Hip-Hop′s from the Bronx, that's where it′s born from
But what is Hip-Hop's etymological origin
A word's etymology is how it was formed and whenWords are important, you should be informed of them
Here′s an etymological lexical chronicle
Wrought to give thought in full to its topical vocable
Hip-Hop, a genre of audible, optical thought-in-flow
Get taught it′s part of hip-hop to know (you know?)
And so here it is, the etymology of hip-hop
Well, hip comes first, but at first 'hip′ was hep
Which meant up-to-date, with it, and in step
Which in 1914 first appears with that name
In the now rare, Vocabulary of Criminal Slang
Which claims that it came from a detective's last name
Who was legend has it, always ′hep' to the game
And so his name became a saying, "He′s hep" like he's heard of it
But some say that's wrong, here are other alternatives
Some say that it comes from ancient ploughmen and shepherds
Who when herding would shout the word ′hep′ to their herd
"Hep hep" like "tut tut!" the kind of word you're using
As you do in hop-hop, when you′re gettin' things moving
More likely sources, on the other hand, say
That it′s from the Wolof language of Senegal, Mauritania and Gambia
"Hepi" to open one's eyes, well that′s eye-opening
And should come as no surprise
Since West Africa was the home of the Griot, or Djeli
Who practiced the ancient art of tale and poem telling
And preserving a cultural knowledge by rappin' it
But some say even that etymology is inaccurate
But wherever it came from, what matters is where it went
It entered the vernacular of Black Americans
In the '30s and ′40s, in what they call the Jive Era
50 years before Jive and era, era, era
And its usage continued in the context of Jazz
First among musicians, and then among the fans
So a "Hepcat" went from being a jazz man
To later being a white intellectual Jazz appreciator
And ultimately as ′hip' made the transition from hep
If that was a transition that you weren′t 'hip′ to yet
And you still said 'hep′, and not hip
Well, then you'd fall into the category of person's
Who are not hip at all
"Hop" as in jump, or a one-footed leap
First appeared in the 1500s, from a deep proto-Germanic root word
In modern form, hüpfen
To engage in a bouncing, springing-forth movement
Combining then hip, which means conscious and aware
And hop, which means making a leap in the air
You have conscious movement, that′s how KRS explains it
He′s the teacher of hip-hop, I teach ancient languages
DJ's a "Disc Jockey", it′s an established acronym
Less obvious, perhaps the MCs that rap to them
Can stand for the master of ceremonies, or for mic checker
Or the less known microphone controller
Graffiti's Latin via Greek, and via Latin, from Italian
And even ancient Romans wrote, but not on iron stallions
"Breaking" is from brecan, Old English, to shatter
Old English 800 is a good way to get plastered
Rap, rap, rap, rap, rap is onomatopoeic
And so whoever did invent it, when they thought it and said it
Made up a word that recreated some impression that came before
Like the rap, rap, rapping Edgar heard at his chamber door
It came from ancient Danish err, becoming a term of art
It meant a light quick blow, it also meant fart
And that′s poetic justice 'cause it′s obvious they're
Some rappers who claims to "drop shit" that's just air
That′s rap, but what about trap
In the past ten years, everybody′s feelin' that
Where′s the word come from? And where's the word at
It was slang for the spot where your drugs transact
Trap derived it from trep
That in or onto which someone can step
Implying a movement that comes to a stop
Some people don′t like it, some like it a lot
Why not
I'm not really saying either way
I′m trying to say the way it went and whence it came
And since it came to get its name
And then became a way of statement
That's pervasive in the game, and oftentimes, it's like a homophone
It kinda sounds the same
I guess it′s aptly titled, ′cause it's everywhere of late
I guess they call it trap ′cause it's hard to escape
Hip-Hop evolves, and undergoes changes
And yet somehow its essence transcends and stays changeless
And the line between who′s real? And who appropriates it
Is whether you make it in such a way that no haters can say shit
That's what I′m trying to do and I recognize genre
Is nothing more than a means to catalogue an author
And I don't care if you call what I do is Hip-Hop
Or historical essays masquerading as song-words
What I care about is this, regardless of your origin
When a crowd hears your voice, be sure you inform them
Make them hip to what's real
Make them hop to what moves them
Make them think, make them feel
Give them thought, give them movement
For this is the function of language and music
However, you may make it, wherever you may do it
′Cause words are just words, and what′s real is just facts
And it's not just where they′re from, it's where they′re at
