Rap Quiz

1. Halfway through a rap song, the instrumental shifts to a distinctly different drum pattern, tempo feel, and musical texture. What is this transition commonly called?

2. A producer lifts a drum sound directly from an older recording and places that audio in a new beat. What technique is this?

3. At early Bronx parties, which technique did DJ Kool Herc use to extend percussion-heavy breaks for dancers?

4. Instead of copying audio from an older song, musicians replay one of its recognizable melodies for a new rap track. What is this commonly called?

5. An MC releases a track built around direct lyrical attacks on a named rival during a public feud. What type of track is it?

6. Which two artists formed the Atlanta rap duo Outkast?

7. A rap album follows recurring characters and a connected storyline from its opening track to its conclusion. Which label best describes its structure?

8. Which 1979 single by the Sugarhill Gang helped introduce rap to a broad commercial audience?

9. Run-DMC’s influential 1986 version of “Walk This Way” featured which rock band?

10. In the line “The cold road rolled beneath us as we drove,” the rhyme between “cold” and “rolled” occurs before the line ends. What is this called?

11. During a performance, a DJ moves a vinyl record back and forth under the needle to create a rhythmic sound. Which technique is being used?

12. What was a central role of an MC at early hip-hop parties?

13. Which Kendrick Lamar album became the first nonclassical or nonjazz work to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Music?

14. Which New York City borough is widely recognized as the birthplace of hip-hop culture in the 1970s?

15. Two rappers use the same lyrics over the same instrumental, but one spaces syllables loosely while the other delivers rapid, tightly grouped phrases. Which element differs most directly?

16. Which group is associated with the socially observant 1982 rap recording “The Message”?