What Is Boom Bap Rap

The Boom Bap era of rap, also known as the “golden age” of hip-hop, was a period that spanned from the late 1980s to the early 1990s1. This era was characterized by its unique music production style, which was prominent in East Coast hip hop1.

The term “boom bap” is an onomatopoeia that represents the sounds used for the bass (kick) drum and snare drum, respectively1. 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 emphasizing the drum loop, and the kick-snare combination in particular1.

Prominent hip hop artists that incorporated “boom bap” in their music include Craig Mack, Run-DMC, Nas, LL Cool J, Gang Starr, KRS-One, Mobb Deep, R.A. the Rugged Man, Boot Camp Clik, Griselda, Wu-Tang Clan, Jay-Z, Common, Yasiin Bey, A Tribe Called Quest and The Notorious B.I.G1. Key producers include DJ Premier, Easy Mo Bee, Large Professor, Pete Rock, Marley Marl, J Dilla, Statik Selektah, RZA, Q-Tip, The Alchemist, Daringer, Black Milk, Apollo Brown, 9th Wonder, Havoc, Da Beatminerz, Buckwild, Lord Finesse, Diamond D, and Showbiz1.

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"1. The subgenre became increasingly better known when KRS-One released an album under the title Return of the Boom Bap1. The success of the album popularized the term boom bap1.

The original songs produced within the subgenre used the actual sounds of kick drums and hard-hitting snare drums or samples from vinyl records1. Over time more percussion instruments were added to add to the complexity of the beat1. Some examples of percussion instruments included were shakers, tambourines, bongos, and cowbells1. Musical programmers used digital sampling synthesizers to create more complex layers of sampled sounds and multi-layered drumbeats1.