Initially dismissed as a fad, rap music proved its commercial viability in 1979 with the release of The Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight,' and then again in 1980 with Kurtis Blow's 'The Breaks,' a Top 5 hit that eventually went gold. Over time, it became common for the MCs (or rappers, as they soon became known) to talk and rhyme over and in sync with the music. MCs tasked with introducing the DJs and keeping the crowd energized would talk between songs, joking and generally interacting with the audience. Rap as a genre began at block parties in New York City in the early 1970s, when DJs began isolating the percussion breaks of funk, soul, and disco songs and extending them.

Together, they tell the story of rap's early years in the 1970s. The phrasal verb wrapped up means to be involved or obsessed with someone or something. Wrapped is the past tense of the verb wrap, which means to cover, enclose, or bundle. Jim Fricke is the editor of Yes Yes Y'all: The Experience Music Project Oral History of Hip Hop's First Decade, and was the curator of the 'Hip-Hop Nation' exhibit at Seattle's Experience Music Project. The adjective rapt means receiving (someones) full attention, being wholly absorbed (in something), or being carried away (with emotion). This is the story of underground hip-hop’s evolution, and the shifting meaning of the term.

Grand Wizard Theodore was the DJ who invented scratching, utilizing turntables as an instrument to be played. The meaning of underground rap has changed over the years. Kurtis Blow was the first rapper to sign with a major label, the first to earn a certified gold single, and the first to tour internationally. World Cafe celebrates Black History Month with a special on the birth of rap, in which rapper Kurtis Blow, DJ Grand Wizard Theodore, and museum curator Jim Fricke help host David Dye explore the birth of hip-hop.

'Rapper's Delight' by The Sugarhill Gang.

Meaning of rapt