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