Boom-Bap

What is boom-bap? Boom-bap is the classic New York hip-hop sound, named after the drums: the boom of the kick and the bap of the snare. Hard, dusty drums under a looped sample from an old soul, funk or jazz record, with a rapper who puts lyrics first. KRS-One gave the name a home with his album Return of the Boom Bap (1993).

Where it comes from. Boom-bap grew out of the sampling machines of the late '80s, like the E-mu SP-1200 and the Akai MPC. Producers like DJ Premier, Pete Rock, RZA and later J Dilla turned crate-digging into an art form. The sound defined the golden age of East Coast rap, from Rakim and Big Daddy Kane to Nas, Wu-Tang Clan and A Tribe Called Quest.

The sound. A head-nodding tempo of around 85 to 95 BPM, heavy drums with a slight swing, chopped samples and scratched hooks. The beat leaves space, and the lyrics fill it: complex rhymes, storytelling and punchlines.

Today. Boom-bap never went away. Joey Bada$$ brought it back to a new generation in 2012, and producers like The Alchemist keep the sound alive and moving forward.

Key albums

• Paid in Full, Eric B. & Rakim (1987)
• The Low End Theory, A Tribe Called Quest (1991)
• Mecca and the Soul Brother, Pete Rock & CL Smooth (1992)
• Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Wu-Tang Clan (1993)
• Illmatic, Nas (1994)
• The Sun Rises in the East, Jeru The Damaja (1994)