

Griselda Griselda is a feminine given name from Germanic sources that is now used in English, Italian, and Spanish as well. According to the 1990 United States Census, the name was 1066th in popularity among females in the United States. It has been ...

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, Jay-Z,

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally ...

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

and The Notorious B.I.G. Key producers include

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, Easy Mo Bee,

Large Professor William Paul Mitchell (born March 21, 1972), better known by the stage name of Large Professor (also Extra P. and Large Pro), is an American rapper and record producer. Based in New York City, he is known as a founding member of the underground ...

, Pete Rock,

Marley Marl Marlon Williams (born September 30, 1962), better known by his stage name Marley Marl, is an American DJ, record producer, rapper and record label founder, primarily operating in hip hop music. Marlon grew up in Queensbridge housing projects ...

J Dilla J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon vari ...

Statik Selektah Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica United States * Static, Kentucky and Tennessee * Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming ** Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics * Static ...

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, Q-Tip, The Alchemist,

Black Milk Curtis Eugene Cross (born August 14, 1983), better known by his stage name Black Milk, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Career In addition to Slum Village, Black Milk has worked with J Dilla, Elzhi, Phat Kat, Frank-N-Dan ...

, Apollo Brown,

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a Havoc (musician), Havoc, Da Beatminerz,

Buckwild Buckwild may refer to: * Buckwild (music producer), American hip hop producer * Buckwild (TV series), an American reality television series * Buck Wild, a 2013 comedy horror film * Buck Wild (song) "Buck Wild" is a 1989 single released by the Wa ...

, Lord Finesse,

Diamond D Joseph Kirkland (born April 5, 1968), better known by his stage name Diamond D, is an American hip hop MC and record producer from The Bronx, New York City, and one of the founding members of the Diggin' in the Crates Crew, abbreviated as D.I.T ...

, and Showbiz.

History

The term boom bap originated in 1984 when it was used by T La Rock to describe the beat of the kick drum and the snare in the song "It's Yours". T La Rock spoke in an off-script fashion, using the words "boom bap" to mimic the sound of the rhythm. This was the first recorded onomatopoeic expression of the beat. The term later became a universal name for the subgenre of hip hop as a whole. DJ Premier suggested that boom bap existed before the production of "It's Yours". He states the term was used by the wider hip-hop community as a term to describe all hip hop and the beat that is produced for it. The subgenre became increasingly better known when KRS-One released an album under the title '' Return of the Boom Bap''. The success of the album popularised the term boom bap.

Development of the style

The original songs produced within the subgenre used the actual sounds of kick drums and hard-hitting

s or samples from vinyl records. The focus originally was on the simplicity of the beat whereas in later developments of the subgenre electronic samplers and beatmakers were used to generate the iconic beat. Over time more percussion instruments were added to add to the complexity of the beat. Some examples of

percussion instrument A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excl ...

s included were shakers,

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called " zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thou ...

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

, and cowbells. Musical programmers used digital sampling synthesizers to create more complex layers of sampled sounds and multi-layered drumbeats. The original artist recognised by the hip hop industry as the first to experiment with these samples in boom bap was DJ Marley Marl. The main purpose in using electronic instruments for the production of the music was to take the tedious repetition of the beat out of the creative process. This allowed artists to focus more on their lyrics and the meaning they were trying to convey.

Notable producers

DJ Premier and Pete Rock gained notable fame as producers for their work within the boom bap industry. These artists believe that the subgenre demonstrates "strength and power" through its harsh-sounding beat and roughness. Boom bap was known for its popularity on the East Coast of the US and in particular its roots in New York. Where the

West Coast hip hop West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast region of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the e ...

scene displayed elements of smoothness, the East Coast and boom bap focused on hard edges and strong beats. These artists in particular pioneered the subgenre by focusing on the rough elements of a stripped back beat and a strong focus on the

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer ...

The beat

KRS-One when describing the beat common to the subgenre states "The vibe of boom bap is to use the least amount of instruments to create the most rhythmic sound". The typical boom bap beat will be a loop of

quarter note A quarter note (American) or crotchet ( ) (British) is a musical note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note (or semibreve). Quarter notes are notated with a filled-in oval note head and a straight, flagless stem. The stem ...

s. The first and the third being the kick drum and the second and fourth the snare. The beat has become synonymous with

the golden age of hip hop Golden age hip hop is a name given to mainstream hip hop music created from the mid-1980s to early-mid 1990s, particularly by artists and musicians originating from the New York metropolitan area. An outgrowth of the new school hip hop movemen ...

. More modern hip-hop songs are influenced by boom bap and the underlying tone that is common to all songs in the subgenre. The balance of the music tracks are brought together by the prominent kick and snare drum. The timbre is brought about by "the emphasized low end of the kick drum and the presence of the hard-hitting snare drum". The arrangement of the beat is made of the isolated drum hits and other brief instrumental hits from percussion instruments. The rhythmic qualities of the beat are made up of highly swung programming, which can be produced either by a deliberate delay in the analogue percussion hits or by a quantization algorithm programmed on an electronic sampler. Other qualities that are present in boom bap rhythm are "tight drum-instrumental

syncopation In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm": a "plac ...

", "re-arranged phrases or rhythms", and "percussive programming of instrumental phrases". When an artist or producer wished to add even more complexity or intense sounds to their track they could use a synthesiser. A common practise within boom bap was to use sub-synthesis. This extra element would increase the amplitude of the bass and also intensify the sound of the kick drum. This was a desirable feature of the hip hop style's unpolished and harsh style. The beat is designed to "exist solely as a basis for the artist to rap over". It intends to be "visceral and rousing, it is hip hop at its brawniest".

Scratching

The beat in some boom bap songs is interrupted by

scratching Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to fade between two rec ...

. The process in which a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

or hip hop producer will forcefully move the

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from viny ...

record back and forth underneath the needle. This can also by achieved by using some CDs. The purpose of scratching was to disjoint the flow of the beat, to add some complexity or to develop a bridge in the song. It was effective for rap battles and breaks in a rappers delivery. Scratching can also encompass the use of multiple vinyls, allowing the DJ to experiment with other works within the scope of their own song. A scratch hook can be used as a method of sampling. For example DJ Premier's songs would often have a scratch hook of vocals. He commonly implemented this into his chorus.

Sampling

Sampling is used in boom bap music to enhance the beat beyond a simple drum pattern. Since the foundations of the beat are designed to be

minimalistic Minimalism is a movement in visual arts, music, and other media that began in post–World War II Western art. Minimalism may also refer to: *Minimalism (computing), a philosophy of programming and configuring computers *Minimalism (philosophy), ...

, samples are used to add to the rhythm of the song and to create more diversity in the sounds. Two of the most common electronic samplers used in this style are the Akai MPC and the SP1200. Composers in this style use ‘short excerpts of the audio from a previous recording, recontextualized into a new composition’. This can be heard in LL Cool J's " Around the Way Girl", a song and artist that utilizes boom bap features to create the hip hop beat. Swing quantization is used to create a more complex sound. It allows the producer to keep precision on the 'on' beats and to offset the 'off' beats by a small margin. This influences the rhythmic flow of the piece. In this process, the producer is able to edit the timing of the musical performance. The music sample can be stretched or condensed, and in some cases the beats are manipulated directly to achieve a perfect synchronisation. Swing quantization looks to provide a ratio of perfectly timed beats to off-timed beats. The swing ratio can be adjusted on samplers such as the Akai MPC series. The general consensus at times was that electronic samplers brough a machine-like element to the style of music. To maintain a human feel to the style, drum touch pads on the MPC and SP1200 were used so that artists could input their chosen samples at times they thought was best for the feel and the rhythm of the music. The addition of touch pads allowed the artist to add improvements in "not just timing, but also accents and velocity variations".

Lyrics

Boom bap music is often accompanied by rapping. The lyrics are a conversation with the audience, they are often introspective and reflective of current affairs and society. Boom bap songs rarely demonstrate a sense of progression within the song and don’t come to a chorus or climax. Boom bap lyrics often make no attempt to be catchy or commercial. This style of lyrics is often classified as "macho" and "dominant". The rapping itself follows contemporary conventions of lyrics in hip hop. Lyrics have a very important part of the song in this style. Since the beat and instrumentals are often repetitive and provide the backing for the rapper. The rapper themselves is what makes the song unique from others. Lyrics often involve multi-syllable rhyming, rap battling, insulting, sociological observations, puns, and other forms of

word play Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, pho ...

. Word play would often encompass poetic devices like extended

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...

s and

alliteration Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various ...

. The lyrics associated with boom bap have been described by music scholars as ‘raw’ and ‘direct’. A focus on the rhythm and flow of the words allows it to complement the beat. Along with the distinct beat, boom bap is also differentiated from other subgenres by the attitude in the vocals. In songs such as Run-DMC's "

Sucker M.C.'s "Sucker M.C.'s" (also known as "Krush-Groove 1" or "Sucker M.C.'s (Krush-Groove 1)" and sometimes spelled as "Sucker MCs", "Sucker MC's" or "Sucker M.C.s") is a song by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C. It was first released in 1983 as B-side to ...

" the rapper does not attempt to "sound catchy or commercial". The rappers input is merely to add variation to the song, to tell a story or to speak to the audience about a chosen topic. The lyrics within boom bap can sometimes be confused with

hardcore rap Hardcore hip hop (also hardcore rap) is a genre of hip hop music that developed through the East Coast hip hop scene in the 1980s. Pioneered by such artists as Run-DMC, Schoolly D, Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy, it is generally cha ...

which does exhibit a similar style of "aggressive" and "street-style" rap. Although boom bap as a subgenre focuses more on the auditory experience of the beat rather than the intense rap lyrics. The simplicity of the backing beat, allows the rapper to express freely their opinions and stories. Boom bap lyrics are often associated with stories of growing up in segrated neighbourhoods,

gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Territory (animal), territory in a communi ...

violence, drugs, wealth, sex, profanity,

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ...

and social neglect. The lyrics would often reflect the

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

social experience on the East Coast of the United States in the late 80's and early 90's.

Popularity

The subgenre of boom bap was popularised by KRS-One and his album '' Return of the Boom Bap''. This album reached its peak on the United States weekly album chart the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 37 on 16 October 1993. The album also peaked at number 5 on the ''Billboard'' Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums on the same day that the album peaked on the top 200. Boom bap began to gain popularity in the 1980s, but it had limited recognition on mainstream popular music charts. It existed more as an underground type of music. The beat is often made synonymous with New York hip hop in the era. Welbeck states that "the poly-rhythms of the 'boom-bap' rhythmic phrasings became a fixture of New York rap music in the late 1980s". The boom bap movement after hitting its peak in the early 1990s made its way across the Atlantic and infiltrated some of the European music scenes. Boom bap can often be found as a foundation for many modern day English rappers, which exhibit similar on-off beat. Boom bap also had a prominent influence on south-east Asia in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Boom bap is commonly recognised as delivering some of the founding elements of modern hip hop and rap music. The simple style makes it easy to adapt and for artists to make their own impression upon the work.

The decline of boom bap

Due to much tighter copyright laws in the United States and around the world in recent years, the accessibility for sampling and regenerating sounds based on other's work has become increasingly difficult. Some modern artists working for large

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

s enjoy production budgets that permit them to pay to use others' work. However, this limits home-grown music production and thus leads hip hop enthusiasts to other more accessible forms of hip hop. Artists gravitated away from sampling due to financial and career risks. One's creative ability can also be impacted when choosing to sample within a song. Hence, an overall drive for new content has emerged in the music industry. The

Red Bull Music Academy The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is a world-traveling series of music workshops and festivals that was founded in 1998 by Red Bull GmbH. The main five-week event is held in a different city each year. The public portion of its program is a festi ...

states that in the modern world "the notion of tagging something as boom bap has become more of a

backhanded compliment An insult is an expression or statement (or sometimes behavior) which is disrespectful or scornful. Insults may be intentional or accidental. An insult may be factual, but at the same time pejorative, such as the word " inbred". Jocular ex ...

. The phrase is frequently applied to East Coast hip hop to suggest that its architects are dated and trading on former glories". In the London music scene boom bap is well known for its "hard bass drum" and "snapping snare", but it is commonly associated with "old school" tracks.

Modern usage

Although not commercially popular, in the recent years boom bap has seen a small resurgence. In 2019, the

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

-based rapper Wish Master (Liam Wish Kole) released an album called ''Boom Bap to the Future'', and used the rhythmical quality as the foundation of the album's instrumental scoring, as well an allegory for retaining artistic self-control. However, critics were not entirely happy with the album, referring to its weak textual life, although commendable attempts at reviving the forgotten style. Another regeneration of the boom bap style is being constructed through the London-based music collective called Sons of Boom Bap (S.O.B), whose mission is to reignite interest and lend social status to the old-school aesthetics of rapping, which include boom bap and other foundational stylistic attributes. However during the pandemic and with influence of platforms such as Verzuz, multiple artist have released singles or full length projects with a boom bap aesthetic: J.Cole,

, Redman, Dj Kay Slay,

Lloyd Banks Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, alongside childhood friends 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. After ...

, Hrsmn, Rosenberg among others.

References

{{Hiphop Hip hop production East Coast hip hop American hip hop genres 1980s in music 1990s in music 2000s in music 2010s in music 2020s in music