How Has Rap Influenced The Dance Culture Today.

Much like Rap, Dance provides a sense of freedom, and creativity. Rap and so many other Genres of music have influenced Dance with the variety of beats, dance styles and, cultures. Music creates a mood or atmosphere for the dance that will color the audience and how they perceive it. The Rhythm, or pattern of beats in the music as well as the lyrics can influence the speed and structure of movements.

Rap isn’t just about the words, it is about an emotion and a feeling. As well as dance. Dance and rap started from breakdancing to DJ sets. Break dancing, or “b-boying” which includes hip-hop style dance, body language and attitude. It has always been used as a way to express yourself through music and movement. It’s the beat that gets the feet, shoulders and, hips moving and the hands clapping. Rap and dance shares a certain type of energy. What you express through words you express through dance and vice versa. They both offer therapeutic benefits. A DJ playing whatever beats, wether that’s Hip-hop, Salsa, Jazz etc. Dancers are looking to release emotion or assert their dominance or just be somebody. The intertwined nature of the DJs and MCs trying to keep the dancers moving on the dance floor with innovations in music as well as the effort of the dancers to “one up” each other contributed to this creativity. Different type of hip-hop music prompts people to move a different way. A way that is social, light hearted and fun. The Happy Feet was an iconic move in the 1980s. Always danced to the rap song “The Show” to get the party started.

Generation Z kids are dancing to several different Tiktok songs of several different genres as well. They pair the right shimmies and gestures with short music clips. These dance challenges were responsible for securing top chart spots for artist like Drake , Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion, whose songs provided the addictive soundtracks for these dance trends. Drake music provided “Toosie slide” Doja Cat music inspired a young lady name Haley Sharpe who created the viral choreography to her song “say, so” then you have Cardi B and Megan the Stallion whose music sparked Brian Esperon to create choreography for the song “WAP”