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Hip-hop or hip hop (formerly known as disco rap)^[7][8] is a genre of popular music that emerged in the early 1970s in New York City. The genre is characterized by stylized rhythmic sounds—often built around funk grooves, electronic drum beats, and rapping, a percussive vocal delivery of rhymed poetic speech as consciousness-raising expression.^[9] The music developed as part of the broader hip-hop culture; while often used to refer solely to rapping and rap music, “hip-hop” more properly denotes the practice(s) of the entire subculture.^[10][11] The term hip-hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music,^[9][12] though rapping may not be the focus of hip-hop music. The genre also centers DJing, turntablism, scratching,^[13] beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.^[14][15]

Hip-hop as both a musical genre and a culture was formed during the 1970s, when block parties became increasingly popular in New York City, particularly among ethnic minority youth residing in the Bronx.^[16] At block parties, DJs played percussive breaks of popular songs using two turntables and a DJ mixer to be able to play breaks from two copies of the same record, alternating from one to the other and extending the “break“.^[17] Hip-hop’s early evolution occurred as sampling technology and drum machines became widely available and affordable. Turntablist techniques such as scratching and beatmatching developed along with the breaks. Rapping developed as a vocal style in which the artist speaks or chants along rhythmically with an instrumental or synthesized beat.

Hip-hop music was not officially recorded to play on radio or television until 1979, largely due to poverty during the genre’s birth and lack of acceptance outside ghetto neighborhoods. The genre of music began spreading through block parties throughout the Black community.^[18] Old-school hip hop was the first mainstream wave of the genre, marked by its disco influence and party-oriented lyrics. The 1980s marked the diversification of hip-hop as the genre developed more complex styles and spread around the world. New-school hip hop was the genre’s second wave, marked by its electro sound, and led into golden age hip hop, an innovative period between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s that also developed hip-hop’s own album era. The gangsta rap subgenre, focused on the violent lifestyles and impoverished conditions of inner-city African American youth, gained popularity at this time. West Coast hip hop was dominated by G-funk in the early-mid 1990s, while East Coast hip hop was dominated by jazz rap, alternative hip hop, and hardcore hip hop. Hip-hop continued to diversify at this time with other regional styles emerging, such as Southern rap and Atlanta hip hop. Hip-hop became a best-selling genre in the mid-1990s and the top-selling music genre by 1999. Hip-hop became a category at the Grammy Awards in 1989 with the addition of the Best Rap Performance award and was given to DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince for their song “Parents Just Don’t Understand”. In 1990, they became the first hip-hop act to perform at the Grammys.

The popularity of hip-hop music continued through the late 1990s to early-2000s “bling era” with hip-hop influences increasingly finding their way into other genres of popular music, such as neo soul, nu metal, and R&B. The United States also saw the success of regional styles such as crunk, a Southern genre that emphasized the beats and music more than the lyrics, and alternative hip-hop began to secure a place in the mainstream, due in part to the crossover success of its artists. During the late 2000s and early 2010s “blog era”, rappers were able to build up a following through online methods of music distribution, such as social media and blogs, and mainstream hip-hop took on a more melodic, sensitive direction following the commercial decline of gangsta rap. The trap and mumble rap subgenres have become the most popular form of hip-hop during the mid-late 2010s and early 2020s. In 2017, rock music was usurped by hip-hop as the most popular genre in the United States. In recent years, hip-hop’s influence has transcended musical boundaries, impacting fashion, language, and cultural trends worldwide.^[19][20][21]

Amidst its evolution, hip-hop has also been a vehicle for social commentary and political expression, reflecting the struggles and aspirations of marginalized communities. From its roots in the Bronx to its global reach today, hip-hop has served as a voice for the disenfranchised, shedding light on issues such as racial inequality, poverty, and police brutality.^[22] Artists such as Public Enemy, Tupac Shakur, and Kendrick Lamar have used their platforms to address systemic injustices, fostering dialogue and inspiring activism. Hip-hop’s ability to confront societal issues while simultaneously providing a form of empowerment and self-expression has solidified its significance beyond mere entertainment, making it a significant cultural force worldwide.^[23]

Cultural elements

Hip-hop is a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, breakdancing, and graffiti art or writing.^[24][25][26] Knowledge is sometimes described as a fifth element, underscoring its role in shaping the values and promoting empowerment and consciousness-raising through music.^[27][28][29] In 1999, emcee KRS-One, often referred to as “The Teacher,” elaborated on this framework in a Harvard lecture, identifying additional elements that extend beyond the basic four. These include self-expression, street fashion, street language, street knowledge (or universal law), and street entrepreneurialism, which remain integral to hip-hop’s musical expression, entertainment business, and sound production. Girls’ double-dutch was also recognized as a key stylistic component of breakdancing, according to KRS.^[30]

Origin of the term

The origin of the phrase “hip-hop” is unknown but a very old example of the phrase appears in scene II of an anonymously written satirical play from 1671 called The Rehearsal, thought to be written by George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and others. A character in the play named Bayes says: “Ay, is’t not, I gad, ha? For, to go off hip hop, hip hop, upon this occasion, is a thousand times better than any conclusion in the world, I gad.”^[31] This play and two other later sources are mentioned as an entry “Hip-hop” in a multi-volume dictionary from 1901 called A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, in Volume 5 H to K, on page 296;^[32] the definition is this dictionary is: “Hip-hop, adv. [v. hip + hop v.; or re-duplication of hop, with alternation of lighter and heavier vowel : cf. drip-drop, tip-top: With hopping movement; with successive hops.” A similar phrase “hippity hop” of unknown origin goes to least back to the 1800s and appears in a poem, “Spring Weather”, written by Elizabeth Cummings published in an 1882 children’s magazine called Wide Awake.^[33] The illustrated poem begins “Hippity hop to the candy Shop four little men in a row” and the phrase appears a few more times. The hopping depicted in the illustration seems to crossover later to describing dances such as the Lindy Hop, which began in Harlem in the late 1920s. Later dance parties in the 1970s with DJs predated rap music but rap music would evolve out of them. In an article in Medium, Jeff Chang writes: “Father Amde Hamilton of the influential rap precursors the Watts Prophets once told me that, when he was growing up along Central Avenue in 1950s Los Angeles, the older folks used to call teen house parties ‘them old hippity hops’.”

The earliest known instance of “hip-hop” as a compound phrase in a song lyric is in a song about dancing by the doo-wop group the Dovells in 1963 called You Can’t Sit Down, the lyric is: “…you gotta slop, bop, flip flop, hip hop, never stop”.^[34] Keef Cowboy, rapper with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, is sometimes credited with the term as it relates to hip-hop as we know it today (although it was not documented).^[35] Lovebug Starski, Keef Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when the music was still known as disco rap.^[36] It is believed by some that Cowboy created the term while teasing a friend who had just joined the U.S. Army, by singing the words “hip/hop/hip/hop” in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of soldiers marching.^[35] Cowboy later worked “hip-hop” into a part of his stage performance saying something along the lines of what was adopted by other artists such as The Sugarhill Gang in 1979 in one of the earliest rap records “Rapper’s Delight “I said a hip-hop, a hibbit, hibby-dibby, hip-hip-hop and you don’t stop”.^[37][35] Universal Zulu Nation founder and music artist Afrika Bambaataa is credited with first using the term as a five element culture of which the music belonged; although it is also suggested that it was sometimes used as a derogatory term.^[38] Hip-hop music in the early 1980s was an anti-drug and anti-violence social movement led by Afrika Bambaataa and the Universal Zulu Nation.^[39] The term was used in an article of February 24, 1979 by reporter Robert Flipping Jr. in the New Pittsburgh Courier^[40][41] The article is about DJs and discothèque nightclubs in Pittsburgh and does not mention rap music but says this: “D.J. Starsky (Lovebug Starsky), one of the more prominent based disc jockeys … He is also responsible for the derivation of the ‘Hip-Hop’.” Lovebug Starsky is also credited for the term by Afrika Bambaataa in a January 1982 interview by Michael Holman in the East Village Eye.^[42] Holman stating “Hip hop: the all inclusive tag for the rapping, breaking, graffiti-writing, crew fashion wearing street sub-culture.” The term gained further currency in September of that year in another Bambaataa interview in The Village Voice,^[43] by Steven Hager, later author of a 1984 history of hip-hop.^[44] Hip-hop and rap music are often used interchangeably but the term “hip-hop” has also been historically used to describe a culture of which music is a part.^[8] Historically hip-hop is a cultural movement that emerged in the South Bronx in New York City during the 1970s which included MCing (or rapping), graffiti art (or aerosol art), break dancing, DJing and knowledge.^[8]

1970s: origins and early years

Musical genres from which hip-hop developed include funk, blues, jazz and rhythm and blues recordings from the 1960s, 1950s, and earlier, including several records by Bo Diddley^{[citation needed]} and gospel group The Jubalaires, whose 1946 song “Noah” is often named as the first recorded instance of rap.^[45][46] Muhammad Ali‘s 1963 spoken-word album I Am the Greatest is regarded by some writers as an early example of hip-hop.^[47][48][49] Pigmeat Markham‘s 1968 single “Here Comes the Judge” is one of several songs said to be the earliest hip-hop record.^[50] Leading up to hip-hop, there were spoken-word artists such as the Last Poets who released their debut album in 1970, and Gil Scott-Heron, who gained a wide audience with his 1971 track “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised“. These artists combined spoken word and music to create a kind of “proto-rap” vibe.^[51]

Hip-hop as music and culture formed during the 1970s in New York City. As expressed by Mark D. Naison of Fordham University, “Hip hop was born multicultural”, gaining influences from African American, Latin American, and Caribbean musical and dancing traditions.^[52][53][54] Hip-hop music in its infancy has been described as an outlet and a voice for the disenfranchised youth of marginalized backgrounds and low-income areas, as the hip-hop culture reflected the social, economic and political realities of their lives.^[55][56] Many of the people who helped establish hip hop culture, including DJ Kool Herc, DJ Disco Wiz, Grandmaster Flash, and Afrika Bambaataa were of Latin American or Caribbean origin. DJ Kool Herc is widely recognized as the creator of hip-hop, credited with pioneering the technique of extending the instrumental “breakbeat” on a record during a party in the Bronx on August 11, 1973, which is considered to be the birth of hip-hop in the hip-hop culture.

It is hard to pinpoint the exact musical influences that most affected the sound and culture of early hip-hop because of the multicultural nature of New York—hip-hop’s early pioneers were influenced by a mix of cultures, due to the city’s diversity.^[57] The city experienced a heavy Jamaican hip-hop influence during the 1990s. This influence was brought on by cultural shifts particularly because of the heightened immigration of Jamaicans to New York and the American-born Jamaican youth who were coming of age during the 1990s.

In the 1970s, block parties became increasingly popular in New York, particularly among African American, Caribbean and Hispanic youth residing in the Bronx. Block parties incorporated DJs, who played popular genres of music, especially funk and soul music. Due to the positive reception, DJs began isolating the percussive breaks of popular songs. This technique was common in Jamaican dub music,^[59] and was largely introduced into New York by immigrants from the Caribbean, including DJ Kool Herc, one of the pioneers of hip-hop.^[60][61] Herc has repeatedly denied any direct connections between Jamaican musical traditions and early hip-hop, stating that his own biggest influence was James Brown, from whom he says rap originated.^[62] Even before moving to the U.S., Herc says his biggest influences came from American music:

I was listening to American music in Jamaica and my favorite artist was James Brown. That’s who inspired me. A lot of the records I played were by James Brown.^[63]

Herc also says that he was not influenced by Jamaican sound system parties, as he was too young to experience them when he was in Jamaica.^[64]

In a 2020 interview, DJ Kool Herc’s sister Cindy Campbell said that she wanted Jamaica to reclaim hip-hop because, as she put it, “we are the ones who brought the style and the technique to America, which [later] became hip-hop.”^[65]

Because the percussive breaks in funk, soul and disco records were generally short, Herc and other DJs began using two turntables to extend the breaks. On August 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc was the DJ at his sister’s back-to-school party. He extended the beat of a record by using two record players, isolating the percussion “breaks” by using a mixer to switch between the two records. Herc’s experiments with making music with record players became what we now know as breaking or “scratching“.^[66]

A second key musical element in hip-hop music is emceeing (also called MCing or rapping). Emceeing is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes and wordplay, delivered at first without accompaniment and later done over a beats. This spoken style was influenced by the African American style of “capping”, a performance where men tried to outdo each other in originality of their language and tried to gain the favor of the listeners.^[67] The basic elements of hip-hop—boasting raps, rival “posses” (groups), uptown “throw-downs”, and political and social commentary—were all long present in African American music. MCing and rapping performers moved back and forth between the predominance of songs packed with a mix of boasting, ‘slackness’ and sexual innuendo and a more topical, political, socially conscious style. The role of the MC originally was as a Master of Ceremonies for a DJ dance event. The MC would introduce the DJ and try to pump up the audience. The MC spoke between the DJ’s songs, urging everyone to get up and dance. MCs would also tell jokes and use their energetic language and enthusiasm to rev up the crowd. Eventually, this introducing role developed into longer sessions of spoken, rhythmic wordplay, and rhyming, which became rapping.

By 1979, hip-hop music had become a mainstream genre. Herc also developed upon break-beat deejaying,^[68] where the breaks of funk songs—the part most suited to dance, usually percussion-based—were isolated and repeated for the purpose of all-night dance parties. This form of music playback, using hard funk and rock, formed the basis of hip-hop music. Campbell’s announcements and exhortations to dancers would lead to the syncopated, rhymed spoken accompaniment now known as rapping. He dubbed his dancers “break-boys” and “break-girls”, or simply “b-boys” and “b-girls”. According to Herc, “breaking” was also street slang for “getting excited” and “acting energetically”.^[69]

DJs such as Grand Wizzard Theodore, Grandmaster Flash, and Jazzy Jay refined and developed the use of breakbeats, including cutting and scratching.^[71] As turntable manipulation continued to evolve a new technique that came from it was needle dropping. Needle dropping was created by Grandmaster Flash, it is prolonged short drum breaks by playing two copies of a record simultaneously and moving the needle on one turntable back to the start of the break while the other played.^[72] The approach used by Herc was soon widely copied, and by the late 1970s, DJs were releasing 12-inch records where they would rap to the beat. Popular tunes included Kurtis Blow‘s “The Breaks” and the Sugarhill Gang‘s “Rapper’s Delight“.^[73] Herc and other DJs would connect their equipment to power lines and perform at venues such as public basketball courts and at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, New York, now officially a historic building.^[74] The equipment consisted of numerous speakers, turntables, and one or more microphones.^[75] By using this technique, DJs could create a variety of music, but according to Rap Attack by David Toop “At its worst the technique could turn the night into one endless and inevitably boring song”.^[76] KC the Prince of Soul, a rapper-lyricist with Pete DJ Jones, is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an “MC”.^[77]

Street gangs were prevalent in the poverty of the South Bronx, and much of the graffiti, rapping, and b-boying at these parties were all artistic variations on the competition and one-upmanship of street gangs. Sensing that gang members’ often violent urges could be turned into creative ones, Afrika Bambaataa founded the Zulu Nation, a loose confederation of street-dance crews, graffiti artists, and rap musicians. By the late 1970s, the culture had gained media attention, with Billboard magazine printing an article titled “B Beats Bombarding Bronx”, commenting on the local phenomenon and mentioning influential figures such as Kool Herc.^[78] The New York City blackout of 1977 saw widespread looting, arson, and other citywide disorders especially in the Bronx^[79] where a number of looters stole DJ equipment from electronics stores. As a result, the hip-hop genre, barely known outside of the Bronx at the time, grew at an astounding rate from 1977 onward.^[80]

DJ Kool Herc’s house parties gained popularity and later moved to outdoor venues to accommodate more people. Hosted in parks, these outdoor parties became a means of expression and an outlet for teenagers, where “instead of getting into trouble on the streets, teens now had a place to expend their pent-up energy.”^[81] Tony Tone, a member of the Cold Crush Brothers, stated that “hip hop saved a lot of lives”.^[81] For inner-city youth, participating in hip-hop culture became a way of dealing with the hardships of life as minorities within America, and an outlet to deal with the risk of violence and the rise of gang culture. MC Kid Lucky mentions that “people used to break-dance against each other instead of fighting”.^[82][83] Inspired by DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa created a street organization called Universal Zulu Nation, centered on hip-hop, as a means to draw teenagers out of gang life, drugs and violence.^[81]

The lyrical content of many early rap groups focused on social issues, most notably in the seminal track “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, which discussed the realities of life in the housing projects.^[84] “Young black Americans coming out of the civil rights movement have used hip hop culture in the 1980s and 1990s to show the limitations of the Hip Hop Movement.”^[85] Hip-hop gave young African Americans a voice to let their issues be heard; “Like rock-and-roll, hip hop is vigorously opposed by conservatives because it romanticises violence, law-breaking, and gangs”.^[85] It also gave people a chance for financial gain by “reducing the rest of the world to consumers of its social concerns.”^[85]

In late 1979, Debbie Harry of Blondie took Nile Rodgers of Chic to such an event, as the main backing track used was the break from Chic’s “Good Times“.^[73] The new style influenced Harry, and Blondie’s later hit single from 1981 “Rapture” became the first single containing hip-hop elements to hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100—the song itself is usually considered new wave and fuses heavy pop music elements, but there is an extended rap by Harry near the end.

Boxer Muhammad Ali, as an influential African American celebrity, was widely covered in the media. Ali influenced several elements of hip-hop music. Both in the boxing ring and in media interviews, Ali became known in the 1960s for being “rhyming trickster”. Ali used a “funky delivery” for his comments, which included “boasts, comical trash talk, [and] the endless quotabl[e]” lines.^[86] According to Rolling Stone, his “freestyle skills” (a reference to a type of vocal improvisation in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure) and his “rhymes, flow, and braggadocio” would “one day become typical of old-school MCs” like Run-DMC and LL Cool J,^[87] the latter citing Ali as an influence.^[86] Hip-hop music in its infancy has been described as an outlet and a “voice” for the disenfranchised youth of low-income and marginalized economic areas,^[55] as the hip-hop culture reflected the social, economic and political realities of their lives.^[56]

Technology

Hip-hop’s early evolution occurred around the time that sampling technology and drum-machines became widely available to the general public at a cost that was affordable to the average consumer—not just professional studios. Drum-machines and samplers were combined in machines that came to be known as MPC‘s or ‘Music Production Centers‘, early examples of which would include the Linn 9000. The first sampler that was broadly adopted to create this new kind of music was the Mellotron used in combination with the TR-808 drum machine. Mellotrons and Linn’s were succeeded by the Akai, in the late 1980s.^[88]

Turntablist techniques – such as rhythmic “scratching” (pushing a record back and forth while the needle is in the groove to create new sounds and sound effects, an approach attributed to Grand Wizzard Theodore^[89][90]), beat mixing or beatmatching, and beat juggling – eventually developed along with the percussion breaks, creating a musical accompaniment or base that could be rapped over in a manner similar to signifying.

Introduction of rapping

Rapping, also referred to as MCing or emceeing, is a vocal style in which the artist speaks lyrically and rhythmically, in rhyme and verse, generally to an instrumental or synthesized beat. Beats, almost always in 4/4 time signature, can be created by sampling and/or sequencing portions of other songs by a producer. They also incorporate synthesizers, drum machines, and live bands. Rappers may write, memorize, or improvise their lyrics and perform their works a cappella or to a beat. Hip-hop music predates the introduction of rapping into hip-hop culture, and rap vocals are absent from many hip-hop tracks, such as “Hip Hop, Be Bop (Don’t Stop)” by Man Parrish; “Chinese Arithmetic” by Eric B. & Rakim; “Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)” and “We’re Rocking the Planet” by Hashim; and “Destination Earth” by Newcleus. However, the majority of the genre has been accompanied by rap vocals, such as the Sci-fi influenced electro hip-hop group Warp 9.^[91] Female rappers appeared on the scene in the late 1970s and early 80s, including Bronx artist MC Sha-Rock, member of the Funky Four Plus One, credited with being the first female MC^[92] and the Sequence, a hip-hop trio signed to Sugar Hill Records, the first all-female group to release a hit rap record, Funk You Up.^[93]

The roots of rapping are found in African American music and bear similarities to traditional African music, particularly that of the griots^[94] of West African culture.^[95] The African American traditions of signifyin’, the dozens, and jazz poetry all influence hip-hop music, as well as the call and response patterns of African and African American religious ceremonies. Early popular radio disc jockeys of the Black-appeal radio period broke into broadcast announcing by using these techniques under the jive talk of the post WWII swing era in the late 1940s and the 1950s.^[96] DJ Nat D. was the M.C. at one of the most pitiless places for any aspiring musician trying to break into show business, Amateur Night at the Palace theatre on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. There he was master of ceremonies from 1935 until 1947 along with his sideman, D.J.Rufus Thomas. It was there he perfected the dozens, signifyin’ and the personality jock jive patter that would become his schtick when he became the first black radio announcer on the air south of the Mason–Dixon line.^[97] Jive popularized black appeal radio, it was the language of the black youth, the double entendres and slightly obscene wordplay was a godsend to radio, re-invigorating ratings at flagging outlets that were losing audience share and flipping to the new format of R&B with black announcers. The 10% of African Americans who heard his broadcasts found that the music he promoted on radio in 1949 was also in the jukeboxes up north in the cities. They were also finding other D.J’s like Chicago’s Al Benson on WJJD, Austin’s Doctor Hep Cat on KVET and Atlanta’s Jockey Jack on WERD speaking the same rhyming, cadence laden rap style.^[98] Once the white owned stations realized the new upstarts were grabbing their black market share and that Big Band and swing jazz was no longer ‘hip’, some white DJ’s emulated the southern ‘mushmouth’ and jive talk, letting their audience think they too were African American, playing the blues and Be-Bop.^[99] John R Richbourg had a southern drawl that listeners to Nashville’s WLAC^[100] nighttime R&B programming were never informed belonged not to a black D.J., as were other white DJ’s at the station. Dr. Hep Cat’s rhymes were published in a dictionary of jive talk, The Jives of Dr. Hepcat, in 1953. Jockey jack is the infamous Jack the Rapper of Family Affair fame, after his radio convention that was a must attend for every rap artist in the 1980s and 1990s^[101] These jive talking rappers of the 1950s black appeal radio format were the source and inspiration of Soul singer James Brown, and musical ‘comedy’ acts such as Rudy Ray Moore, Pigmeat Markham and Blowfly that are often considered “godfathers” of hip-hop music.^[102] Within New York City, performances of spoken-word poetry and music by artists such as the Last Poets, Gil Scott-Heron^[103] and Jalal Mansur Nuriddin had a significant impact on the post-civil rights era culture of the 1960s and ‘1970s, and thus the social environment in which hip-hop music was created.

Jamaican origins of outdoor sound systems

Further information: Sound system (Jamaican)

AM radio at many stations were limited by the ‘broadcast Day’ as special licenses were required to transmit at night. Those that had such licenses were heard far out to sea and in the Caribbean, where Jocko Henderson and Jockey Jack were American DJs who were listened to at night from broadcast transmitters located in Miami, Florida. Jocko came to have an outsized influence on Jamaican Emcees during the ’50s as the R&B music played on the Miami stations was different from that played on JBC, which re-broadcast BBC and local music styles. In Jamaica, DJs would set up large roadside sound systems in towns and villages, playing music for informal gatherings, mostly folks who wandered down from country hills looking for excitement at the end of the week. There the DJs would allow ‘Toasts’ by an Emcee, which copied the style of the American DJs listened to on AM transistor radios. It was by this method that Jive talk, rapping and rhyming was transposed to the island and locally the style was transformed by ‘Jamaican lyricism’, or the local patois.

Hip-hop as music and culture formed during the 1970s in New York City from the multicultural exchange between African American youth from the United States and young immigrants and children of immigrants from countries in the Caribbean.^[52] Some were influenced by the vocal style of the earliest African American radio MCs (including Jocko Henderson‘s Rocket Ship Show of the 1950s, which rhymed and was influenced by scat singing), which could be heard over the radio in Jamaica.

The first records by Jamaican DJs, including Sir Lord Comic (The Great Wuga Wuga, 1967) came as part of the local dance hall culture, which featured ‘specials,’ unique mixes or ‘versions’ pressed on soft discs or acetate discs, and rappers (called DJs) such as King Stitt, Count Machuki, U-Roy, I-Roy, Big Youth and many others. Recordings of talk-over, which is a different style from the dancehall’s DJ style, were also made by Jamaican artists such as Prince Buster and Lee “Scratch” Perry (Judge Dread) as early as 1967, somehow rooted in the ‘talking blues’ tradition. The first full-length Jamaican DJ record was a duet on a Rastafarian topic by Kingston ghetto dwellers U-Roy and Peter Tosh named Righteous Ruler (produced by Lee “Scratch” Perry in 1969). The first DJ hit record was Fire Corner by Coxsone’s Downbeat sound system DJ, King Stitt that same year; 1970 saw a multitude of DJ hit records in the wake of U-Roy’s early, massive hits, most famously Wake the Town and many others. As the tradition of remix (which also started in Jamaica where it was called ‘version’ and ‘dub’) developed, established young Jamaican DJ/rappers from that period, who had already been working for sound systems for years, were suddenly recorded and had many local hit records, widely contributing to the reggae craze triggered by Bob Marley’s impact in the 1970s. The main Jamaican DJs of the early 1970s were King Stitt, Samuel the First, Count Machuki, Johnny Lover (who ‘versioned’ songs by Bob Marley and the Wailers as early as 1971), Dave Barker, Scotty, Lloyd Young, Charlie Ace and others, as well as soon-to-be reggae stars U-Roy, Dennis Alcapone, I-Roy, Prince Jazzbo, Prince Far I, Big Youth and Dillinger. Dillinger scored the first international rap hit record with Cocaine in my Brain in 1976 (based on the Do It Any Way You Wanna Do rhythm by People’s Choice as re-recorded by Sly and Robbie), where he even used a New York accent, consciously aiming at the new NYC rap market. The Jamaican DJ dance music was deeply rooted in the sound system tradition that made music available to poor people in a very poor country where live music was only played in clubs and hotels patronized by the middle and upper classes. By 1973 Jamaican sound system enthusiast DJ Kool Herc moved to the Bronx, taking with him Jamaica’s sound system culture, and teamed up with another Jamaican, Coke La Rock, at the mike. Although other influences, most notably musical sequencer Grandmaster Flowers of Brooklyn and Grandwizard Theodore of the Bronx contributed to the birth of hip-hop in New York, and although it was downplayed in most US books about hip-hop, the main root of this sound system culture was Jamaican. The roots of rap in Jamaica are explained in detail in Bruno Blum‘s book, ‘Le Rap’.^[104]

DJ Kool Herc and Coke La Rock provided an influence on the vocal style of rapping by delivering simple poetry verses over funk music breaks, after party-goers showed little interest in their previous attempts to integrate reggae-infused toasting into musical sets.^[59][105] DJs and MCs would often add call and response chants, often consisting of a basic chorus, to allow the performer to gather his thoughts (e.g. “one, two, three, y’all, to the beat”). Later, the MCs grew more varied in their vocal and rhythmic delivery, incorporating brief rhymes, often with a sexual or scatological theme, in an effort to differentiate themselves and to entertain the audience. These early raps incorporated the dozens, a product of African American culture. Kool Herc & the Herculoids were the first hip-hop group to gain recognition in New York,^[105] but the number of MC teams increased over time.

Often these were collaborations between former gangs, such as Afrikaa Bambaataa‘s Universal Zulu Nation—now an international organization. Melle Mel, a rapper with the Furious Five is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an “MC”.^[106] During the early 1970s B-boying arose during block parties, as b-boys and b-girls got in front of the audience to dance in a distinctive and frenetic style. The style was documented for release to a worldwide audience for the first time in documentaries and movies such as Style Wars, Wild Style, and Beat Street. The term “B-boy” was coined by DJ Kool Herc to describe the people who would wait for the break section of the song, showing off athleticism, spinning on the stage to ‘break-dance’ in the distinctive, frenetic style.^[107]

Although there were some early MCs that recorded solo projects of note, such as DJ Hollywood, Kurtis Blow, and Spoonie Gee, the frequency of solo artists did not increase until later with the rise of soloists with stage presence and drama, such as LL Cool J. Most early hip-hop was dominated by groups where collaboration between the members was integral to the show.^[108] An example would be the early hip-hop group Funky Four Plus One, who performed in such a manner on Saturday Night Live in 1981.^[109]

1980s: old-school and new-school

Transition to recording

The earliest hip-hop music was performed live, at house parties and block party events, and it was not recorded. DJs would play breaks from popular songs using two turntables and a DJ mixer. Prior to 1979, recorded hip-hop music consisted mainly of PA system soundboard recordings of live party shows and early hip-hop mixtapes by DJs. Puerto Rican DJ Disco Wiz is credited as the first hip-hop DJ to create a “mixed plate,” or mixed dub recording, when, in 1977, he combined sound bites, special effects and paused beats to technically produce a sound recording.^[110] The first hip-hop record is widely regarded to be the Sugarhill Gang‘s “Rapper’s Delight“, from 1979. It was the first hip-hop record to gain widespread popularity in the mainstream and was where hip-hop music got its name from (from the opening bar).^[111] However, much controversy surrounds this assertion as some regard the March 1979 single “King Tim III (Personality Jock)” by the Fatback Band, as a rap record.^[112] There are various other claimants for the title of first hip-hop record.

By the early 1980s, all the major elements and techniques of the hip-hop genre were in place, and by 1982, the electronic (electro) sound had become the trend on the street and in dance clubs. New York City radio station WKTU featured Warp 9‘s “Nunk“, in a commercial to promote the station’s signature sound of emerging hip-hop^[113] Though not yet mainstream, hip-hop had begun to permeate the music scene outside of New York City; it could be found in cities as diverse as Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, San Antonio, Miami, Seattle, St. Louis, New Orleans, Houston, and Toronto. Indeed, “Funk You Up” (1979), the first hip-hop record released by a female group, and the second single released by Sugar Hill Records, was performed by the Sequence, a group from Columbia, South Carolina which featured Angie Stone.^[114] Despite the genre’s growing popularity, Philadelphia was, for many years, the only city whose contributions could be compared to New York City’s. Hip-hop music became popular in Philadelphia in the late 1970s. The first released record was titled “Rhythm Talk”, by Jocko Henderson.

The New York Times had dubbed Philadelphia the “Graffiti Capital of the World” in 1971. Philadelphia native DJ Lady B recorded “To the Beat Y’All” in 1979, and became the first female solo hip-hop artist to record music.^[115] Schoolly D, starting in 1984 and also from Philadelphia, began creating a style that would later be known as gangsta rap.

Influence of disco

Hip-hop music was influenced by disco music, as disco also emphasized the key role of the DJ in creating tracks and mixes for dancers, and old school hip-hop often used disco tracks as beats. At the same time however, hip-hop music was also a backlash against certain subgenres of late 1970s disco. While the early disco was African American and Italian-American-created underground music developed by DJs and producers for the dance club subculture, by the late 1970s, disco airwaves were dominated by mainstream, expensively recorded music industry-produced disco songs. According to Kurtis Blow, the early days of hip-hop were characterized by divisions between fans and detractors of disco music. Hip-hop had largely emerged as “a direct response to the watered down, Europeanised, disco music that permeated the airwaves”.^[116][117] The earliest hip-hop was mainly based on hard funk loops sourced from vintage funk records. By 1979, disco instrumental loops/tracks had become the basis of much hip-hop music. This genre was called “disco rap”. Ironically, the rise of hip-hop music also played a role in the eventual decline in disco’s popularity.

The disco sound had a strong influence on early hip-hop music. Most of the early rap/hip-hop songs were created by isolating existing disco bass-guitar bass lines and dubbing over them with MC rhymes. the Sugarhill Gang used Chic‘s “Good Times” as the foundation for their 1979 hit “Rapper’s Delight“, generally considered to be the song that first popularized rap music in the United States and around the world. In 1982, Afrika Bambaataa released the single “Planet Rock“, which incorporated electronica elements from Kraftwerk‘s “Trans-Europe Express” and “Numbers” as well as YMO‘s “Riot in Lagos”. The Planet Rock sound also spawned a hip-hop electronic dance trend, electro music, which included songs such as Planet Patrol‘s “Play at Your Own Risk” (1982), C Bank’s “One More Shot” (1982), Cerrone‘s “Club Underworld” (1984), Shannon‘s “Let the Music Play” (1983), Freeez‘s “I.O.U.” (1983), Midnight Star‘s “Freak-a-Zoid” (1983), Chaka Khan‘s “I Feel For You” (1984).

DJ Pete Jones, Eddie Cheeba, DJ Hollywood, and Love Bug Starski were disco-influenced hip-hop DJs. Their styles differed from other hip-hop musicians who focused on rapid-fire rhymes and more complex rhythmic schemes. Afrika Bambaataa, Paul Winley, Grandmaster Flash, and Bobby Robinson were all members of third s latter group. In Washington, D.C. go-go emerged as a reaction against disco and eventually incorporated characteristics of hip-hop during the early 1980s. The DJ-based genre of electronic music behaved similarly, eventually evolving into underground styles known as house music in Chicago and techno in Detroit.

Diversification of styles

Further information: List of hip-hop genres

The 1980s marked the diversification of hip-hop as the genre developed more complex styles.^[118] New York City became a veritable laboratory for the creation of new hip-hop sounds. Early examples of the diversification process can be heard in tracks such as Grandmaster Flash’s “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel” (1981), a single consisting entirely of sampled tracks^[119] as well as Afrika Bambaataa‘s “Planet Rock” (1982), and Warp 9‘s “Nunk“, (1982)^[120] which signified the fusion of hip-hop music with electro. In addition, Rammellzee & K-Rob‘s “Beat Bop” (1983) was a ‘slow jam’ which had a dub influence with its use of reverb and echo as texture and playful sound effects. “Light Years Away“, by Warp 9 (1983), (produced and written by Lotti Golden and Richard Scher) described as a “cornerstone of early 80s beatbox afrofuturism,” by the UK paper, The Guardian,^[91] introduced social commentary from a sci-fi perspective. In the 1970s, hip-hop music typically used samples from funk and later, from disco. The mid-1980s marked a paradigm shift in the development of hip-hop, with the introduction of samples from rock music, as demonstrated in the albums King of Rock and Licensed to Ill. Hip-hop prior to this shift is characterized as old-school hip hop.

In 1980, the Roland Corporation launched the TR-808 Rhythm Composer. It was one of the earliest programmable drum machines, with which users could create their own rhythms rather than having to use preset patterns. Though it was a commercial failure, over the course of the decade the 808 attracted a cult following among underground musicians for its affordability on the used market,^[121] ease of use,^[122] and idiosyncratic sounds, particularly its deep, “booming” bass drum.^[123] It became a cornerstone of the emerging electronic, dance, and hip-hop genres, popularized by early hits such as Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force‘s “Planet Rock“.^[124] The 808 was eventually used on more hit records than any other drum machine;^[125] its popularity with hip-hop in particular has made it one of the most influential inventions in popular music, comparable to the Fender Stratocaster‘s influence on rock.^[126][127]

Over time sampling technology became more advanced. However, earlier producers such as Marley Marl used drum machines to construct their beats from small excerpts of other beats in synchronisation, in his case, triggering three Korg sampling-delay units through a Roland 808. Later, samplers such as the E-mu SP-1200 allowed not only more memory but more flexibility for creative production. This allowed the filtration and layering different hits, and with a possibility of re-sequencing them into a single piece. With the emergence of a new generation of samplers such as the AKAI S900 in the late 1980s, producers did not have to create complex, time-consuming tape loops. Public Enemy‘s first album was created with the help of large tape loops. The process of looping a break into a breakbeat now became more commonly done with a sampler, now doing the job which so far had been done manually by the DJs using turntables. In 1989, DJ Mark James, under the moniker “45 King”, released “The 900 Number”, a breakbeat track created by synchronizing samplers and vinyl records.^[108]

The lyrical content and other instrumental accompaniment of hip-hop developed as well. The early lyrical styles in the 1970, which tended to be boasts and clichéd chants, were replaced with metaphorical lyrics exploring a wider range of subjects. As well, the lyrics were performed over more complex, multi-layered instrumental accompaniment. Artists such as Melle Mel, Rakim, Chuck D, KRS-One and Warp 9 revolutionized hip-hop by transforming it into a more mature art form, with sophisticated arrangements, often featuring “gorgeous textures and multiple layers”^[128] The influential single “The Message” (1982) by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five is widely considered to be the pioneering force for conscious rap.

Independent record labels like Tommy Boy, Prism Records and Profile Records became successful in the early 1980s, releasing records at a furious pace in response to the demand generated by local radio stations and club DJs. Early 1980s electro music and rap were catalysts that sparked the hip-hop movement, led by artists such as Cybotron, Hashim, Afrika Bambaataa, Planet Patrol, Newcleus and Warp 9. In the New York City recording scene, artists collaborated with producer/writers such as Arthur Baker, John Robie, Lotti Golden and Richard Scher, exchanging ideas that contributed to the development of hip-hop.^[129] Some rappers eventually became mainstream pop performers. Kurtis Blow‘s appearance in a Sprite soda pop commercial^[130] marked the first hip-hop musician to do a commercial for a major product. The 1981 songs “Rapture” by Blondie and “Christmas Wrapping” by the new wave band the Waitresses were among the first pop songs to use rap. In 1982, Afrika Bambaataa introduced hip-hop to an international audience with “Planet Rock.”

Prior to the 1980s, hip-hop music was largely confined within the context of the United States. However, during the 1980s, it began its spread and became a part of the music scene in dozens of countries. Greg Wilson was the first DJ to introduce electro hip-hop to UK club audiences in the early 1980s, opting for the dub or instrumental versions of Nunk by Warp 9, Extra T’s “ET Boogie”, Hip Hop, Be Bop (Don’t Stop) by Man Parrish, Planet Rock and Dirty Talk.^[131]

In the early part of the decade, B-boying became the first aspect of hip-hop culture to reach Japan, Australia and South Africa. In South Africa, the breakdance crew Black Noise established the practice before beginning to rap later in the decade. Musician and presenter Sidney became France’s first black TV presenter with his show H.I.P. H.O.P.^[132] which screened on TF1 during 1984, a first for the genre worldwide. Sidney is considered the father of French hip-hop. Radio Nova helped launch other French hip-hop stars including Dee Nasty, whose 1984 album Paname City Rappin’ along with compilations Rapattitude 1 and 2 contributed to a general awareness of hip-hop in France.

Hip-hop has always kept a very close relationship with the Hispanic community in New York. DJ Disco Wiz and the Rock Steady Crew were among early innovators from Puerto Rico, combining English and Spanish in their lyrics. the Mean Machine recorded their first song under the label “Disco Dreams” in 1981, while Kid Frost from Los Angeles began his career in 1982. Cypress Hill was formed in 1988 in the suburb of South Gate outside Los Angeles when Senen Reyes (born in Havana) and his younger brother Ulpiano Sergio (Mellow Man Ace) moved from Cuba to South Gate with his family in 1971. They teamed up with DVX from Queens (New York), Lawrence Muggerud (DJ Muggs) and Louis Freese (B-Real), a Mexican/Cuban-American native of Los Angeles. After the departure of “Ace” to begin his solo career, the group adopted the name of Cypress Hill named after a street running through a neighborhood nearby in South Los Angeles.

Japanese hip-hop is said to have begun when Hiroshi Fujiwara returned to Japan and started playing hip-hop records in the early 1980s.^[133] Japanese hip-hop generally tends to be most directly influenced by old school hip-hop, taking the era’s catchy beats, dance culture, and overall fun and carefree nature and incorporating it into their music. Hip-hop became one of the most commercially viable mainstream music genres in Japan, and the line between it and pop music is frequently blurred.

The new school of hip-hop was the second wave of hip-hop music, originating in 1983–84 with the early records of Run-D.M.C. and LL Cool J. As with the hip-hop preceding it (which subsequently became known as old-school hip hop), the new school came predominantly from New York City. The new school was initially characterized in form by drum machine-led minimalism, with influences from rock music, a hip-hop “metal music for the 80s–a hard-edge ugly/beauty trance as desperate and stimulating as New York itself.”^[134] It was notable for taunts and boasts about rapping, and socio-political commentary, both delivered in an aggressive, self-assertive style. In image as in song its artists projected a tough, cool, street b-boy attitude.

These elements contrasted sharply with much of the previous funk- and disco-influenced hip-hop groups, whose music was often characterized by novelty hits, live bands, synthesizers, and “party rhymes” (not all artists prior to 1983–84 had these styles). New-school artists made shorter songs that could more easily gain radio play, and they produced more cohesive LP albums than their old-school counterparts. By 1986, their releases began to establish the hip-hop album as a fixture of mainstream music. Hip-hop music became commercially successful, as exemplified by the Beastie Boys‘ 1986 album Licensed to Ill, which was the first rap album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts.^[135]

1990s: golden age hip-hop

Main article: Golden age hip-hop

Hip-hop’s “golden age” (or “golden era”) is a name given to a period in mainstream hip-hop, produced between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s,^{[136][137][138]} which is characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation and influence.^[139][140] There were strong themes of Afrocentrism and political militancy in golden age hip-hop lyrics. The music was experimental and the sampling drew on eclectic sources.^[141] There was often a strong jazz influence in the music. The artists and groups most often associated with this phase are Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, Eric B. & Rakim, Brand Nubian, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Gang Starr, Big Daddy Kane and the Jungle Brothers.^[142] The Digable Planets made unique contributions as well, earning a Grammy in 1993.

The golden age is noted for its innovation – a time “when it seemed that every new single reinvented the genre”^[143] according to Rolling Stone. Referring to “hip-hop in its golden age”,^[144] Spin‘s editor-in-chief Sia Michel says, “there were so many important, groundbreaking albums coming out right about that time”,^[144] and MTV‘s Sway Calloway adds: “The thing that made that era so great is that nothing was contrived. Everything was still being discovered and everything was still innovative and new”.^[145] Writer William Jelani Cobb says “what made the era they inaugurated worthy of the term golden was the sheer number of stylistic innovations that came into existence… in these golden years, a critical mass of mic prodigies were literally creating themselves and their art form at the same time”.^[146]

The golden age spans “from approximately 1986 to 1997”, according to Carl Stoffers of New York Daily News.^[136] In their article “In Search of the Golden Age Hip-Hop Sound”, music theorists Ben Duinker and Denis Martin of Empirical Musicology Review use “the 11 years between and including 1986 and 1996 as chronological boundaries” to define the golden age, beginning with the releases of Run-DMC’s Raising Hell and the Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill, and ending with the deaths of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G.^[138] The Boombox writer Todd “Stereo” Williams also cites the May 1986 release of Raising Hell (which sold more than three million copies) as the start of the period and notes that over the next year other important albums were released to success, including Licensed to Ill, Boogie Down Productions’ Criminal Minded (1987), Public Enemy’s Yo! Bum Rush the Show (1987), and Eric B. & Rakim’s Paid in Full (1987). Williams views this development as the beginning of hip-hop’s own “album era” from the late 1980s to the late 1990s, during which hip-hop albums earned an unprecedented critical recognition and “would be the measuring stick by which most of the genre’s greats would be judged”.^[147]

Gangsta rap and West Coast hip-hop

Main articles: Gangsta rap and West Coast hip-hop

Many black rappers—including Ice-T and Sister Souljah—contend that they are being unfairly singled out because their music reflects deep changes in society not being addressed anywhere else in the public forum. The white politicians, the artists complain, neither understand the music nor desire to hear what’s going on in the devastated communities that gave birth to the art form.

— Chuck Philips, Los Angeles Times, 1992^[148]

Gangsta rap is a subgenre of hip-hop that reflects the violent lifestyles of inner-city American black youths.^[149] Gangsta is a non-rhotic pronunciation of the word gangster. The genre was pioneered in the mid-1980s by rappers such as Schoolly D and Ice-T, and was popularized in the later part of the 1980s by groups like N.W.A. In 1985 Schoolly D released “P.S.K. What Does It Mean?“, which is often regarded as the first gangsta rap song, which was followed by Ice-T’s “6 in the Mornin’” in 1986. After the national attention and controversy that Ice-T and N.W.A created in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as well as the mainstreaming of G-funk in the mid-1990s, gangsta rap became the most commercially-lucrative subgenre of hip-hop. Some gangsta rappers were known for mixing the political and social commentary of political rap with the criminal elements and crime stories found in gangsta rap.^[150]

N.W.A is the group most frequently associated with the founding of gangsta rap. Their lyrics were more violent, openly confrontational, and shocking than those of established rap acts, featuring incessant profanity and, controversially, use of the word “nigga“. These lyrics were placed over rough, rock guitar-driven beats, contributing to the music’s hard-edged feel. The first blockbuster gangsta rap album was N.W.A’s Straight Outta Compton, released in 1989. Straight Outta Compton would establish West Coast hip hop as a vital genre, and establish Los Angeles as a legitimate rival to hip-hop’s long-time capital, New York City. Straight Outta Compton sparked the first major controversy regarding hip-hop lyrics when their song “Fuck tha Police” earned a letter from FBI Assistant Director, Milt Ahlerich, strongly expressing law enforcement‘s resentment of the song.^[151][152]

Controversy surrounded Ice-T’s album Body Count, in particular over its song “Cop Killer“. The song was intended to speak from the viewpoint of a criminal getting revenge on racist, brutal cops. Ice-T’s rock song infuriated government officials, the National Rifle Association of America and various police advocacy groups.^[153][154] Consequently, Time Warner Music refused to release Ice-T’s upcoming album Home Invasion because of the controversy surrounding “Cop Killer”.^[155] Ice-T suggested that the furor over the song was an overreaction, telling journalist Chuck Philips “…they’ve done movies about nurse killers and teacher killers and student killers. [Actor] Arnold Schwarzenegger blew away dozens of cops as the Terminator. But I don’t hear anybody complaining about that.” In the same interview, Ice-T suggested to Philips that the misunderstanding of Cop Killer and the attempts to censor it had racial overtones: “The Supreme Court says it’s OK for a white man to burn a cross in public. But nobody wants a black man to write a record about a cop killer.”^[153]

The subject matter inherent in gangsta rap more generally has caused controversy. The White House administrations of both George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton criticized the genre.^[148] “The reason why rap is under attack is because it exposes all the contradictions of American culture …What started out as an underground art form has become a vehicle to expose a lot of critical issues that are not usually discussed in American politics. The problem here is that the White House and wanna-bes like Bill Clinton represent a political system that never intends to deal with inner city urban chaos,” Sister Souljah told The Times.^[148] Due to the influence of Ice-T and N.W.A, gangsta rap is often viewed as a primarily West Coast phenomenon, despite the contributions of East Coast acts like Schoolly D and Boogie Down Productions in shaping the genre.

Mainstream breakthrough

In 1990, Public Enemy‘s Fear of a Black Planet was a significant success with music critics and consumers.^[156] The album played a key role in hip-hop’s mainstream emergence in 1990, dubbed by Billboard editor Paul Grein as “the year that rap exploded”.^[156] In a 1990 article on its commercial breakthrough, Janice C. Thompson of Time wrote that hip-hop “has grown into the most exciting development in American pop music in more than a decade.”^[157] Thompson noted the impact of Public Enemy’s 1989 single “Fight the Power“, rapper Tone Lōc‘s single Wild Thing being the best-selling single of 1989, and that at the time of her article, nearly a third of the songs on the Billboard Hot 100 were hip-hop songs.^[157] In a similar 1990 article, Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times put hip-hop music’s commercial emergence into perspective:

It was 10 years ago that the Sugarhill Gang‘s “Rapper’s Delight” became the first rap single to enter the national Top 20. Who ever figured then that the music would even be around in 1990, much less produce attractions that would command as much pop attention as Public Enemy and N.W.A? “Rapper’s Delight” was a novelty record that was considered by much of the pop community simply as a lightweight offshoot of disco—and that image stuck for years. Occasional records—including Grandmaster Flash‘s “The Message” in 1982 and Run-DMC‘s “It’s Like That” in 1984—won critical approval, but rap, mostly, was dismissed as a passing fancy—too repetitious, too one dimensional. Yet rap didn’t go away, and an explosion of energy and imagination in the late 1980s leaves rap today as arguably the most vital new street-oriented sound in pop since the birth of rock in the 1950s.^[158]

Rap is the rock ‘n’ roll of the day. Rock ‘n’ roll was about attitude, rebellion, a big beat, sex and, sometimes, social comment. If that’s what you’re looking for now, you’re going to find it here.

— Bill Adler, Time, 1990^[157]

MC Hammer hit mainstream success with the multi-platinum album Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em. The record reached No. 1 and the first single, “U Can’t Touch This” charted on the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. MC Hammer became one of the most successful rappers of the early nineties and one of the first household names in the genre. The album raised rap music to a new level of popularity. It was the first hip-hop album certified diamond by the RIAA for sales of over ten million.^[159] It remains one of the genre’s all-time best-selling albums.^[160] To date, the album has sold as many as 18 million units.^{[161][162][163][164]} Released in 1990, “Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice was the first hip-hop single to top the Billboard charts in the U.S. It also reached number one in the UK, Australia among others and has been credited for helping diversify hip-hop by introducing it to a mainstream audience.^[165] In 1992 released The Chronic. As well as helping to establish West Coast gangsta rap as more commercially viable than East Coast hip-hop,^[166] this album founded a style called G-funk, which soon came to dominate West Coast hip-hop. The style was further developed and popularized by Snoop Dogg‘s 1993 album Doggystyle. However, hip-hop was still met with resistance from black radio, including urban contemporary radio stations. Russell Simmons said in 1990, “Black radio [stations] hated rap from the start and there’s still a lot of resistance to it”.^[158]

Despite the lack of support from some black radio stations, hip-hop became a best-selling music genre in the mid-1990s and the top selling music genre by 1999 with 81 million CDs sold.^{[167][168][169]} By the late 1990s hip-hop was artistically dominated by the Wu-Tang Clan, Diddy and the Fugees.^[166] The Beastie Boys continued their success throughout the decade crossing color lines and gaining respect from many different artists. Record labels based out of Atlanta, St. Louis, and New Orleans also gained fame for their local scenes. The midwest rap scene was known for fast vocal styles from artists such as Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Tech N9ne, and Twista. By the end of the decade, hip-hop was an integral part of popular music, and many American pop songs had hip-hop components.

Hip-hop has been described as a “mainstream subculture”. The main reasons why hip-hop culture secured its subcultural authority despite becoming a part of the mass media and mainstream industries can be summarized as follows. First, hip-hop artists promoted symbolic and conspicuous consumption in their music from a very early stage. Second, the continuing display of resistance in hip-hop has continuously attracted new generations of rebellious fans. Third, owing to the subcultural ideal of rising from the underground, the hip-hop scene has remained committed to its urban roots. Fourth, the concept of battle rap has prevented hip-hop music from excessive cultural dilution. Finally, the solidarity within the African American community has shielded the subculture from erosion through mainstream commercialization.^[170]

East vs. West rivalry

Main article: East Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry

These graffiti arts are a tribute to East and West Coast rappers the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur, both of whom were killed in (separate) drive-by shootings.

The East Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry was a feud between artists and fans of the East Coast hip hop and West Coast hip hop scenes in the United States. The rivalry began in the 1970s as hip-hop gained its popularity and the West Coast developed its own style. It intensified in the late 1980s and early 1990s and reached its peak in the mid-1990s. Focal points of the feud were East Coast-based rapper the Notorious B.I.G. (and his New York-based label, Bad Boy Records, founded by Sean Combs) and West Coast-based rapper Tupac Shakur (and his Los Angeles-based label, Death Row Records, founded by Dr. Dre). This rivalry started before the rappers themselves hit the scene. Because New York is the birthplace of hip-hop, artists from the West Coast felt as if they were not receiving the same media coverage and public attention as the East Coast.^[171] As time went on, both rappers began to grow in fame and as they both became more known the tensions continued to arise. Eventually both artists were fatally shot following drive-by shootings by unknown assailants in 1997 and 1996, respectively.

East Coast hip-hop

Main article: East Coast hip-hop

In the early 1990s East Coast hip-hop was dominated by the Native Tongues posse, which was loosely composed of De La Soul with producer Prince Paul, A Tribe Called Quest, the Jungle Brothers, as well as their loose affiliates 3rd Bass, Main Source, and the less successful Black Sheep and KMD. Although originally a “daisy age” conception stressing the positive aspects of life, darker material (such as De La Soul’s thought-provoking “Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa”) soon crept in. Artists such as Masta Ace (particularly for SlaughtaHouse), Brand Nubian, Public Enemy, Organized Konfusion, and Tragedy Khadafi had a more overtly-militant pose, both in sound and manner. In 1993, the Wu-Tang Clan‘s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) revitalized the New York hip-hop scene by pioneering an East Coast hardcore rap equivalent in intensity to what was being produced on the West Coast.^[172] According to Allmusic, the production on two Mobb Deep albums, The Infamous (1995) and Hell on Earth (1996), are “indebted” to RZA‘s early production with the Wu-Tang Clan.^[173][174]

The success of albums such as Nas‘ Illmatic and Notorious B.I.G.‘s Ready to Die in 1994 cemented the status of the East Coast during a time of West Coast dominance. In a March 2002 issue of The Source Magazine, Nas referred to 1994 as “a renaissance of New York [City] Hip-Hop.”^[175] The productions of RZA, particularly for the Wu-Tang Clan, became influential with artists such as Mobb Deep due to the combination of somewhat detached instrumental loops, highly compressed and processed drums, and gangsta lyrical content. Wu-Tang solo albums such as Raekwon‘s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, Ghostface Killah‘s Ironman, and GZA‘s Liquid Swords are now viewed as classics along with Wu-Tang “core” material. The clan’s base extended into further groups called “Wu-affiliates”. Producers such as DJ Premier (primarily for Gang Starr but also for other affiliated artists, such as Jeru the Damaja), Pete Rock (with CL Smooth, and supplying beats for many others), Buckwild, Large Professor, Diamond D, and Q-Tip supplied beats for numerous MCs at the time, regardless of location. Albums such as Nas’ Illmatic, O.C.‘s Word…Life (1994), and Jay-Z‘s Reasonable Doubt (1996) are made up of beats from this pool of producers.

The rivalry between the East Coast and the West Coast rappers eventually turned personal.^[176] Later in the decade the business acumen of the Bad Boy Records tested itself against Jay-Z and his Roc-A-Fella Records and, on the West Coast, Death Row Records. The mid to late 1990s saw a generation of rappers such as the members of D.I.T.C. such as the late Big L and Big Pun. On the East Coast, although the “big business” end of the market dominated matters commercially the late 1990s to early 2000s saw a number of relatively successful East Coast indie labels such as Rawkus Records (with whom Mos Def and Talib Kweli garnered success) and later Def Jux. The history of the two labels is intertwined, the latter having been started by EL-P of Company Flow in reaction to the former, and offered an outlet for more underground artists such as Mike Ladd, Aesop Rock, Mr Lif, RJD2, Cage and Cannibal Ox. Other acts such as the Hispanic Arsonists and slam poet turned MC Saul Williams met with differing degrees of success.

West Coast hip-hop

Main article: West Coast hip-hop

After N.W.A broke up, former member Dr. Dre released The Chronic in 1992, which peaked at No. 1 on the R&B/hip-hop chart,^[177] No. 3 on the pop chart, and spawned a No. 2 pop single with “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang“. The Chronic took West Coast rap in a new direction,^[178] influenced strongly by P funk artists, melding smooth and easy funk beats with slowly-drawled lyrics. This came to be known as G-funk and dominated mainstream hip-hop in the early-mid 1990s through a roster of artists on Suge Knight‘s Death Row Records, including Tupac Shakur, whose double disc album All Eyez on Me was a big hit with hit songs “Ambitionz az a Ridah” and “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted“;^{[citation needed]} and Snoop Doggy Dogg, whose Doggystyle included the top ten hits “What’s My Name?” and “Gin and Juice“.^[179] As the Los Angeles-based Death Row built an empire around Dre, Snoop, and Tupac, it also entered into a rivalry with New York City’s Bad Boy Records, led by Puff Daddy and the Notorious B.I.G.

Detached from this scene were other artists such as Freestyle Fellowship and the Pharcyde, as well as more underground artists such as the Solesides collective (DJ Shadow and Blackalicious amongst others), Jurassic 5, Ugly Duckling, People Under the Stairs, Tha Alkaholiks, and earlier Souls of Mischief, who represented a return to hip-hop’s roots of sampling and well-planned rhyme schemes.

Further diversification

Further information: List of hip-hop genres

In the 1990s, hip-hop began to diversify with other regional styles emerging on the national scene. Southern rap became popular in the early 1990s.^[180] The first Southern rappers to gain national attention were the Geto Boys out of Houston, Texas.^[181] Southern rap’s roots can be traced to the success of Geto Boy’s Grip It! On That Other Level in 1989, the Rick Rubin produced The Geto Boys in 1990, and We Can’t Be Stopped in 1991.^[182] The Houston area also produced other artists that pioneered the early southern rap sound such as UGK and the solo career of Scarface.

Atlanta hip hop artists were key in further expanding rap music and bringing southern hip-hop into the mainstream. Releases such as Arrested Development‘s 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of… in 1992, Goodie Mob‘s Soul Food in 1995 and Outkast‘s ATLiens in 1996 were all critically acclaimed. Other distinctive regional sounds from St. Louis, Chicago, Washington D.C., Detroit and others began to gain popularity.

What once was rap now is hip hop, an endlessly various mass phenomenon that continues to polarize older rock and rollers, although it’s finally convinced some gatekeeping generalists that it may be of enduring artistic value—a discovery to which they were beaten by millions of young consumers black and white.

— Christgau’s Consumer Guide: Albums of the ’90s (2000)^[183]

During the golden age, elements of hip-hop continued to be assimilated into other genres of popular music. The first waves of rap rock, rapcore, and rap metal — respective fusions of hip-hop and rock, hardcore punk, and heavy metal^[184] — became popular among mainstream audiences at this time; Run-DMC, the Beastie Boys, and Rage Against the Machine were among the most well-known bands in these fields. In Hawaii, bands such as Sudden Rush combined hip-hop elements with the local language and political issues to form a style called na mele paleoleo.^[185]

Digable Planets‘ 1993 release Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) was an influential jazz rap record sampling the likes of Don Cherry, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, Herbie Mann, Herbie Hancock, Grant Green, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. It spawned the hit single “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” which reached No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[186]

2000s: bling and blog

Commercialization and new directions

During the late 1990s, in the wake of the deaths of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G., a new commercial sound emerged in the hip-hop scene, sometimes referred to as the “bling era”^[187] (derived from B.G.‘s “Bling Bling“),^[188] “jiggy era”^[189][190] (derived from Will Smith‘s “Gettin’ Jiggy wit It“), or “shiny suit era” (derived by metallic suits worn by some rappers in music videos at the time, such as in “Mo Money Mo Problems” by the Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy, and Mase).^[191] Before the late 1990s, gangsta rap, while a huge-selling genre, had been regarded as well outside of the pop mainstream, committed to representing the experience of the inner-city and not “selling out” to the pop charts. However, the rise of Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs’s Bad Boy Records, propelled by the massive crossover success of Combs’s 1997 ensemble album No Way Out, signaled a major stylistic change in gangsta rap (and mainstream hip-hop in general), as it would become even more commercially successful and popularly accepted. Silky R&B-styled hooks and production, more materialist subject matter, and samples of hit soul and pop songs from the 1970s and 1980s were the staples of this sound, which was showcased by producers such as Combs, Timbaland, the Trackmasters, the Neptunes, and Scott Storch. Also achieving similar levels of success at this time were Master P and his No Limit label in New Orleans; Master P built up a roster of artists (the No Limit posse) based out of New Orleans, and incorporated G funk and Miami bass influences in his music. The New Orleans upstart Cash Money label was also gaining popularity during this time,^[192] with emerging artists such as Birdman, Lil Wayne, B.G., and Juvenile.

Many of the rappers who achieved mainstream success at this time, such as Nelly, Puff Daddy, Jay-Z, the later career of Fat Joe and his Terror Squad, Mase, Ja Rule, Fabolous, and Cam’ron, had a pop-oriented style, while others such as Big Pun, Fat Joe (in his earlier career), DMX, Eminem, 50 Cent and his G-Unit, and the Game enjoyed commercial success at this time with a grittier style. Although white rappers like the Beastie Boys, House of Pain, and 3rd Bass previously had some popular success or critical acceptance from the hip-hop community, Eminem’s success, beginning in 1999 with the platinum The Slim Shady LP,^[193] surprised many. Hip-hop influences also found their way increasingly into mainstream pop during this period, particularly in genres such as R&B (e.g. R. Kelly, Akon, TLC, Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé, Ashanti, Aaliyah, Usher), neo soul (e.g. Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott), and nu metal (e.g. Korn, Limp Bizkit).

Dr. Dre remained an important figure in this era, making his comeback in 1999 with the album 2001. In 2000, he produced The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem, and also produced 50 Cent‘s 2003 album Get Rich or Die Tryin’, which debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts.^[194] Jay-Z represented the cultural triumph of hip-hop in this era. As his career progressed, he went from performing artist to entrepreneur, label president, head of a clothing line, club owner, and market consultant—along the way breaking Elvis Presley‘s record for most number one albums on the Billboard magazine charts by a solo artist.

Rise of alternative hip-hop

Alternative hip hop, which was introduced in the 1980s and then declined, resurged in the early-mid 2000s with the rejuvenated interest in indie music by the general public. The genre began to attain a place in the mainstream, due in part to the crossover success of artists such as Outkast, Kanye West, and Gnarls Barkley.^[195] Outkast’s 2003 album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below received high acclaim from music critics, and appealed to a wide range of listeners, being that it spanned numerous musical genres – including rap, rock, R&B, punk, jazz, indie, country, pop, electronica, and gospel. The album also spawned two number-one hit singles, and has been certified diamond by selling 11 times platinum by the RIAA for shipping more than 11 million units,^[196] becoming one of the best selling hip-hop albums of all time. It also won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards, being only the second rap album to do so. Previously, alternative hip-hop acts had attained much critical acclaim, but received relatively little exposure through radio and other media outlets; during this time, alternative hip-hop artists such as MF Doom,^[197] the Roots, Dilated Peoples, Gnarls Barkley, Mos Def, and Aesop Rock^[198][199] began to achieve significant recognition.

Glitch hop and wonky music

Main articles: Glitch hop and Wonky (music)

Glitch hop and wonky music evolved following the rise of trip hop, dubstep and intelligent dance music (IDM). Both glitch hop and wonky music frequently reflect the experimental nature of IDM and the heavy bass featured in dubstep songs. While trip hop has been described as being a distinct British upper-middle class take on hip-hop, glitch-hop and wonky music have much more stylistic diversity. Both genres are melting pots of influence. Glitch hop contains echoes of 1980s pop music, Indian ragas, eclectic jazz and West Coast rap. Los Angeles, London, Glasgow and a number of other cities have become hot spots for these scenes, and underground scenes have developed across the world in smaller communities. Both genres often pay homage to older and more well established electronic music artists such as Radiohead, Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada as well as independent hip-hop producers like J Dilla and Madlib.

Glitch hop is a fusion genre of hip-hop and glitch music that originated in the early to mid-2000s in the United States and Europe. Musically, it is based on irregular, chaotic breakbeats, glitchy basslines and other typical sound effects used in glitch music, like skips. Glitch hop artists include Prefuse 73, Dabrye and Flying Lotus.^[200] Wonky is a subgenre of hip-hop that originated around 2008, but most notably in the United States and United Kingdom, and among international artists of the Hyperdub music label, under the influence of glitch hop and dubstep. Wonky music is of the same glitchy style as glitch hop, but it was specifically noted for its melodies, rich with “mid-range unstable synths”. Scotland has become one of the most prominent wonky scenes, with artists like Hudson Mohawke and Rustie.

Glitch hop and wonky are popular among a relatively smaller audience interested in alternative hip-hop and electronic music (especially dubstep); neither glitch hop nor wonky have achieved mainstream popularity. However, artists like Flying Lotus, the Glitch Mob and Hudson Mohawke have seen success in other avenues. Flying Lotus’s music has earned multiple positive reviews on the independent music review site Pitchfork.com as well as a prominent (yet uncredited) spot during Adult Swim commercial breaks.^[201][202] Hudson Mohawke is one of few glitch hop artists to play at major music festivals such as Sasquatch! Music Festival.

Crunk music

Main article: Crunk

Crunk is a regional hip-hop genre that originated in Tennessee in the southern United States in the 1990s, influenced by Miami bass.^[203] One of the pioneers of crunk, Lil Jon, said that it was a fusion of hip-hop, electro, and electronic dance music. The style was pioneered and commercialized by artists from Memphis, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia, gaining considerable popularity in the mid-2000s via Lil Jon and the Ying Yang Twins.^[204] Looped, stripped-down drum machine rhythms are usually used. The Roland TR-808 and 909 are among the most popular. The drum machine loops are usually accompanied by simple, repeated synthesizer melodies and heavy bass “stabs”. The tempo of the music is somewhat slower than hip-hop, around the speed of reggaeton. The focal point of crunk is more often the beats and instrumental music rather than the lyrics. Crunk rappers, however, often shout and scream their lyrics, creating an aggressive, almost heavy, style of hip-hop. While other subgenres of hip-hop address sociopolitical or personal concerns, crunk is almost exclusively “party music”, favoring call and response hip-hop slogans in lieu of more substantive approaches.^[205] Crunk helped southern hip-hop gain mainstream prominence during this period, as the classic East and West Coast styles of the 1990s gradually lost dominance.^{[206][unreliable source?]}

Snap music and influence of the Internet

Main article: Snap music

Snap rap (also known as ringtone rap) is a subgenre of crunk that emerged from Atlanta, Georgia in the late 1990s.^[207] The genre gained mainstream popularity in the mid-late 2000s, and artists from other Southern states such as Tennessee also began to emerge performing in this style. Tracks commonly consist of a Roland TR-808 bass drum, hi-hat, bass, finger snapping, a main groove, and a simplistic vocal hook. Hit snap songs include “Lean wit It, Rock wit It” by Dem Franchize Boyz, “Laffy Taffy” by D4L, “It’s Goin’ Down” by Yung Joc, and “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” by Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em. In retrospect, Soulja Boy has been credited with setting trends in hip-hop, such as self-publishing his songs through the Internet (which helped them go viral) and paving the way for a new wave of younger artists.^[208][209]

Decline in sales

Starting in 2005, sales of hip-hop music in the United States began to severely wane, leading Time magazine to question if mainstream hip-hop was “dying.” Billboard magazine found that, since 2000, rap sales dropped 44%, and declined to 10% of all music sales, which, while still a commanding figure when compared to other genres, is a significant drop from the 13% of all music sales where rap music regularly placed.^[210][211] According to Courtland Milloy of The Washington Post, for the first time on five years, no rap albums were among the top 10 sellers in 2006.^[212] NPR culture critic Elizabeth Blair noted that, “some industry experts say young people are fed up with the violence, degrading imagery and lyrics.” However, the 2005 report Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8–18 Year-Olds found that hip-hop music is by far the most popular music genre for children and teenagers with 65 percent of 8- to-18-year-olds listening to it on a daily basis.^[213]

Other journalists say the music is just as popular as it ever was, but that fans have found other means to consume the music,^[214] such as illegally downloading music through P2P networks, instead of purchasing albums and singles from legitimate stores. For example, Flo Rida is known for his low album sales regardless of his singles being mainstream and having digital success. His second album R.O.O.T.S. sold only 200,000+ total units in the U.S., which could not line up to the sales of the album’s lead single “Right Round“. This also happened to him in 2008.^[215] Some put the blame on hip-hop becoming less lyrical over time, such as Soulja Boy’s 2007 debut album souljaboytellem.com which was met with negative reviews.^[216] Lack of sampling, a key element of early hip-hop, has also been noted for the decrease in quality of modern albums. For example, there are only four samples used in 2008’s Paper Trail by T.I., while there are 35 samples in 1998’s Moment of Truth by Gang Starr. The decrease in sampling is in part due to it being too expensive for producers.^[217]

In Byron Hurt‘s documentary Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, he claims that hip-hop had changed from “clever rhymes and dance beats” to “advocating personal, social and criminal corruption.”^[218] Despite the fall in record sales throughout the music industry,^[219] hip-hop had remained a popular genre, with hip-hop artists still regularly topping the Billboard 200 Charts. In the first half of 2009 alone artists such as Eminem,^[220] Rick Ross,^[221] the Black Eyed Peas,^[222] and Fabolous^[223] all had albums that reached the No. 1 position on the Billboard 200 charts. Eminem’s album Relapse was one of the fastest selling albums of 2009.^[224]

Innovation and revitalization

See also: Progressive rap and I Love Hip Hop in Morocco

By the late 2000s, alternative hip-hop had secured its place within the mainstream, due in part to the declining commercial viability of gangsta rap. Industry observers view the sales race between Kanye West‘s Graduation and 50 Cent‘s Curtis as a turning point for hip-hop. West emerged the victor, selling nearly a million copies in the first week alone, proving that innovative rap music could be just as commercially viable as gangsta rap, if not more so.^[225] Although he designed it as a melancholic pop album rather than a rap album, Kanye’s following 808s & Heartbreak would have a significant effect on hip-hop music. While his decision to sing about love, loneliness, and heartache for the entirety of the album was at first heavily criticized by music audiences and the album was predicted to be a flop, its subsequent critical acclaim and commercial success encouraged other mainstream rappers to take greater creative risks with their music.^[226][227] During the release of The Blueprint 3, New York rap mogul Jay-Z revealed that next studio album would be an experimental effort, stating, “… it’s not gonna be a #1 album. That’s where I’m at right now. I wanna make the most experimental album I ever made.”^[228] Jay-Z elaborated that like Kanye, he was unsatisfied with contemporary hip-hop, was being inspired by indie-rockers like Grizzly Bear, and asserted his belief that the indie rock movement would play an important role in the continued evolution of hip-hop.^[229]

The alternative hip-hop movement was not limited only to the United States, as rappers such as Somali-Canadian poet K’naan, Japanese rapper Shing02, and Sri Lankan British artist M.I.A. achieved considerable worldwide recognition. In 2009, Time magazine placed M.I.A in the Time 100 list of “World’s Most Influential people” for having “global influence across many genres.”^[230][231] Global-themed movements have also sprung out of the international hip-hop scene with microgenres like “Islamic Eco-Rap” addressing issues of worldwide importance through traditionally disenfranchised voices.^[232][233]

Due in part to the increasing use of music distribution through social media and blogging, many alternative and non-alternative rappers found acceptance by far-reaching audiences, hence why this era of hip-hop is sometimes termed the “blog era”.^[234][235] Several artists, such as Kid Cudi and Drake, managed to attain chart-topping hit songs, “Day ‘n’ Nite” and “Best I Ever Had” respectively, by releasing their music on free online mixtapes without the help of a major record label. Emerging artists at the time such as Wale, Kendrick Lamar,^[236] J. Cole, Lupe Fiasco, the Cool Kids, Jay Electronica, and B.o.B were noted by critics as expressing eclectic sounds, sensitive life experiences, and vulnerable emotions that were rarely seen in the prior bling era.^[237][238]

Also at this time, the Auto-Tune vocal effect was bolstered in popularity by rapper T-Pain, who elaborated on the effect and made active use of Auto-Tune in his songs.^[239] He cites new jack swing producer Teddy Riley and funk artist Roger Troutman‘s use of the talk box as inspirations for his own use of Auto-Tune.^[240] T-Pain became so associated with Auto-Tune that he had an iPhone app named after him that simulated the effect, called “I Am T-Pain”.^[241] Eventually dubbed the “T-Pain effect”,^[242] the use of Auto-Tune became a popular fixture of late 2000s and early 2010s hip-hop, examples being Snoop Dogg‘s “Sexual Eruption“,^[243] Lil Wayne‘s “Lollipop“,^[244] Kanye West’s album 808s & Heartbreak,^[245] and the Black Eyed Peas‘ number-one hit “Boom Boom Pow“.^[242]

2010s–2020s: trap and SoundCloud rap

Main articles: Trap music, Mumble rap, and Emo rap

Trap music is a subgenre of Southern rap that originated in the early 1990s. It grew in the 2000s to become a mainstream sensation,^[246] eventually reaching ubiquity in the mid-late 2010s and frequently having songs top the Billboard hip-hop charts.^{[247][248][249]} It is typified by double or triple-time sub-divided hi-hats,^[250] heavy kick drums from the Roland TR-808 drum machine, layered synthesizers and an overall dark, ominous or bleak atmosphere.^[251] The strong influence of the sound led to other artists within the genre to move towards the trap sound, with a notable example being Jay-Z and Kanye West on their joint song, “H•A•M“. Non-rappers have also experimented with trap, such as “7/11” by Beyoncé and “Dark Horse” by Katy Perry (featuring rapper Juicy J).

Major artists to arise from the genre in the 2010s include Lil Nas X, Waka Flocka Flame, Future, Chief Keef, Migos, Young Thug, Travis Scott, Kodak Black, 21 Savage, Yung Lean, Lil Uzi Vert, XXXTentacion, Ski Mask the Slump God, Juice Wrld, Trippie Redd, Lil Pump, Smokepurpp, Rae Sremmurd, Tekashi 6ix9ine, NBA YoungBoy, Lil Baby, Fetty Wap, among others. Female rappers Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Saweetie, Doja Cat, Iggy Azalea, City Girls, and Megan Thee Stallion also entered the mainstream.^[254] Trap artists that originated in the 2000s were able to recapture mainstream success in the 2010s with the rise of trap, including 2 Chainz, Gucci Mane and Juicy J, becoming more successful in the latter part of their career than when they debuted. Trap producers to reach mainstream success include Metro Boomin,^[255] Pi’erre Bourne,^[256] London on da Track,^[257][258] and Mike Will Made-It.^[259][260]

Critics of the trap genre have used the term “mumble rap” to describe the heavily auto-tuned, and sometimes hard to understand- delivery of verses from a majority of the artists.^[261] Artists longstanding within the genre have had their own comments regarding the rise of mumble rap, such as Rick Rubin stating that Eminem was confused by it,^[262] and Snoop Dogg claiming that he can not differentiate between artists.^[263] Black Thought, lead rapper from the Roots, stated that the “game has changed. It’s different. The standards are different, the criteria that’s taken into consideration in determining validity is different. We’re at a point in history where lyricism almost comes last in very many regards.”^[264]

On July 17, 2017, Forbes reported that hip-hop/R&B (which Nielsen SoundScan classifies as being the same genre) had usurped rock as the most consumed musical genre, becoming the most popular genre in music for the first time in U.S. history.^{[265][266][267][268]}

In the 2010s, Atlanta hip hop dominated the mainstream.^[269]

In the late 2010s and early 2020s, Brooklyn drill became popular since Pop Smoke emerged before his death. The 2020s decade began with Roddy Ricch as the first rapper to have a Billboard Hot 100 number-one entry.^[270][271]

Age of streaming

The rise of streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music in the mid-late 2010s greatly impacted the entire music business as a whole.^[273][274] Despite being a free streaming-only mixtape with no commercial release, Chance the Rapper‘s Coloring Book won Best Rap Album at the 2017 Grammy Awards, being the first streaming album ever to win a Grammy Award.^[275][276] Kanye West has stated that his own album, Yeezus, marked the death of CDs, and thus his subsequent release, The Life of Pablo was only released digitally.^[277] The Life of Pablo was also nominated for 2017 Best Rap Album. In 2017, Drake released a free streaming-only project titled More Life, which he called a “playlist“, insisting that it was neither a mixtape nor an album.^[278]

The online audio distribution platform SoundCloud played a massive role in the creation of various artists’ careers in the latter half of the 2010s. Mainstream acts to start on SoundCloud include Post Malone, Lil Uzi Vert, Russ, Bryson Tiller, Lil Xan, Lil Pump, Lil Peep, Lil Skies, Smokepurpp, Ski Mask the Slump God, XXXTentacion, Trippie Redd, Playboi Carti, YBN Nahmir, Tay-K, ZillaKami, Ugly God, Nav, and others. These songs are usually closely related to trap, but have also been labeled separately as SoundCloud rap and sometimes emo rap. They have been characterized as usually having moody, sad undertones, and usually feature lo-fi rough production. The genre has been met with criticism for its perceived low effort in lyrics and production,^[279] and the problematic nature of the artists to arise from it, such as Lil Peep’s drug abuse that led to his death,^[280] the multiple assault charges to XXXTentacion,^[281] 6ix9ine pleading guilty to using a child in a sexual performance,^[282] and the murder charges on Tay-K.^[283] On the contrary, the image of artists such as XXXTentacion have been met with praise due to perceived character improvement since their controversies.^[284][285]

In 2021, the most streamed rappers were Doja Cat and Lil Nas X.^[287] Other rappers with high streams in 2021 were Drake, Eminem, Lil Baby, Polo G, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Moneybagg Yo, Masked Wolf, Pop Smoke, J. Cole, and Lil Durk.^[288][289] The most streamed rap album of all time on Spotify is XXXTentacion’s second album, ? (2018).^[286]

World hip-hop music

Hip-hop music has reached the cultural corridors of the globe and has been absorbed and reinvented around the world.^[290] Hip-hop music expanded beyond the US, often blending local styles with hip-hop. Hip-hop has globalized into many cultures worldwide, as evident through the emergence of numerous regional scenes. It has emerged globally as a movement based upon the main tenets of hip-hop culture. The music and the art continue to embrace, even celebrate, its transnational dimensions while staying true to the local cultures to which it is rooted. Hip-hop’s impact differs depending on each culture. Still, the one thing virtually all hip-hop artists worldwide have in common is that they acknowledge their debt to those African American people in New York who launched the global movement.^[291]

Hispanics and people from the Caribbean played an integral role in the early development of hip-hop in New York, and the style spread to almost every country in that region. Hip-hop first developed in the South Bronx, which had a high Hispanic, particularly Puerto Rican, population in the 1970s.^[292] Some famous rappers from New York City of Puerto Rican origin are the late Big Pun, Fat Joe, and Angie Martinez. With Hispanic rap groups like Cypress Hill on the American charts, Mexican rap rock groups, such as Control Machete, rose to prominence in their native land.

In many Latin American countries, as in the U.S., hip-hop has been a tool with which marginalized people can articulate their struggle. Hip-hop grew steadily more popular in Cuba in the 1980s and 1990s through Cuba’s Special Period that came with the fall of the Soviet Union.^[293] During this period of economic crisis, which the country’s poor and black populations especially hard, hip-hop became a way for the country’s Afro-descended population to embrace their blackness and articulate a demand for racial equality for black people in Cuba.^[293] The idea of blackness and black liberation was not always compatible with the goals of the Cuban government, which was still operating under the idea that a raceless society was the correct realization of the Cuban Revolution. When hip-hop emerged, the Cuban government opposed the vulgar image that rappers portrayed, but later accepted that it might be better to have hip-hop under the influence of the Ministry of Culture as an authentic expression of Cuban Culture.^[294] Rappers who explicitly speak about race or racism in Cuba are still under scrutiny by the government.^[295] An annual Cuban hip-hop concert, beginning in 1995, held at Alamar in Havana helped popularize Cuban hip-hop. Famous Cuban rap groups include Krudas Cubensi and Supercrónica Obsesión.

Black and indigenous people in Latin America and Caribbean islands have been using hip-hop for decades to discuss race and class issues in their respective countries. Brazilian hip hop is heavily associated with racial and economic issues in the country, where a lot of Afro-Brazilians live in economically disadvantaged communities, known in Brazil as favelas. São Paulo is where hip-hop began in the country, but it soon spread all over Brazil, and today, almost every big Brazilian city, including Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Recife and Brasília, has a hip-hop scene. Some notable artists include Racionais MC’s, Thaide, and Marcelo D2. One of Brazil’s most popular rappers, MV Bill, has spent his career advocating for black youth in Rio de Janeiro.^[295]

Reggaeton, a Puerto Rican style of music, has a lot of similarities with U.S.-based hip-hop. Both were influenced by Jamaican music, and both incorporate rapping and call and response.^[296] Dancehall music and hip from the United States are both popular music in Puerto Rico, and reggaeton is the cumulation of different musical traditions founded by Afro-descended people in the Caribbean and the United States.^[297] Some of reggaeton’s most popular artists include Don Omar, Tego Calderón, and Daddy Yankee.

In Venezuela, social unrest at the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s coincided with the rise of gangsta rap in the United States and led to the rise of that music in Venezuela as well. Venezuelan rappers in the 1990s generally modeled their music after gangsta rap, embracing and attempting to redefine negative stereotypes about poor and black youth as dangerous and materialistic and incorporating socially conscious critique of Venezuela’s criminalization of young, poor, Afro-descended people into their music.^[298]

In Haiti, hip hop developed in the early 1980s. Master Dji and his songs “Vakans” and “Politik Pa m” are mostly credited with the rise of Haitian hip-hop. What later became known as “Rap Kreyòl” grew in popularity in the late 1990s with King Posse and Original Rap Stuff. Due to cheaper recording technology and flows of equipment to Haiti, more Rap Kreyòl groups are recording songs, even after the January 12 earthquake. Haitian hip-hop has recently become a way for artists of Haitian backgrounds in the Haiti and abroad to express their national identity and political opinions about their country of origin.^[299] Rappers have embraced the red and blue of the Flag of Haiti and rapping in Haitian Creole to display their national origin. In the Dominican Republic, a recording by Santi Y Sus Duendes and Lisa M became the first single of merenrap, a fusion of hip-hop and merengue.

In Europe, Africa, and Asia, hip-hop began to move from the underground to mainstream audiences. In Europe, hip-hop was the domain of both ethnic nationals and immigrants. British hip-hop, for example, became a genre of its own and spawned artists such as Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, the Streets and many more. Germany produced the well-known Die Fantastischen Vier as well as several Turkish performers like the controversial Cartel, Kool Savaş, and Azad. In France, hip-hop music developed itself from the end of the 80s. It can be divided into three eras:^[300] The classical period, which extends from the end of the 1980s to the beginning of the 2000s marked by a majority of black artists like Oxmo Puccino, Mc Solaar, Kery James (with IdealJ), IAM, NTM,^[301] the period of democratization from the 2000s,^[302] with groups and artists like Lunatic, Diam’s, Sinik, Rim’K, Sefyu,^{[303][304][305]} Sniper, Rohff, La Fouine, which are beginning to affect the French population in general and to record the first significant commercial successes. Finally, from the 2010s, French-speaking rap experienced a rather paradoxical period of innovation, the logical start of new experiments that opened up French rap to new musical genres, such as trap, drill or “folk” rap. This period is distinguished by the great variety of French hip-hop music, where several movements beginning to separate, artists like Booba, Kaaris, JuL, Gims, Freeze Corleone, Ziak or Soolking try to innovate and look for new tracks to explore. In the Netherlands, important nineties rappers include the Osdorp Posse, a crew from Amsterdam, Extince, from Oosterhout, and Postmen. Italy found its own rappers, including Jovanotti and Articolo 31, grow nationally renowned, while the Polish scene began in earnest early in the decade with the rise of PM Cool Lee. In Romania, B.U.G. Mafia came out of Bucharest‘s Pantelimon neighborhood, and their brand of gangsta rap underlines the parallels between life in Romania’s Communist-era apartment blocks and in the housing projects of America’s ghettos.

One of the countries outside the US where hip-hop is most popular is the United Kingdom. Grime, a genre of music derived from UK Garage and drum and bass and influenced by hip-hop, emerged in the early 2000s with artists such as Dizzee Rascal becoming successful. Although it is immensely popular, many British politicians criticize the music for what they see as promoting theft and murder, similar to gangsta rap in America. These criticisms have been deemed racist by the mostly Black British grime industry. Despite its controversial nature, grime has had a major effect on British fashion and pop music, with many young working-class youth emulating the clothing worn by grime stars like Dizzee Rascal and Wiley. There are many subgenres of grime, including “Rhythm and Grime”, a mix of R&B and grime, and grindie, a mix of indie rock and grime popularized by indie rock band Hadouken!^{[citation needed]}

In Germany and France, gangsta rap has become popular among youths who like the violent and aggressive lyrics. Some German rappers openly or comically flirt with Nazism; for example, Bushido (born Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi) raps “Salutiert, steht stramm, Ich bin der Leader wie A” (Salute, stand to attention, I am the leader like ‘A’) and Fler had a hit with the record Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) complete with the title written in Third Reich style Gothic print and advertised with an Adolf Hitler quote. These references also spawned great controversy in Germany.^{[citation needed]} Meanwhile, in France, artists like Kery James‘ Idéal J maintained a radical, anti-authoritarian attitude and released songs like Hardcore which attacked the growth of the French far right. In the Netherlands, MC Brainpower went from being an underground battle rapper to mainstream recognition in the Benelux, thus influencing numerous rap artists in the region. In Israel, rapper Subliminal reaches out to Israeli youth with political and religious-themed lyrics, usually with a Zionist message.^{[citation needed]}

In Nigeria, hip-hop gained popularity in the 80s, 90s and 2000s through artists like The Remedies, JJC Skillz, M.I Abaga and Sound Sultan, encompassing the incorporation of local languages and traditional hip-hop beats.^{[308][309][310]} In the 2010s and 2020s it developed further with rappers like Naeto C, Reminisce, Olamide, Phyno, Blaqbonez and Odumodublvck.^{[311][312][313][314]}

In Asia, mainstream stars rose to prominence in the Philippines, led by Francis Magalona, Rap Asia, MC Lara and Lady Diane. In Japan, where underground rappers had previously found a limited audience, and popular teen idols brought a style called J-rap to the top of the charts in the middle of the 1990s. Of particular importance is the influence on East Asian nations, where hip-hop music has become fused with local popular music to form different styles such as K-pop, C-pop and J-pop.^{[citation needed]}

In South Africa, the hip-hop scene overlaps with kwaito, a music genre that emphasizes African culture and social issues. Rappers such as Pope Troy have harnessed the use of socio-economic issues plaguing the political spheres of South Africa and hip-hop as a whole whilst balancing his lingual approach in order to communicate with the masses about the technical aspects that are creating the issues,^[315] South African hip-hop has evolved into a prominent presence in mainstream South African music. Between the 1990s and 2010s, it had transcended its origins as a form of political expression in Cape Town to produce artists like HHP, Riky Rick and AKA. Prominent South African rappers include Stogie T, Reason, Da L.E.S, Cassper Nyovest, Emtee, Fifi Cooper, A-Reece, Shane Eagle, Nasty C, K.O, YoungstaCPT and Big Zulu.^[316][317]

Israel’s hip-hop grew greatly in popularity at the end of the decade, with several stars both Palestinian (Tamer Nafar) and Israeli (Subliminal). In Portugal hip-hop has his own kind of rapping, which is more political and underground scene, they are known for Valete, Dealema and Halloween. Russian hip hop emerged during last years of Soviet Union and cemented later, with groups like Malchishnik and Bad Balance enjoying mainstream popularity in the 1990s, while Ligalize and Kasta were popular in the 2000s.^{[citation needed]} In former Yugoslavia hip-hop first appeared during the 1980s mostly with Serbian hip hop with performers such as B-boy, the Master Scratch Band, Badvajzer, and others. During the late 1990s hip-hop had a boom, with Rambo Amadeus and later Beogradski sindikat becoming a major performer. Bosnian and Herzegovinian hip hop is nowadays dominated by Edo Maajka. In the region hip-hop is often used as a political and social message in song themes such as war, profiteering, corruption, etc. Frenkie, another Bosnian rapper, is associated with Edo Maajka, and has collaborated beyond Bosnian borders.^{[citation needed]}

In Tanzania in the early 2000s, local hip-hop artists became popular by infusing local styles of Afrobeat and arabesque melodies, dancehall and hip-hop beats with Swahili lyrics.^{[citation needed]}

In the 2010s, hip-hop became popular in Canada particularly in Toronto, which has a large Afro-Caribbean and African population. The city expressed a new sub-genre called Toronto sound. After Drake achieved mainstream success, the Toronto sound began with works by producers T-Minus and Boi-1da

Tokyo,^[a] officially the Tokyo Metropolis,^[b] is the capital city of Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is one of the most populous urban areas in the world. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes Tokyo and parts of six neighboring prefectures, is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, with 41 million residents as of 2024.

Lying at the head of Tokyo Bay, Tokyo is part of the Kantō region, on the central coast of Honshu, Japan’s largest island. Tokyo serves as Japan’s economic center and the seat of both the Japanese government and the Emperor of Japan. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government administers Tokyo’s central 23 special wards, which formerly made up Tokyo City; various commuter towns and suburbs in its western area; and two outlying island chains, the Tokyo Islands. Although most of the world recognizes Tokyo as a city, since 1943 its governing structure has been more akin to that of a prefecture, with an accompanying Governor and Assembly taking precedence over the smaller municipal governments that make up the metropolis. Special wards in Tokyo include Chiyoda, the site of the National Diet Building and the Tokyo Imperial Palace; Shinjuku, the city’s administrative center; and Shibuya, a hub of commerce and business.

Before the 17th century, Tokyo, then known as Edo, was mainly a fishing village. It gained political prominence in 1603 when it became the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate. By the mid-18th century, Edo was among the world’s largest cities, with over a million residents. After the Meiji Restoration (1868), the imperial capital in Kyoto was moved to Edo, and the city was renamed Tokyo (lit. ’Eastern Capital‘). In 1923, Tokyo was greatly damaged by the Great Kantō earthquake, and the city was later badly damaged by allied bombing raids during World War II. Beginning in the late 1940s, Tokyo underwent rapid reconstruction and expansion, which fueled the Japanese economic miracle, in which Japan’s economy became the second largest in the world at the time, behind that of the United States.^[9] As of 2023, the city is home to 29 of the world’s 500 largest companies, as listed in the annual Fortune Global 500—the second highest number of any city.^[10]

Tokyo became the first city in Asia to host the Summer Olympics and Paralympics, in 1964 and then in 2021. It also hosted three G7 summits, in 1979, 1986, and 1993. Tokyo is an international hub of research and development and an academic center, with several major universities, including the University of Tokyo, the top-ranking university in Japan.^[11][12] Tokyo Station is the central hub for the Shinkansen, the country’s high-speed railway network; and the city’s Shinjuku Station is the world’s busiest train station. Tokyo Skytree is the world’s tallest tower.^[13] The Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, which opened in 1927, is the oldest underground metro line in the Asia–Pacific region.^[14]

Tokyo’s nominal gross domestic output was 113.7 trillion yen (US$1.04 trillion) in FY2021 and accounted for 20.7% of the country’s total economic output, which converts to 8.07 million yen or US$73,820 per capita.^[15] Including the Greater Tokyo Area, Tokyo is the second-largest metropolitan economy in the world after New York, with a 2022 gross metropolitan product estimated at US$2.08 trillion.^[16] Although Tokyo’s status as a leading global financial hub has diminished with the Lost Decades since the 1990s—when the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) was the world’s largest, with a market capitalization about 1.5 times that of the NYSE^[17]—the city is still a large financial hub, and the TSE remains among the world’s top five major stock exchanges.^[18] Tokyo is categorized as an Alpha+ city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. The city is also recognized as one of the world’s most livable ones; it was ranked fourth in the world in the 2021 edition of the Global Livability Ranking.^[19] Tokyo has also been ranked as the safest city in the world in multiple international surveys.^{[20][21][22][23][24]}

Etymology

[edit]

Tokyo
Tōkyō in kanji
Japanese name
Kanji	東京
Hiragana	とうきょう
Katakana	トウキョウ
showTranscriptions

Tokyo was originally known as Edo (江戸), a kanji compound of 江 (e, “cove, inlet”) and 戸 (to, “entrance, gate, door”).^[25] The name, which can be translated as “estuary“, is a reference to the original settlement’s location at the meeting of the Sumida River and Tokyo Bay. During the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the name of the city was changed to Tokyo (東京, from 東 tō “east”, and 京 kyō “capital”), when it became the new imperial capital,^[26] in line with the East Asian tradition of including the word capital (京) in the name of the capital city (for example, Kyoto (京都), Keijō (京城), Beijing (北京), Nanjing (南京), and Xijing (西京)).^[25] During the early Meiji period, the city was sometimes called “Tōkei”, an alternative pronunciation for the same characters representing “Tokyo”, making it a kanji homograph. Some surviving official English documents use the spelling “Tokei”;^[27] however, this pronunciation is now obsolete.^[28]

History

[edit]

Main article: History of Tokyo

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Tokyo.

Pre-Tokugawa period

[edit]

The site of Tokyo has been inhabited since ancient times.^[29] There have been multiple Paleolithic period (around 40,000–16,000BC.) sites found in present-day Tokyo. During the subsequent Jomon period, the Holocene glacial retreat caused sea levels in Tokyo Bay to rise by 120 cm, with the coastline running along the edge of what is now the Imperial Palace.^[30] Middens such as the Omori Shell Mounds still mark where the coastline ran in those days.^[31] The Yayoi period, during which agriculture spread across the country, is named after the Yayoi 2-chōme Site in Bunkyo, where the first example of Yayoi pottery was excavated in 1884 by Shozo Arisaka.^[32]

In 534, a large-scale conflict was recorded in the area, as a result of which Kasahara no Omi, the victor, was appointed Kuni no Miyatsuko (provincial governor) by Emperor Ankan.^[33] Senso-ji in Asakusa was founded in 645. Under the Ritsuryō system established during the Asuka period, most of present-day Tokyo was part of Musashi Province. Following the fall of the Kingdom of Baekje after the Battle of Baekgang in the 660s, thousands of refugees were resettled in Musashi.^[34]

During the Heian period, Edo was first fortified by the Edo clan in the late twelfth century. In 1457, Ōta Dōkan built Edo Castle to defend the region from the Chiba clan. After Dōkan was assassinated in 1486, the Ohgigayatsu branch of the Uesugi clan possessed the castle and the area. The Later Hōjō clan replaced them after the Battle of Takanawahara in 1524. The Later Hōjō clan was defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the Siege of Odawara in 1590.^[35]

1590–1868 (Tokugawa period)

[edit]

Main article: Edo

See also: Perry Expedition and Bakumatsu

Following the siege of Odawara, Tokugawa Ieyasu was granted the Kantō region by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and moved there from his ancestral land of Mikawa Province. He greatly expanded the castle, which was said to have been abandoned and in tatters when he moved there, and ruled the region from there. When he became shōgun, the de facto ruler of the country, in 1603, the whole country came to be ruled by Edo. While the Tokugawa shogunate ruled the country in practice, the Imperial House of Japan was still the de jure ruler, and the title of shōgun was granted by the Emperor as a formality. The Imperial House was based in Kyoto from 794 to 1868, so Edo was still not the capital of Japan.^[36] During the Edo period, the city enjoyed a prolonged period of peace known as the Pax Tokugawa, and in the presence of such peace, the shogunate adopted a stringent policy of seclusion, which helped to perpetuate the lack of any serious military threat to the city.^[37] The absence of war-inflicted devastation allowed Edo to devote the majority of its resources to rebuilding in the wake of the consistent fires, earthquakes and other devastating natural disasters that plagued the city. Edo grew into one of the largest cities in the world with a population reaching one million by the 18th century.^[38]

However, this prolonged period of seclusion ended with the arrival of American Commodore Matthew C. Perry in 1853. Commodore Perry forced the opening of the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate, leading to an increase in the demand for new foreign goods and subsequently a severe rise in inflation.^[39] Social unrest mounted in the wake of these higher prices and culminated in widespread rebellions and demonstrations, especially in the form of the “smashing” of rice establishments.^[40] Meanwhile, supporters of the Emperor leveraged the disruption caused by widespread rebellious demonstrations to further consolidate power, which resulted in the overthrow of the last Tokugawa shōgun, Yoshinobu, in 1867.^[41] After 265 years, the Pax Tokugawa came to an end. In May 1868, Edo castle was handed to the Emperor-supporting forces after negotiation (the Fall of Edo). Some forces loyal to the shogunate kept fighting, but with their loss in the Battle of Ueno on 4 July 1868, the entire city came under the control of the new government.^[42]

1868–1941

[edit]

Main articles: Tokyo City and Tokyo Prefecture (1868–1943)

Marunouchi in 1909

Tokyo citizens trying to squeeze into a crowded tram, c. 1910

After the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate, for the first time in a few centuries, the Emperor ceased to be a mere figurehead and became both the de facto and de jure ruler of the country. Hisoka Maejima advocated for the relocation of the capital functions to Tokyo, recognizing the advantages of the existing infrastructure and the vastness of the Kanto Plain compared to the relatively small Kyoto basin.^[43] After being handed over to the Meiji government, Edo was renamed Tokyo (Eastern Capital) on 3 September 1868. Emperor Meiji visited the city once at the end of that year and eventually moved there in 1869. Tokyo had already been the nation’s political center for nearly three centuries,^[44] and the emperor’s residence made it a de facto imperial capital as well, with the former Edo Castle becoming the Imperial Palace. Government ministries such as the Ministry of Finance were also relocated to Tokyo by 1871,^[45] and the first railway line in the country was opened on 14 October 1872, connecting Shimbashi (Shiodome) and Yokohama (Sakuragicho), which is now part of the Tokaido line.^[46] The 1870s saw the establishment of other institutions and facilities that now symbolize Tokyo, such as Ueno Park (1873), the University of Tokyo (1877) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (1878). The rapid modernization of the country was driven from Tokyo, with its business districts such as Marunouchi filled with modern brick buildings and the railway network serving as a means to help the large influx of labour force needed to keep the development of the economy.^[47] The City of Tokyo was officially established on May 1, 1889. The Imperial Diet, the national legislature of the country, was established in Tokyo in 1889, and it has ever since been operating in the city.

On 1 September 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake struck the city, and the earthquake and subsequent fire killed an estimated 105,000 citizens. The loss amounted to 37 percent of the country’s economic output.^[48] On the other hand, the destruction provided an opportunity to reconsider the planning of the city, which had changed its shape hastily after the Meiji Restoration. The high survival rate of concrete buildings promoted the transition from timber and brick architecture to modern, earthquake-proof construction.^[49][50] The Tokyo Metro Ginza Line portion between Ueno and Asakusa, the first underground railway line built outside Europe and the American continents, was completed on December 30, 1927.^[14] Although Tokyo recovered robustly from the earthquake and new cultural and liberal political movements, such as Taishō Democracy, spread, the 1930s saw an economic downturn caused by the Great Depression and major political turmoil. Two attempted military coups d’état happened in Tokyo, the May 15 incident in 1932 and the February 26 incident in 1936. This turmoil eventually allowed the military wings of the government to take control of the country, leading to Japan joining the Second World War as an Axis power. Due to the country’s political isolation on the international stage caused by its military aggression in China and the increasingly unstable geopolitical situations in Europe, Тоkуо had to give up hosting the 1940 Summer Olympics in 1938.^[51] Rationing started in June 1940 as the nation braced itself for another world war, while the 26th Centenary of the Enthronement of Emperor Jimmu celebrations took place on a grand scale to boost morale and increase the sense of national identity in the same year. On 8 December 1941, Japan attacked the American bases at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, entering the Second World War against the Allied Powers. The wartime regime greatly affected life in the city.^[52]

1942–1945

[edit]

Main article: Bombing of Tokyo

In 1943, Tokyo City merged with Tokyo Prefecture to form the Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to). This reorganization aimed to create a more centralized and efficient administrative structure to better manage resources, urban planning, and civil defence during wartime.^[53] The Tokyo Metropolitan Government thus became responsible for both prefectural and city functions while administering cities, towns, and villages in the suburban and rural areas. Although Japan enjoyed significant success in the initial stages of the war and rapidly expanded its sphere of influence, the Doolittle Raid on 18 April 1942, marked the first direct foreign attack on Tokyo. Although the physical damage was minimal, the raid demonstrated the vulnerability of the Japanese mainland to air attacks and boosted American morale.^[54] Large-scale Allied air bombing of cities in the Japanese home islands, including Tokyo, began in late 1944 when the US seized control of the Mariana Islands. From these islands, newly developed long-range B-29 bombers could conduct return journeys. The bombing of Tokyo in 1944 and 1945 is estimated to have killed between 75,000 and 200,000 civilians and left more than half of the city destroyed.^[55] The deadliest night of the war came on March 9–10, 1945, the night of the American “Operation Meetinghouse” raid.^[56] Nearly 700,000 incendiary bombs were dropped on the east end of the city (shitamachi, 下町), an area with a high concentration of factories and working-class houses. Two-fifths of the city was completely burned, more than 276,000 buildings were destroyed, 100,000 civilians were killed, and 110,000 more were injured.^[57][58] Numerous Edo and Meiji-era buildings of historical significance were destroyed, including the main building of the Imperial Palace, Sensō-ji, Zōjō-ji, Sengaku-ji and Kabuki-za. Between 1940 and 1945, the population of Tokyo dwindled from 6,700,000 to less than 2,800,000, as soldiers were sent to the front and children were evacuated.^[59]

1945–1972

[edit]

Marunouchi in the 1950s. It was not until the height restriction was lifted in the 1960s that skyscrapers began to dominate the skyline of Tokyo.

The 1964 Olympics in Tokyo symbolized the transition of the city from bombed-out ruins to a modern metropolis.

After the war, Tokyo became the base from which the Allied Occupation Forces, under Douglas MacArthur, an American general, administered Japan for six years. The original rebuilding plan of Tokyo was based on a plan modelled after the Metropolitan Green Belt of London, devised in the 1930s but canceled due to the war.^[60] However, due to the monetary contraction policy known as the Dodge Line, named after Joseph Dodge, the neoliberal economic advisor to MacArthur, the plan had to be reduced to a minimal one focusing on transport and other infrastructure. In 1947, the 35 pre-war special wards were reorganized into the current 23 wards. Tokyo did not experience fast economic growth until around 1950 when heavy industry output returned to pre-war levels.^[61][60] Since around the time the Allied occupation of Japan ended in 1952, Tokyo’s focus shifted from rebuilding to developing beyond its pre-war stature. From the 1950s onwards, Tokyo’s Metro and railway network saw significant expansion, culminating in the launch of the world’s first dedicated high-speed railway line, the Shinkansen, between Tokyo and Osaka in 1964. The same year saw the development of other transport infrastructure such as the Shuto Expressway to meet the increased demand brought about by the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the first Olympic Games held in Asia. Around this time, the 31-metre height restriction, imposed on all buildings since 1920, was relaxed due to the increased demand for office buildings and advancements in earthquake-proof construction.^[62] Starting with the Kasumigaseki Building (147 metres) in 1968, skyscrapers began to dominate Tokyo’s skyline. During this period of rapid rebuilding, Tokyo celebrated its 500th anniversary in 1956^[63] and the Ogasawara Islands, which had been under control of the US since the war ended, were returned in 1968.^[64] Ryokichi Minobe, a Marxian economist who served as the governor for 12 years starting in 1967, is remembered for his welfare state policy, including free healthcare for the elderly and financial support for households with children, and his ‘war against pollution’ policy, as well as the large government deficit they caused.^[65]

1973–present

[edit]

Although the 1973 oil crisis put an end to the rapid post-war recovery and development of Japan’s economy, its position as the world’s second-largest economy at the time had seemed secure by that point, remaining so until 2010 when it was surpassed by China.^[66] Tokyo’s development was sustained by its status as the economic, political, and cultural hub of such a country. In 1978, after years of the intense Sanrizuka Struggle, Narita International Airport opened as the new gateway to the city, while the relatively small Haneda Airport switched to primarily domestic flights.^[67] West Shinjuku, which had been occupied by the vast Yodobashi Water Purification Centre until 1965, became the site of an entirely new business district characterized by skyscrapers surpassing 200 metres during this period.^[68]

The American-led Plaza Accord in 1985, which aimed to depreciate the US dollar, had a devastating effect on Japan’s manufacturing sector, particularly affecting small to mid-size companies based in Tokyo.^[69] This led the government to adopt a domestic-demand-focused economic policy, ultimately causing an asset price bubble. Land redevelopment projects were planned across the city, and real estate prices skyrocketed. By 1990, the estimated value of the Imperial Palace surpassed that of the entire state of California.^[70] The Tokyo Stock Exchange became the largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization, with the Tokyo-based NTT becoming the most highly valued company globally.^[17][71]

After the bubble burst in the early 1990s, Japan experienced a prolonged economic downturn called the “Lost Decades“, which was characterized by extremely low or negative economic growth, deflation, and stagnant asset prices.^[72] Tokyo’s status as a world city is said to have depreciated greatly during these three decades. Nonetheless, Tokyo still saw new urban developments during this period. Recent projects include Ebisu Garden Place, Tennōzu Isle, Shiodome, Roppongi Hills, Shinagawa, and the Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station. Land reclamation projects in Tokyo have also been going on for centuries. The most prominent is the Odaiba area, now a major shopping and entertainment center. In the 1990s, various plans were proposed^[73] for transferring national government functions from Tokyo to secondary capitals in other regions of Japan, to spread population and investment more evenly.^[74] Such plans were met with fierce opposition, and then-prime minister Junichiro Koizumi decided to close parliamentary discussions in 2003.^[75][76] The Agency for Cultural Affairs relocated from Kasumigaseki to Kyoto in 2023, making it the only central organ of the Civil Service to move out of Tokyo so far.^[77]

On September 7, 2013, the IOC selected Tokyo to host the 2020 Summer Olympics. Thus, Tokyo became the first Asian city to host the Olympic Games twice.^[78] However, the 2020 Olympic Games were postponed and held from July 23 to August 8, 2021, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[79]

Administration

[edit]

Main article: Tokyo Metropolitan Government

Local government

[edit]

Under Japanese law, the prefecture of Tokyo is designated as a to (都), translated as metropolis.^[80] Tokyo Prefecture is the most populous prefecture and the densest, with 6,100 inhabitants per square kilometer (16,000/sq mi); by geographic area it is the third-smallest, above only Osaka and Kagawa. Its administrative structure is similar to that of Japan’s other prefectures. The 23 special wards (特別区, tokubetsu-ku), which until 1943 constituted the city of Tokyo, are self-governing municipalities, each having a mayor, a council, and the status of a city.

In addition to these 23 special wards, Tokyo also includes 26 more cities (市 -shi), five towns (町 -chō or machi), and eight villages (村 -son or -mura), each of which has a local government. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government administers the whole metropolis including the 23 special wards and the cities and towns that constitute the prefecture. It is headed by a publicly elected governor and metropolitan assembly. Its headquarters is in Shinjuku Ward.

The governor of Tokyo is elected every four years. The incumbent governor, Yuriko Koike, was elected in 2016, following the resignation of her predecessor, Yoichi Masuzoe. She was re-elected in 2020 and 2024. The legislature of the Metropolis is called the Metropolitan Assembly, and it has one house with 127 seats. The assembly is responsible for enacting and amending prefectural ordinances, approving the budget (8.5 trillion yen in fiscal 2024),^[81] and voting on important administrative appointments made by the governor, including the vice governors. Its members are also elected on a four-year cycle.^[82]

Municipalities

[edit]

See also: List of cities in Tokyo Metropolis by population and List of mergers in Tokyo

Since the completion of the Great Mergers of Heisei in 2001, Tokyo consists of 62 municipalities: 23 special wards, 26 cities, 5 towns and 8 villages. All municipalities in Japan have a directly elected mayor and a directly elected assembly, each elected on independent four-year cycles. The 23 Special Wards cover the area that had been Tokyo City until 1943, 30 other municipalities are located in the Tama area, and the remaining 9 are on Tokyo’s outlying islands.

• The special wards (特別区, tokubetsu-ku) of Tokyo comprise the area formerly incorporated as Tokyo City. Each special ward has used the word “city” in their official English name in recent times (e.g. Chiyoda City), but their status is more akin to boroughs in London or New York. Certain municipal functions, such as waterworks, sewerage, and fire-fighting, are handled by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government rather than each ward. To pay for the added administrative costs, the Metropolitan Government collects municipal taxes, which would usually be levied by each ward.^[83] The “three central wards” of Tokyo – Chiyoda, Chūō and Minato – are the business core of the city, with a daytime population more than seven times higher than their nighttime population.^[84] Chiyoda Ward is occupied by many major Japanese companies and is also the seat of the national government, and the Emperor of Japan, yet is one of the least populated wards.^[85]
• To the west of the special wards, Tokyo Metropolis consists of cities, towns, and villages that enjoy the same legal status as those elsewhere in Japan. While serving as “bed towns” for those working in central Tokyo, some of them also have a local commercial and industrial base, such as Tachikawa. Collectively, these are often known as the Tama area or Western Tokyo. The far west of the Tama area is occupied by the district (gun) of Nishi-Tama. Much of this area is mountainous and unsuitable for urbanization. The highest mountain in Tokyo, Mount Kumotori, is 2,017 m (6,617 ft) high; other mountains in Tokyo include Takanosu (1,737 m (5,699 ft)), Odake (1,266 m (4,154 ft)), and Mitake (929 m (3,048 ft)). Lake Okutama, on the Tama River near Yamanashi Prefecture, is Tokyo’s largest lake and serves as the primary reservoir for Tokyo’s water supply. The district is composed of three towns (Hinode, Mizuho and Okutama) and one village (Hinohara). The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has designated Hachiōji, Tachikawa, Machida, Ōme, and Tama New Town as regional centers of the Tama area.^[86]
• Okinotorishima, 1,740km (1,081mi) away from central Tokyo and the southernmost island of JapanTokyo has numerous outlying islands, which extend as far as 1,850 km (1,150 mi) from central Tokyo. Because of the islands’ distance from the administrative headquarters of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in Shinjuku, local sub-prefectural branch offices administer them. The Izu Islands are a group of volcanic islands and form part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. The islands in order from closest to Tokyo are Izu Ōshima, Toshima, Nii-jima, Shikine-jima, Kōzu-shima, Miyake-jima, Mikurajima, Hachijō-jima, and Aogashima. The Izu Islands are grouped into three subprefectures. Izu Ōshima and Hachijojima are towns. The remaining islands are six villages, with Niijima and Shikinejima forming one village. The Ogasawara Islands include, from north to south, Chichi-jima, Nishinoshima, Haha-jima, Kita Iwo Jima, Iwo Jima, and Minami Iwo Jima. Ogasawara also administers two small outlying islands: Minami Torishima, the easternmost point in Japan and at 1,850 km (1,150 mi) the most distant island from central Tokyo, and Okinotorishima, the southernmost point in Japan.^[87] Japan’s claim on an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) surrounding Okinotorishima is contested by China and South Korea as they regard Okinotorishima as uninhabitable rocks which have no EEZ.^[88] The Iwo chain and the outlying islands have no permanent population, but hosts Japan Self-Defense Forces personnel. Local populations are only found in Chichi-Jima and Haha-Jima. The islands form both Ogasawara Subprefecture and the village of Ogasawara, Tokyo.

showMunicipalities in Tokyo
Flag, name w/o suffix	Full name			District or Subprefecture	Population	LPE code (w/o checksum)
	Japanese	Transcription	Translation
Tokyo	東京都	Tōkyō-to	Tokyo “Metropolis” functionally: ~ Prefecture literally/etymologically: ~ Capital	–	13,960,236	13000 ISO: JP-13

• Tama
• Hachioji
• Musashino
• Ogasawara

Environmental policies

[edit]

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (May 2024)

Tokyo has enacted a measure to cut greenhouse gases. Governor Shintaro Ishihara created Japan’s first emissions cap system, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emission by a total of 25% by 2020 from the 2000 level.^[90] Tokyo is an example of an urban heat island, and the phenomenon is especially serious in its special wards.^[91][92] According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government,^[93] the annual mean temperature has increased by about 3 °C (5.4 °F) over the past 100 years. Tokyo has been cited as a “convincing example of the relationship between urban growth and climate”.^[91]

In 2006, Tokyo enacted the “10 Year Project for Green Tokyo” to be realized by 2016. It set a goal of increasing roadside trees in Tokyo to 1 million (from 480,000), and adding 1,000 ha (2,500 acres) of green space, 88 ha (220 acres) of which will be a new park named “Umi no Mori” (Sea Forest) which will be on a reclaimed island in Tokyo Bay which used to be a landfill.^[94] From 2007 to 2010, 436 ha (1,080 acres) of the planned 1,000 ha of green space was created and 220,000 trees were planted, bringing the total to 700,000. As of 2014, roadside trees in Tokyo have increased to 950,000, and a further 300 ha (740 acres) of green space has been added.^[95]

National government

[edit]

See also: Tokyo’s Diet electoral districts

Supreme Court of Japan, Hayabusachō, Chiyoda

Kasumigaseki (left) and Nagatachō (right) are used as metonyms for the Japanese Civil Service and the National Diet, respectively

Tokyo is the seat of all three branches of government: the legislature (National Diet), the executive (Cabinet led by the Prime Minister), and the judiciary (Supreme Court of Japan), as well as the Emperor of Japan, the head of state. Most government ministries are concentrated in the Kasumigaseki district in Chiyoda, and the name Kasumigaseki is often used as a metonym for the Japanese national civil service.^[96] Tokyo has 25 constituencies for the House of Representatives, 18 of which were won by the ruling Liberal Democrats and 7 by the main opposition Constitutional Democrats in the 2021 general election.^[97] Apart from these seats, through the Tokyo proportional representation block, Tokyo sends 17 more politicians to the House of Representatives, 6 of whom were members of the ruling LDP in the 2021 election. The Tokyo at-large district, which covers the entire metropolis, sends 12 members to the House of Councillors.

Geography

[edit]

The mainland portion of Tokyo lies northwest of Tokyo Bay and measures about 90 km (56 mi) east to west and 25 km (16 mi) north to south. The average elevation in Tokyo is 40 m (131 ft).^[98] Chiba Prefecture borders it to the east, Yamanashi to the west, Kanagawa to the south, and Saitama to the north. Mainland Tokyo is further subdivided into the special wards (occupying the eastern half) and the Tama area (多摩地域) stretching westwards. Tokyo has a latitude of 35.65 (near the 36th parallel north), which makes it more southern than Rome (41.90), New York City (40.71) and Beijing (39.91).^[99]

Within the administrative boundaries of Tokyo Metropolis are two island chains in the Pacific Ocean directly south: the Izu Islands, and the Ogasawara Islands, which stretch more than 1,000 km (620 mi) away from the mainland. Because of these islands and the mountainous regions to the west, Tokyo’s overall population density figures far under-represent the real figures for the urban and suburban regions of Tokyo.^[100]

Climate

[edit]

The former city of Tokyo and the majority of Tokyo prefecture lie in the humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen climate classification: Cfa),^[101] with hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters with occasional cold spells. The region, like much of Japan, experiences a one-month seasonal lag. The warmest month is August, which averages 26.9 °C (80.4 °F). The coolest month is January, averaging 5.4 °C (41.7 °F). The record low temperature was −9.2 °C (15.4 °F) on January 13, 1876. The record high was 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) on July 20, 2004. The record highest low temperature is 30.3 °C (86.5 °F), on August 12, 2013, making Tokyo one of only seven observation sites in Japan that have recorded a low temperature over 30 °C (86.0 °F).^[102]

Annual rainfall averages nearly 1,600 millimeters (63.0 in), with a wetter summer and a drier winter. The growing season in Tokyo lasts for about 322 days from around mid-February to early January.^[103] Snowfall is sporadic and occurs almost annually.^[104] Tokyo often sees typhoons every year, though few are strong. The wettest month since records began in 1876 was October 2004, with 780 millimeters (30 in) of rain,^[105] including 270.5 mm (10.65 in) on the ninth of that month.^[106] The most recent of four months on record to observe no precipitation is December 1995.^[102] Annual precipitation has ranged from 879.5 mm (34.63 in) in 1984 to 2,229.6 mm (87.78 in) in 1938.^[102]

showClimate data for Kitanomaru Park, Chiyoda, Tokyo (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1875–present)[107][108]

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

See or edit raw graph data.

Tokyo’s climate has warmed significantly since temperature records began in 1876.

showClimate data for Tokyo, 1876–1905 normals

The western mountainous area of mainland Tokyo, Okutama also lies in the humid subtropical climate (Köppen classification: Cfa).

showClimate data for Ogouchi, Okutama, Tokyo, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1875–present

The climates of Tokyo’s offshore territories vary significantly from those of the city. The climate of Chichijima in Ogasawara village is on the boundary between the tropical savanna climate (Köppen classification: Aw) and the tropical rainforest climate (Köppen classification: Af). It is approximately 1,000 km (621 mi) south of the Greater Tokyo Area, resulting in much different climatic conditions.

showClimate data for Chichijima, Ogasawara, Tokyo, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1896–present

Tokyo’s easternmost territory, the island of Minamitorishima in Ogasawara village, is in the tropical savanna climate zone (Köppen classification: Aw). Tokyo’s Izu and Ogasawara islands are affected by an average of 5.4 typhoons a year, compared to 3.1 in mainland Kantō.^[118]

Natural disasters

[edit]

Earthquakes

[edit]

Tokyo is near the boundary of three plates, making it an extremely active region for smaller quakes and slippage which frequently affect the urban area with swaying as if in a boat, although epicenters within mainland Tokyo (excluding Tokyo’s 2,000 km (1,243 mi)–long island jurisdiction) are quite rare. It is not uncommon in the metro area to have hundreds of these minor quakes (magnitudes 4–6) that can be felt in a single year, something residents merely brush off but can be a source of anxiety not only for foreign visitors but for Japanese from elsewhere as well. They rarely cause much damage (sometimes a few injuries) as they are either too small or far away as quakes tend to dance around the region. Particularly active are offshore regions and to a lesser extent Chiba and Ibaraki.^[119]

Tokyo has been hit by powerful megathrust earthquakes in 1703, 1782, 1812, 1855, 1923, and much more indirectly (with some liquefaction in landfill zones) in 2011;^[120][121] the frequency of direct and large quakes is a relative rarity. The 1923 earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of 7.9, killed more than 100,000 people, the last time the urban area was directly hit.^{[122][123][124]}

Volcanic eruptions

[edit]

Mount Fuji is about 100 km (62 mi) southwest of Tokyo. There is a low risk of eruption. The last recorded was the Hōei eruption which started on December 16, 1707, and ended about January 1, 1708 (16 days).^[125] During the Hōei eruption, the ash amount was 4 cm in southern Tokyo (bay area) and 2 cm to 0.5 cm in central Tokyo.^[126] Kanagawa had 16 cm to 8 cm ash and Saitama 0.5 to 0 cm.^[126] If the wind blows north-east it could send volcanic ash to Tokyo metropolis.^[127] According to the government, less than a millimeter of the volcanic ash from a Mount Fuji eruption could cause power grid problems such as blackouts and stop trains in the Tokyo metropolitan area.^[127] A mixture of ash with rain could stick to cellphone antennas and power lines and cause temporary power outages.^[127] The affected areas would need to be evacuated.^[127]

Floods

[edit]

Tokyo is located on the Kantō Plain with five river systems and dozens of rivers that expand during each season.^[128] Important rivers are Edogawa, Nakagawa, Arakawa, Kandagawa, Megurogawa and Tamagawa.^[129] In 1947, Typhoon Kathleen struck Tokyo, destroying 31,000 homes and killing 1,100 people.^[128] In 1958, Typhoon Ida dropped 400 mm (16 in) of rain in a single week, causing streets to flood.^[128] In the 1950s and 1960s, the government invested 6–7% of the national budget on disaster and risk reduction.^[128] A huge system of dams, levees, and tunnels was constructed.^[128] The purpose is to manage heavy rain, typhonic rain, and river floods.^[128]

Tokyo has currently the world’s largest underground floodwater diversion facility called the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel (MAOUDC).^[130][128] It took 13 years to build and was completed in 2006. The MAOUDC is a 6.3 km (3.9 mi) long system of tunnels, 22 meters (72 ft) underground, with 70-meter (230 ft) tall cylindrical tanks, each tank being large enough to fit a space shuttle or the Statue of Liberty.^[128] During floods, excess water is collected from rivers and drained to the Edo River.^[129] Low-lying areas of Kōtō, Edogawa, Sumida, Katsushika, Taitō and Arakawa near the Arakawa River are most at risk of flooding.^[129]

Architecture

[edit]

See also: Architecture of Tokyo

Tokyo’s buildings are too diverse to be characterized by any specific architectural style, but it can be generally said that a majority of extant structures were built in the past hundred years.^[131] Twice in recent history has the metropolis been left in ruins: first in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake and later after extensive firebombing in World War II.^[131]

Early modern (1407–1868)

[edit]

Extant pre-17th century structures in Tokyo

Shōfuku-ji, built in 1407

A lookout tower at the Imperial Palace, formerly Edo Castle

The oldest known extant building in Tokyo is Shofukuji in Higashi-Murayama. The current building was constructed in 1407, during the Muromachi period (1336–1573).^[132] Although greatly reduced in number by later fires, earthquakes, and air raids, a considerable number of Edo-era buildings survive to this day. The Tokyo Imperial Palace, which was occupied by the Tokugawa Shogunate as Edo Castle during the Edo Period (1603–1868), has many gates and towers dating from that era, although the main palace buildings and the tenshu tower have been lost.^[133]

Numerous temple and shrine buildings in Tokyo date from this era: the Ueno Toshogu still maintains the original 1651 building built by the third shogun Iemitsu Tokugawa.^[134] Although partially destroyed during the Second World War, Zojo-ji, which houses the Tokugawa family mausoleum, still has grand Edo-era buildings such as the Sangedatsu gate.^[135] Kaneiji has grand 17th-century buildings such as the five-storey pagoda and the Shimizudo. The Nezu Shrine and Gokokuji were built by the fifth shogun Tsunayoshi Tokugawa in the late 1600s. All feudal lords (daimyo) had large Edo houses where they stayed when in Edo; at one point, these houses amounted to half the total area of Edo.^[136] None of the grand Edo-era daimyo houses still exist in Tokyo, as their vast land footprint made them easy targets for redevelopment programs for modernization during the Meiji Period. Some gardens were immune from such fates and are today open to the public; Hamarikyu (Kofu Tokugawa family), Shibarikyu (Kishu Tokugawa family), Koishikawa Korakuen (Mito Tokugawa family), Rikugien (Yanagisawa family), and Higo Hosokawa Garden (Hosokawa family). The Akamon, which is now widely seen as a symbol of the University of Tokyo, was originally built to commemorate the marriage of a shogun’s daughter into the Maeda clan, one of the most affluent of the feudal lords, while the campus itself occupies their former edo estate.^[137]

Edo, 1865 or 1866. Photochrom print. Five albumen prints joined to form a panorama. Photographer: Felice Beato.

Modern (1869–1945)

[edit]

Extant brick or stone buildings in Tokyo

Akasaka State Guest House, originally the Crown Prince’s residence, built in 1909

Tokyo Station, built in 1914

The Meiji era saw a rapid modernization in architectural styles as well; until the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 exposed their weakness to seismic shocks, grand brick buildings were constantly built across the city. Tokyo Station (1914), the Ministry of Justice building (1895), the International Library of Children’s Literature (1906), and Mistubishi building one (1894, rebuilt in 2010) are some of the few brick survivors from this period. It was regarded as fashionable by some members of the Japanese aristocracy to build their Tokyo residences in grand and modern styles, and some of these buildings still exist, although most are in private hands and open to the public on limited occasions. Aristocratic residences today open to the public include the Marquess Maeda residence in Komaba, the Baron Iwasaki residence in Ikenohata, and the Baron Furukawa residence in Nishigahara.

Extant concrete buildings from the interwar period

Meiji Insurance Headquarters, completed in 1934

National Diet Building, built between 1920 and 1936

The Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 ushered in an era of concrete architecture.^[138] Surviving reinforced concrete buildings from this era include the Meiji Insurance Headquarters (completed in 1934), the Mitsui Headquarters (1929), Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi flagship store (1914, refurbished in 1925), Takashimaya Nihonbashi flagship store (1932), Wako in Ginza (1932) and Isetan Shinjuku flagship store (1933). This spread of earthquake and fire-resistant architecture reached council housing too, most notably the Dōjunkai apartments.^[139]

The 1930s saw the rise of styles that combined characteristics of both traditional Japanese and modern designs. Chuta Ito was a leading figure in this movement, and his extant works in Tokyo include Tsukiji Hongan-ji (1934). The Imperial Crown Style, which often features Japanese-style roofs on top of elevated concrete structures, was adopted for the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno and the Kudan Hall in Kudanminami.^[140]

Contemporary (1946–)

[edit]

See also: List of tallest buildings in Tokyo

Contemporary buildings in Tokyo

Yoyogi National Gymnasium, completed in 1964

National Art Center, completed in 2007

Since the 30-metre height restriction was lifted in the 1960s, Tokyo’s most dense areas have been dominated by skyscrapers. As of May 2024, at least 184 buildings are exceeding 150 metres (492 feet) in Tokyo. Apart from these, Tokyo Tower (333m) and Tokyo Skytree (634m) feature high-elevation observation decks; the latter is the tallest tower in both Japan and the world, and the second tallest structure in the world after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.^[13] With a scheduled completion date in 2027, Torch Tower (385m) will overtake Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower (325.2m) as the tallest building in Tokyo.

Kenzo Tange designed notable contemporary buildings in Tokyo, including Yoyogi National Gymnasium (1964), St. Mary’s Cathedral (1967), and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (1991). Kisho Kurokawa was also active in the city, and his works there include the National Art Center (2005) and the Nakagin Capsule Tower (1972). Other notable contemporary buildings in Tokyo include the Tokyo Dome, Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower, Roppongi Hills, Tokyo International Forum, and Asahi Beer Hall.

A panoramic view of Tokyo from the Tokyo Skytree

Demographics

[edit]

Year	Pop.	±%
1920	3,699,428	—
1925	4,485,144	+21.2%
1930	5,408,678	+20.6%
1935	6,369,919	+17.8%
1940	7,354,971	+15.5%
1945	3,488,284	−52.6%
1950	6,277,500	+80.0%
1955	8,037,084	+28.0%
1960	9,683,802	+20.5%
1965	10,869,244	+12.2%
1970	11,408,071	+5.0%
1975	11,673,554	+2.3%
1980	11,618,281	−0.5%
1985	11,829,363	+1.8%
1990	11,855,563	+0.2%
1995	11,773,605	−0.7%
2000	12,064,101	+2.5%
2005	12,576,601	+4.2%
2010	13,159,388	+4.6%
2015	13,515,271	+2.7%
2020	13,982,112	+3.5%

As of October 2012, the official intercensal estimate showed 13.506 million people in Tokyo, with 9.214 million living within Tokyo’s 23 wards.^[141] During the daytime, the population swells by over 2.5 million as workers and students commute from adjacent areas. This effect is even more pronounced in the three central wards of Chiyoda, Chūō, and Minato, whose collective population as of the 2005 National Census was 326,000 at night, but 2.4 million during the day.^[142]

According to April 2024 official estimates, Setagaya (942,003), Nerima (752,608), and Ota (748,081) were the most populous wards and municipalities in Tokyo. The least inhabited of all Tokyo municipalities are remote island villages such as Aogashima (150), Mikurajima (289), and Toshima (306).^[143]

Age structure and average age

[edit]

In 2021, Tokyo’s average and median ages were both 45.5 years old. This is below the national median age of 49.0, placing Tokyo among the youngest regions in Japan. 16.8% of the population was below 15, while 34.6% was above 65.^[144] In the same year, the youngest municipalities in Tokyo were Mikura-jima (average age 40.72), Chuo (41.92), and Chiyoda (42.07), while the oldest included Okutama (59.11) and Miyake (53.82).^[145]

Immigration

[edit]

In 1889, the Home Ministry recorded 1,375,937 people in Tokyo City and a total of 1,694,292 people in Tokyo-fu.^[146] In the same year, a total of 779 foreign nationals were recorded as residing in Tokyo. The most common nationality was English (209 residents), followed by American (182) and Chinese nationals (137).^[147]

As of January 2024, Tokyo had 647,416 foreign nationals registered as residents, with China, South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, Nepal, Taiwan, and the United States each having more than 20,000 nationals living there as citizens.^[148] Since the COVID-19 pandemic ended, Tokyo’s foreign population has increased significantly, now nearly 20% above the January 2022 population of 546,436.^[149] There is no official survey of race or place of birth as of June 2024.

Dialects

[edit]

See also: Tokyo dialect

Japanese is the primary language spoken throughout the metropolis, though regional and socio-economic differences can be heard. Traditionally, dialects in Tokyo are classified into two groups: the Yamanote dialect and the Shitamachi dialect. The former has traditionally been spoken in the upper- and upper-middle-class residential area of Yamanote, which includes Bancho, Kojimachi, Koishikawa, Kudan, Yotsuya, Azabu, and Akasaka. During the Edo period, these neighborhoods were occupied by Daimyo and other powerful samurai families and the dialect evolved largely based on their way of speech. Standard Japanese pronunciation is largely based on this accent and spread across the country with the introduction of radio. The Shitamachi dialect, in contrast, has been associated with the Chōnin district of Shitamachi and retains many characteristics of the accents spoken there in the Edo era.^[150] However, socio-economic changes in the post-war period and the large influx of people moving from other areas have largely blurred these distinctions in recent years. It has been reported that young generations are not as aware of the differences in dialects as their parents’ and grandparents’ generations were.^[151]

The Hachijō dialect, spoken primarily in Hachijōjima and Aogashima, descended from 6th-8th century Eastern Old Japanese and has fewer than 1,000 speakers.^[152][153] Bonin English is a creole spoken in the Ogasawara Islands, derived from English and Japanese,^[154] as the islands’ population historically consisted of people of Japanese, British, American, Hawaiian, and Polynesian origins, mostly mixed-race.^[155]

Economy

[edit]

Tokyo’s gross regional product was 113.7 trillion yen or US$1.04 trillion in FY2021 and accounted for 20.7% of the country’s total economic output, which converts to 8.07 million yen or US$73,820 per capita.^[15] By sector, Wholesale and Retail was the largest contributor, accounting for 21.5% of the total output. This was followed by Real Estate (13.5%), Professional, Scientific and Technical (12.2%), Information and Communications (11.7%), Finance and Insurance (7.6%), Manufacturing (7.0%), and Healthcare (6.7%). Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery, and Mining combined accounted for less than 0.1% of the economic output.^[156] As these numbers suggest, Tokyo’s economy is heavily dependent on the tertiary sector. As the Greater Tokyo Area, it has the second-largest metropolitan economy in the world, after Greater New York, with a gross metropolitan product estimated at US$2 trillion. The area’s economy is slightly smaller than Canada’s economy while being slightly larger than Mexico’s, according to IMF estimates from the same year.^[157]

Tokyo’s business districts are concentrated in four central wards: Chiyoda (Marunouchi, Otemachi, Kasumigaseki), Chuo (Nihombashi, Kyobashi, Yaesu), Minato (Shimbashi, Shiodome, Toranomon), and Shinjuku (West Shinjuku). The 23 Special Wards of Tokyo had 73.5 million m² of office space as of January 2022.^[158]

In 2023, 29 of the Fortune Global 500 companies were headquartered in Tokyo, which was the second highest concentration in the world after Beijing.^[159] Notably, around 20 of them are based in Marunouchi, such as MUFG, Mitsubish Corp. and Hitachi.^[160] Tokyo was rated by the Economist Intelligence Unit as the most expensive (highest cost-of-living) city in the world for 14 years in a row ending in 2006, when it was replaced by Oslo, and later Paris.^[161][162] However, years of deflation and an extremely weak yen starting in 2022 due to Japan’s low interest rates made the cost of living in Tokyo 31% cheaper than in New York City in 2023, which is roughly the same as in Beijing and Manchester according to the 2023 EIU rankings.^[163] Henley & Partners estimated that there were 298,300 individuals with a net worth of more than US$1 million living in Tokyo in 2024, the third highest number in the world.^[164]

Finance

[edit]

Tokyo is a major international finance center.^[165] It houses the headquarters of several of the world’s largest investment banks and insurance companies and serves as a hub for Japan’s transportation, publishing, electronics and broadcasting industries. During the centralized growth of Japan’s economy following World War II, many large firms moved their headquarters from cities such as Osaka (the historical commercial capital) to Tokyo, in an attempt to take advantage of better access to the government.

Tokyo emerged as a leading international financial center (IFC) in the 1960s and has been described as one of the three “command centers” for the world economy, along with New York City and London.^[166] In the 2020 Global Financial Centers Index, Tokyo was ranked as having the fourth most competitive financial center in the world, and second most competitive in Asia (after Shanghai).^[167] Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo-Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Financial Group, all among the top 20 banks in the world by total assets in 2023, are headquartered in Tokyo.

The Japanese financial market opened up slowly in 1984 and accelerated its internationalization with the “Japanese Big Bang” in 1998.^[168] Despite the emergence of Singapore and Hong Kong as competing financial centers, the Tokyo IFC manages to keep a prominent position in Asia. The Tokyo Stock Exchange is Japan’s largest stock exchange, and third largest in the world by market capitalization, and the fourth largest by share turnover. In 1990 at the end of the Japanese asset price bubble, it accounted for more than 60% of the world stock market value.^[169]

Media and communications

[edit]

See also: Mass media in Japan

Otemachi 1st Square, headquarters of NTT

Fuji Broadcasting Center, headquarters of Fuji Television

Tokyo’s position as the country’s cultural, political, and economic hub has made its media industry the largest in Japan. A majority of national media companies are headquartered in Tokyo, as well as the Asian or Japanese branches of international media companies. The NHK, the oldest and only nationwide public broadcaster in the country, is headquartered in Shibuya. Other national broadcasters,^[170] such as TBS, Nippon Television, Fuji Television, and TV Asahi, are also based in Tokyo. Of the five major national newspapers,^[170] The Nikkei, The Mainichi, and The Yomiuri are headquartered in Tokyo, while the other two, The Asahi and The Sankei, maintain head offices both in Tokyo and Osaka. Major publishers based in Tokyo include Shueisha, Kodansha, Kadokawa, Shogakukan, Bungeishunju, Shinchosha, and Iwanami Shoten, with a high concentration in Chiyoda and Shinjuku.

Dentsu, Hakuhodo, and ADK Holdings, all based in Tokyo, are the country’s largest advertising agencies. All three major telecommunications companies in Japan, namely NTT (whose market capitalization was once the largest among all publicly traded companies in the world),^[71] KDDI, and SoftBank, are based in Tokyo. Tokyo is also a major hub for anime production, with major anime studios such as Studio Ghibli, Gainax, Madhouse, A-1 Pictures, MAPPA, Wit Studio, Toei, and Shaft based particularly in the west of the metropolis.

Tourism

[edit]

Main article: Tourism in Tokyo

In 2019, tourism accounted for slightly more than one percent of Tokyo’s total economic output, with 15.18 million foreign visitors spending 1.26 trillion yen, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.^[171]

According to a 2022 government survey, the most visited areas in Tokyo were:^[172]

• Shibuya: Shibuya Crossing, Yoyogi Park, Hachiko statue
• Shinjuku: Kabukicho, Shinjuku Gyoen
• Ginza: Shopping district, Kabukiza
• Marunouchi/Nihombashi: Imperial Palace, Shopping district (Mitsukoshi, Takashimaya)
• Asakusa: Sensoji, Tokyo Skytree
• Akihabara: electronics and anime culture
• Ueno: National Museum, National Science Museum, Ueno zoo, Ueno Park
• Harajuku/Omoesando: Meiji Shrine, Takeshita dori
• Roppongi: Roppongi Hills, Azabudai Hills, National Arts Center Tokyo, Suntory Art Museum, Mori Art Museum
• Ikebukuro: Shopping district

Luxury hotels in Tokyo include the Imperial Hotel (opened in 1890), Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo (opened in 1992), Hotel Okura Tokyo (opened in 1962), Meguro Gajoen Hotel, Conrad Tokyo, the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo and Aman Tokyo.^[173]

Agriculture, fishery and forestry

[edit]

The Toyosu Market in Tokyo is the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world since it opened on October 11, 2018.^[174] It is also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind. It is located in the Toyosu area of Kōtō ward. The Toyosu Market holds strong to the traditions of its predecessor, the Tsukiji Fish Market and Nihonbashi fish market, and serves some 50,000 buyers and sellers every day. Retailers, whole-sellers, auctioneers, and public citizens alike frequent the market, creating a unique microcosm of organized chaos that continues to fuel the city and its food supply after over four centuries.^[175] Tokyo had 8,460 hectares (20,900 acres) of agricultural land as of 2003,^[176] according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, placing it last among the nation’s prefectures. The farmland is concentrated in Western Tokyo. Perishables such as vegetables, fruits, and flowers can be conveniently shipped to the markets in the eastern part of the prefecture.

With 36% of its area covered by forest, Tokyo has extensive growths of cryptomeria and Japanese cypress, especially in the mountainous western communities of Akiruno, Ōme, Okutama, Hachiōji, Hinode, and Hinohara. Decreases in the price of timber increases in the cost of production, and advancing old age among the forestry population have resulted in a decline in Tokyo’s output. In addition, pollen, especially from cryptomeria, is a major allergen for the nearby population centers. Tokyo Bay was once a major source of fish. Most of Tokyo’s fish production comes from the outer islands, such as Izu Ōshima and Hachijō-Jima. Skipjack tuna, nori, and aji are among the ocean products.^[177]

Transportation

[edit]

Main article: Transport in Greater Tokyo

Tokyo, which is the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, is Japan’s largest domestic and international hub for rail and ground transportation. Public transportation within Tokyo is dominated by an extensive network of “clean and efficient”^[178] trains and subways run by a variety of operators, with buses, monorails and trams playing a secondary feeder role. There are up to 62 electric train lines and more than 900 train stations in Tokyo.^[179] Shibuya Crossing is the “world’s busiest pedestrian crossing”, with around 3,000 people crossing at a time.^{[180][181][182]}

Rail

[edit]

JR East operates the largest commuter train network in Tokyo as well as intercity services.

The Shinkansen connects major cities around the country to Tokyo.

Rail is the primary mode of transportation in Tokyo,^[183] which has the most extensive urban railway network in the world and an equally extensive network of surface lines. JR East operates Tokyo’s largest railway network, including the Yamanote Line loop that circles central Tokyo. It operates rail lines throughout the entire metropolitan area of Tokyo and the rest of northeastern Honshu. JR East is also responsible for the Shinkansen high-speed rail lines that link Tokyo and the Northeastern cities of Japan (Joetsu Shinkansen, Tohoku/Hokkaido Shinkansen, Yamagata Shinkansen, Akita Shinkansen, Hokuriku Shinkansen).^[184] The Tokaido Shinkansen, which links Tokyo and Osaka via Nagoya and Kyoto, as well as western cities beyond, is operated by JR Central. The Chuo Shinkansen, the first-ever long-distance high-speed floating maglev line currently under construction, will also be operated by JR Central. Both JR companies were created from the privatization of Japan National Railways in 1987. JR Freight does not own any part of the railway network but operates freight trains on the JR network. Two different entities operate Tokyo’s underground railway network: the privatized Tokyo Metro, which operates Tokyo Metro lines, and the governmental Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation, which operates Toei lines. Tokyo Metro is entirely owned by the Japanese Government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government since it was privatized in 2004 (it was previously a public entity called the Imperial Capital Rapid Transit Authority from 1941 to 2004), but it is scheduled to go public in 2024.^[185] Other major railway operators in Tokyo include Odakyu, Tokyu, Keio, Seibu, Tobu, and Keisei. Although each operator directly owns its railway lines, services that travel across different lines owned by different operators are common.

Tokyo once had an extensive tram network, with a total distance of 213 km (Tokyo Toden). However, similar to other major cities worldwide, the age of motorization since the 1950s made it considered unfit to share busy roads with cars. Today, only one line, the Arakawa line, remains.^[186]

Roads

[edit]

Tokyo has the lowest car ownership rate among all prefectures in Japan, with 0.416 cars per household compared to the national average of 1.025 per household. This is despite Tokyo being one of the most affluent areas in the country, with a nominal GDP per capita of around US$75,000.^[187] A 2021 survey found that 81% of respondents without a car were satisfied with public transport and saw no need to own one.^[188]

Each road in Tokyo falls into one of the following categories depending on the type of ownership: private roads, municipal roads, metropolitan roads, and expressways. As of April 1, 2022, the total length of roads in Tokyo is approximately 24,741 km (including 2,370 km of metropolitan roads), with a total area of approximately 190.31 km² (including 46.30 km² of metropolitan roads).^[189] Intercity expressways in and around Tokyo are managed by NEXCO East, while expressways that serve only within the Greater Tokyo Area (Shuto Expressway) are operated by the Metropolitan Expressway Company. Tolls are collected based on the distance travelled. The total length of the Shuto Expressway is 337.8 km, with speed limits usually set at 80 km/h or 60 km/h to reduce noise pollution and accommodate the relatively winding road shapes.^[190]

Aviation

[edit]

The mainland portion of Tokyo is served by two international airports: Haneda Airport in Ōta and Narita International Airport in neighboring Chiba Prefecture. Haneda has served as the primary airport for Tokyo since 1931. However, the Jet Age saw an exponential increase in flights, prompting the government to build a second airport. Narita was chosen as the site for this second airport in 1966, but local farmers and left-wing activists who sympathized with them protested vehemently for more than a decade (the Sanrizuka Struggle), delaying the new airport’s opening until 1978. Almost all international flights were transferred to Narita Airport upon its completion, and Haneda became primarily a domestic airport.^[191]

The situation changed when it was decided to expand Haneda Airport and build new runways in 2001. The new runway, Runway D, was constructed partly as a pier-like structure rather than a landfilled structure to avoid obstructing the flow of water in the bay.^[192] Its opening in 2010 marked the return of international flights to Haneda, which is much closer to central Tokyo. In 2023, Haneda handled 17.9 million international passengers and 60.8 million domestic passengers,^[193] while Narita was used by 25.4 million international passengers and 7.7 million domestic passengers.^[194] According to a 2023 survey, Haneda is the fifth busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic.

Hachijō-jima (Hachijojima Airport), Kōzu-shima (Kōzushima Airport), Miyakejima (Miyakejima Airport), Nii-jima (Niijima Airport), and Izu Ōshima (Oshima Airport), located on the Izu Islands, which are governed by the Tokyo Metropolis have services to Haneda and the Chōfu Airport located in Chōfu.

Water transport

[edit]

A Mitsui O.S.K. Lines container ship at the Port of Tokyo

A Jetfoil operated by the Tōkai Kisen, which serves between Tokyo and the Izu Islands

Water transport is the primary means of importing and exporting goods as well as connecting the Tokyo Islands to the mainland. According to Lloyd’s List, the Port of Tokyo handled 4,430,000 TEU of containers in 2022, making it the 46th largest port in the world.^[195] The Greater Tokyo Area is served by other major ports such as the Port of Yokohama and the Port of Chiba as well. Takeshiba Pier (竹芝埠頭) in Minato is used by Tōkai Kisen, which serves islands such as Izu Ōshima, Miyakejima, Hachijojima, Kozushima,^[196] and Ogasawara Kaiun, which serves the Ogasawara Islands.^[197] Many of these islands are accessible only by ocean routes and helicopters, as they are too small or undulating for a landing ground, making these ships the primary means of inter-island transport. There are ferry routes that connect landmarks within the mainland portion of Tokyo as well; the Tokyo Cruise Ship and the Tokyo Mizube Line operate several routes between tourist attractions such as Asakusa, Hamarikyu, Odaiba, and Shinagawa Aquarium.^[198] The Symphony Cruise operates two large restaurant ships that can also be hired as party venues.^[199]

Education

[edit]

Main article: Education in Tokyo

Tokyo is the educational, academic, and cultural hub of Japan. From primary to tertiary levels, numerous educational institutions operate in the city to cater to a diverse range of pupils and students.

Tertiary education

[edit]

See also: List of universities in Tokyo

Tokyo is the heartland of tertiary education in the country, home to 143 authorized universities in 2020.^[200] This number includes the nation’s most prestigious and selective universities, such as, the University of Tokyo (QS National:1st), Tokyo Institute of Technology (4th), Hitotsubashi University (15th), Waseda University (9th), and Keio University (10th).^[201] Additionally, Tokyo University of the Arts is widely regarded as the most prestigious painting, sculpture, crafts, and music school in the country.^[202] The United Nations University, which is the academic arm of the United Nations, is headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. In 2024, QS Best Student Cities ranked Tokyo as the second-best city for university students, after London.^[203] The ranking noted that Tokyo is ideal for ‘those who favour total immersion in the local culture rather than living in a “student bubble”’, stating that despite having high-ranking universities and large global companies offering internships as well as rich culture, Tokyo still has a very low international student population ratio.^[204]

Primary and secondary education

[edit]

At the secondary level, 429 senior high schools are located in Tokyo, six of which are national, 186 are public, and 237 are private.^[205] Some senior high schools, often prestigious national or private ones, run jointly with their affiliated junior high schools, providing six-year educational programs (Chūkō Ikkan Kyōiku). The Kaisei Academy,^[206] Komaba Junior & Senior High School, University of Tsukuba,^[207] Azabu High School, and Oin Junior and Senior High School,^[208] the largest sources of successful applicants to the nation’s top university, the University of Tokyo,^[209] are some examples of such. At the primary level, there are 1332 elementary schools in Tokyo. Six of them are national, 1261 are public, and 53 are private.^[205]

Early-modern-established academies such as Gakushuin and Keio provide all-through educational programs from primary schools to universities, originally to cater to the needs of traditionally affluent and powerful families.^[210] There are international and ethnic schools that abide by the national curricula of their respective countries or international curricula rather than the Japanese one as well, such as the British School in Tokyo, Tokyo Chinese School, the American School in Japan, and the Tokyo International School.

Learned societies

[edit]

Almost all major Japanese learned societies are based in Tokyo. The Japan Academy, the country’s academy of sciences, was established in 1879 to bring together leading scholars in various disciplines.^[211] The Japan Art Academy was established in 1919 with a similar purpose.^[212] These two national academies are headquartered in Ueno Park. The newest national academy, the Science Council of Japan, was established in 1949 to promote scientific research and the application of research findings to civilian life. It is located in Roppongi, Minato.

Culture

[edit]

Museums, art galleries, libraries, and zoos

[edit]

Tokyo National Museum, Ueno

Tokyo Sea Life Park, Edogawa

See also: List of museums in Tokyo

Tokyo is home to a wide array of museums, art galleries, and libraries, catering to various interests. Ueno Park has the Tokyo National Museum, the country’s largest museum specializing in traditional Japanese art,^[213] the National Museum of Western Art, whose building designed by Le Corbusier is a world heritage site,^[214] and the National Museum of Nature and Science. Ueno Zoo is also located within the park, near the Shinobazu Pond. It is famous for being one of the three zoos in Japan to have giant pandas, with a population of 4 as of May 2024.^[215] Other notable museums include the Artizon Museum in Chūō, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Odaiba, and the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Sumida, which provides insights into the history and culture of Tokyo. The Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum preserves various buildings that have existed throughout the history of Tokyo. The Nezu Museum in Aoyama has a collection of pre-modern Japanese and East Asian art. Located near the Imperial Palace, the National Diet Library, the National Archives, and the National Museum of Modern Art are also notable cultural institutions. Additionally, the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi and the Sumida Hokusai Museum in Sumida ward are notable for their contemporary and ukiyo-e art collections, respectively. The Sompo Museum of Art in Shinjuku is best known for owning one of Gogh’s Sunflowers. The Tokyo Metropolitan Garden Art Museum in Minato features the former Tokyo House of Yasuhiko, Prince Asaka, which was built in an opulent Art Deco style in 1933. The Railway Museum, which used to be located in Kanda, has relocated to a larger site in Omiya, Saitama and stores 42 train carriages and locomotives of historical importance.^[216] The Tobacco and Salt Museum in Sumida has one of the world’s most extensive collections of different types of tobacco and salt. Major aquariums in Tokyo include: Shinagawa Aquarium, Tokyo Sea Life Park, Sunshine Aquarium and Sumida Aquarium.

Leisure and entertainment

[edit]

Tokyo offers a diverse array of leisure and entertainment options. The city is home to numerous theatres. The National Noh Theatre and Kabuki-za are dedicated to traditional Japanese plays. The New National Theatre Tokyo in Shibuya serves as a central venue for opera, ballet, contemporary dance, and drama.^[217] Other major play and concert venues include: the National Theatre of Japan, the Imperial Theatre, the Meiji-za, the NHK Hall, the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Tokyo Opera City and the Tokyo International Forum. Two sports venues, the Nippon Budokan and the Tokyo Dome, are usually used to host concerts by popular pop artists.^[218]

The nightlife district of Tokyo is centered around areas in the west of the city such as Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Roppongi, with high a concentration of bars, clubs, host and hostess clubs, and live music venues.^[219] Tokyo is also known for its festivals, such as the Sannō Matsuri at Hie Shrine, the Sanja Festival at Asakusa Shrine, and the biennial Kanda Matsuri, which features parades with elaborately decorated floats. Harajuku, located in Shibuya, is internationally famous for its youth fashion and street culture, with trendy shops, cafes, and Takeshita Street.^[220] Akihabara, known as “Electric Town”, is a hub for electronics and otaku culture such as anime and computer games, with numerous shops selling anime, manga, and gaming merchandise.^[221] Ginza and Nihombashi are two of Tokyo’s most notable shopping districts. Ginza is known for its high-end shopping, featuring luxury brand stores, boutique shops, and department stores such as Mitsukoshi and Wako. It is also home to numerous fine dining places and art galleries, making it a cultural and commercial hub. Nihombashi, historically a center of commerce, has long-established shops and the Mitsukoshi department flagship store, Japan’s first department store, founded in 1673.^[222] Jinbōchō is known for its concentration of bookstores, publishing houses, and literary cafes, and its links to a large number of famous literary figures.^[223]

Modern attractions in Tokyo include the Tokyo Skytree in Sumida, the tallest structure in Japan, which provides panoramic views of the city from its observation decks. Odaiba, a man-made island in Tokyo Bay, features shopping, dining, and entertainment attractions such as the teamLab Planets digital art museum and Joypolis indoor amusement park.^[224] The Tokyo Disney Resort and its two theme parks Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea are major destinations for family entertainment. Although these Disney theme parks bear the name Tokyo, they are located in nearby Urayasu, Chiba, just east of Tokyo.

Food

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In November 2007, Michelin released their first guide for fine dining in Tokyo, awarding 191 stars in total, or about twice as many as Tokyo’s nearest competitor, Paris. As of 2017, 227 restaurants in Tokyo have been awarded (92 in Paris). Twelve establishments were awarded the maximum of three stars (Paris has 10), 54 received two stars, and 161 earned one star.^[225]

Recreation

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Natural settings for outdoor activities include Okutama and Mount Takao, which are known for their hiking trails and scenic views. Kasai Seaside Park provides coastal leisure activities. Ueno Park houses several museums, and a zoo, and is famous for its cherry blossoms. Inokashira Park in Kichijoji features a pond, a zoo, and in its vicinity the Ghibli Museum. Yoyogi Park, located near Shibuya, is popular for picnics and outdoor events. Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Koishikawa Korakuen Garden, Rikugien Garden, Hamarikyu Gardens, Kiyosumi Garden, Kyu Shiba Rikyu Garden, Chinzanso Garden, Happo-en Garden,^[226] Mukojima-Hyakkaen Garden and Meiji Jingu Inner Garden are popular traditional Japanese gardens in Tokyo, some of which originally belonged to members of the kazoku nobility. Botanical gardens in Tokyo include the University of Tokyo‘s Koishikawa Botanical Garden, the Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome, and the Institute for Nature Study Nature Reserve.

National parks

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As of March 31, 2008, 36% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks (second only to Shiga Prefecture), namely the Chichibu Tama Kai, Fuji-Hakone-Izu, and Ogasawara National Park (the last a UNESCO World Heritage Site); Meiji no Mori Takao Quasi-National Park; and Akikawa Kyūryō, Hamura Kusabana Kyūryō, Sayama, Takao Jinba, Takiyama, and Tama Kyūryō Prefectural Natural Parks.^[227]

In popular culture

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Tokyo has long been a popular setting in both Japanese and Western creative works. In literature, the city has featured since the Edo period, while the modern city appears in the works of authors such as Natsume Sōseki and Mori Ōgai, who depicted life in Tokyo during the industrialization period in famous novels such as Sanshirō (1908) and The Wild Geese (1911). They spent their undergraduate days at Tokyo University, and many protagonists of such novels are students who moved to Tokyo for higher education, contrasting Tokyo with their hometowns.^[229][230] In later years, writers who have used Tokyo as the setting for their major works include: Yasunari Kawabata, who depicted the ‘decadent allure’ of Tokyo in the 1930s in his series The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa (1930);^[231] Kenzaburō Ōe, who centred his early works around turbulent political movements in the city in the 1960s;^[232] and Haruki Murakami, who has set many of his works in Shinjuku and Shibuya, as symbols of youth culture as well as urban loneliness. Western authors have also set their literary works in Tokyo, such as Ian Fleming‘s James Bond series novel You Only Live Twice and David Mitchell‘s number9dream.

The city has also appeared frequently in film and television. Japanese directors like Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirō Ozu have used Tokyo as the backdrop for narratives that examine postwar change and the complexities of modern society. In the kaiju (monster movie) genre, landmarks of Tokyo are usually destroyed by giant monsters such as Godzilla and Gamera.^[233] Western films, from earlier examples such as Tokyo Joe to more recent titles like Lost in Translation and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, often depict Tokyo as an exotic urban landscape where cultures intersect. In addition, Tokyo appears frequently in anime, manga and video games, where its real and reimagined districts provide the setting for stories ranging from realistic dramas to fantastical adventures.

Sports

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Main article: Sports in Tokyo

Tokyo, with a diverse array of sports, is home to two professional baseball clubs, the Yomiuri Giants who play at the Tokyo Dome and Tokyo Yakult Swallows at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. The Japan Sumo Association is also headquartered in Tokyo at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan sumo arena where three official sumo tournaments are held annually (in January, May, and September). Soccer clubs in Tokyo include FC Tokyo and Tokyo Verdy, both of which play at Ajinomoto Stadium in Chōfu, and Machida Zelvia at Machida GION Stadium in Machida. Rugby Union is also played in Tokyo, with multiple Japan Rugby League One clubs based in the city including: Black Rams Tokyo (Setagaya), Tokyo Sungoliath (Fuchū) and Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo (Fuchū).

Basketball clubs include the Hitachi SunRockers, Toyota Alvark Tokyo, and Tokyo Excellence.

Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics, thus becoming the first Asian city to host the Summer Games. The National Stadium, also known as the Olympic Stadium, was host to several international sporting events. In 2016, it was to be replaced by the New National Stadium. With several world-class sports venues, Tokyo often hosts national and international sporting events such as basketball tournaments, women’s volleyball tournaments, tennis tournaments, swim meets, marathons, rugby union and sevens rugby games, soccer exhibition games, judo, and karate. Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, in Sendagaya, Shibuya, is a large sports complex that includes swimming pools, training rooms, and a large indoor arena. According to Around the Rings, the gymnasium has played host to the October 2011 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, despite the International Gymnastics Federation’s initial doubt in Tokyo’s ability to host the championships after the triple disaster hit Japan.^[234] Tokyo was also selected to host several games for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and to host the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, which had to be rescheduled to the summer of 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic.

International relations

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Tokyo is the founding member of the Asian Network of Major Cities 21 and is a member of the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations. Tokyo was also a founding member of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.^[235]

Sister cities and states

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See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Japan

As of 2022, Tokyo has twinning or friendship agreements with the following twelve cities and states:^[236]

• New York City, United States (since February 1960)
• Beijing, China (since March 1979)
• Paris, France (since July 1982)^[237]
• New South Wales, Australia (since May 1984)
• Seoul, South Korea (since September 1988)
• Jakarta, Indonesia (since October 1989)
• São Paulo State, Brazil (since June 1990)
• Cairo, Egypt (since October 1990)
• Moscow, Russia (since July 1991)
• Berlin, Germany (since May 1994)
• Rome, Italy (since July 1996)
• London, United Kingdom (since October 2015)

Friendship and cooperation agreements

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• Tomsk Oblast, Russia (since May 2015)^[238]
• Brussels, Belgium (since October 2016)^[239]
• Los Angeles County, United States (since August 2021)