Hip Hop
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8correct to beat the crowd
This rap trivia quiz runs the whole history of hip hop in 146 free questions with answers: the Bronx block parties of the 1970s, Run-DMC and Public Enemy, the golden age, the East Coast versus West Coast feud, and the Atlanta trap sound that took over the 2010s. Roughly a third of it is 90s rap trivia, so fans of Illmatic, The Chronic, Doggystyle, Ready to Die and Enter the Wu-Tang will find plenty to argue about. Questions start easy enough for casual listeners and climb to the real names, label histories and video directors that only heads know. Every answer has been checked against a reliable source and each question shows its citation after you answer, so you can settle the debate on the spot. Play it solo or use it as a ready-made rap round for a trivia night.
30 of 146 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which Bronx DJ turned his Black Spades street gang into the Universal Zulu Nation and cut 1982's 'Planet Rock'?
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa built the Universal Zulu Nation out of the Black Spades and, with 'Planet Rock', gave hip hop its electro strand; he is counted among breakbeat DJing's originators alongside Kool Herc.
Q 02Which Run-D.M.C. album contains 'Walk This Way' and 'It's Tricky'?
Raising Hell
Raising Hell (1986) holds 'It's Tricky', 'My Adidas' and the Aerosmith collaboration 'Walk This Way', which reached number four on the Hot 100 and carried the album to number three on the Billboard 200.
Q 03Which member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five is credited with coining 'hip hop' as an Army-style cadence?
Keith Cowboy
Keith Cowboy of the Furious Five scatted 'hip/hop/hip/hop' in 1978 to tease a friend who had just enlisted, mimicking a marching cadence; DJ Lovebug Starski also claims a hand in the phrase.
Q 04Trap music takes its name from Southern slang for what kind of place?
A drug house
A 'trap' is a house where drugs are sold; lyrical references to the trap appeared as early as 1991, though the modern trap sound did not crystallise until around 1999.
Q 05Besides DJing, MCing, breakdancing and graffiti, what is hip hop culture's 'fifth element'?
Knowledge
The Universal Zulu Nation pushed 'knowledge of self' as a fifth element so that hip hop would be a culture with values, not just a party.
Q 06In which borough of New York City is Hip Hop widely considered to have originated?
The Bronx
The Bronx is recognized as the birthplace of Hip Hop, with pioneering DJs hosting block parties in the 1970s that laid the foundation for the genre.
Q 07What song, released in 1979, is often credited with being the first commercially successful rap single?
"Rapper's Delight"
While "King Tim III (Personality Jock)" by Fatback was released shortly before, The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" is widely recognized for introducing rap music to a broad mainstream audience.
Q 08Which DJ is credited with pioneering the breakbeat technique that underpins hip hop?
DJ Kool Herc
DJ Kool Herc's innovative use of isolating and extending instrumental breaks in funk and soul records created the rhythmic foundation for early Hip Hop.
Q 09Which acclaimed 1994 debut album by Nas is a cornerstone of East Coast hip hop?
Illmatic
Illmatic showcased Nas's lyrical prowess and vivid storytelling, becoming a landmark album that influenced a generation of rappers.
Q 10What was the title of Missy Elliott's debut album, released in 1997?
Supa Dupa Fly
Supa Dupa Fly, produced entirely by Timbaland, was a groundbreaking album that solidified Missy Elliott's unique sound and vision in hip hop.
Q 11In what year was the pioneering group Run-DMC inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
2009
Run-DMC entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2009, the second hip hop act inducted, two years after the first rap group went in.
Q 12In what year did rapper Tupac Shakur tragically pass away?
1996
1996 ended Tupac's life at 25, days after a shooting on the Las Vegas Strip following a Mike Tyson fight; The Notorious B.I.G. was killed the following March.
Q 13Which album, initially promoted as a retirement project, was released by Jay-Z in 2003?
The Black Album
The Black Album, released in November 2003, was billed as Jay-Z's farewell and came with a 'retirement' concert at Madison Square Garden; he returned with Kingdom Come in 2006.
Q 21Which group, known for its jazz-infused sound, released the album The Low End Theory in 1991?
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest's The Low End Theory is a seminal album in jazz rap and alternative hip hop, praised for its innovative production and lyrical depth.
Q 22What record label was founded by Sean 'Diddy' Combs in 1993?
Bad Boy Records
Bad Boy Records came from Combs being fired by Uptown; Biggie and Ma$e followed, and the label became Death Row's East Coast rival.
Q 23Who performed 'Lose Yourself', the Oscar-winning song from 8 Mile?
Eminem
'Lose Yourself' won Eminem the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Q 14In what year did Eminem release his major-label debut album, The Slim Shady LP?
1999
The Slim Shady LP, released in 1999, was Eminem's second studio album and his major-label debut, introducing his Slim Shady alter ego to a wider audience.
Q 15Which 1988 Public Enemy album, their second, holds 'Rebel Without a Pause' and 'Don't Believe the Hype'?
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back was the first hip-hop album to top the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll; the Bomb Squad's dense, siren-filled production is the reason.
Q 16Which record label was co-founded by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin in 1984?
Def Jam Recordings
Rubin started the label in his NYU dorm room; its first release was by his own punk band, Hose, before it went on to launch LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy.
Q 17Which West Coast rapper released the influential album The Chronic in 1992?
Dr. Dre
The Chronic is Dr. Dre's debut solo album and a seminal work in G-funk, introducing a new sound to West Coast hip hop.
Q 18What group released the iconic album Straight Outta Compton in 1988?
N.W.A
Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A is a landmark album that brought gangsta rap to the mainstream and sparked controversy with its explicit lyrics.
Q 19What is the real name of the rapper Common?
Lonnie Rashid Lynn
Born Lonnie Rashid Lynn in Chicago, Common first recorded as Common Sense and later won an Oscar for co-writing 'Glory' from the film Selma.
Q 20Who released My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010?
Kanye West
Kanye's fifth studio album is widely regarded as one of his most ambitious, built around a sprawling cast of collaborators.
Q 24Which rapper is often referred to as the 'King of the South'?
T.I.
T.I. crowned himself 'King of the South' early in his career and titled his 2006 album King; his 2003 record Trap Muzik helped give the trap subgenre its name.
Q 25In what year was The Notorious B.I.G. killed?
1997
The Notorious B.I.G. was tragically killed in a drive-by shooting in March 1997, just six months after Tupac Shakur's death, fueling the East Coast-West Coast rivalry narrative.
Q 26Nas's 'Ether' was aimed at which rapper, whose 'Takeover' had fired first?
Jay-Z
Jay-Z's 'Takeover' was the first official album diss to name the feud outright; Nas answered with 'Ether'.
Q 27What smooth, synth-heavy West Coast subgenre did Dr. Dre popularize with The Chronic?
G-funk
G-funk, short for gangsta-funk, blended funk samples with gangsta rap lyrics, creating a distinctive and highly influential sound on the West Coast.
Q 28Which Queensbridge duo released The Infamous in 1995?
Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep's The Infamous (1995), home to 'Shook Ones (Part II)', was largely produced by Havoc with Prodigy on the mic; the duo came out of the Queensbridge Houses.
Q 29Which trio won a 1994 Grammy for 'Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)'?
Digable Planets
Digable Planets, the trio of Butterfly, Ladybug Mecca and Doodlebug, won the 1994 Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group with 'Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)', a jazz-rap hit that reached the Hot 100 top 20.
Q 30Which city is widely considered the birthplace of trap music?
Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia, is largely credited with originating and popularizing trap music, a subgenre of hip hop characterized by its aggressive beats and lyrical themes of street life.