<P> In the 1990s, hip hop began to diversify with other regional styles emerging, such as Southern rap and Atlanta hip hop . At the same time, hip hop continued to be assimilated into other genres of popular music, examples being neo soul (e.g.: Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu) and nu metal (e.g.: Korn, Limp Bizkit). Hip hop became a best - selling genre in the mid-1990s and the top selling music genre by 1999 . The popularity of hip hop music continued through the 2000s, with hip hop influences also increasingly finding their way into mainstream pop . The United States also saw the success of regional styles such as crunk (e.g.: Lil Jon & the East Side Boys, the Ying Yang Twins), a Southern genre that emphasized the beats and music more than the lyrics . Starting in 2005, sales of hip hop music in the United States began to severely wane . During the mid-2000s, alternative hip hop secured a place in the mainstream, due in part to the crossover success of artists such as OutKast and Kanye West . During the late 2000s and early 2010s, rappers such as Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, and B.o.B were the most popular rappers . During the 2010s, rappers such as Drake, Nicki Minaj, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar all have been extremely popular . Trap, a subgenre of hip hop, also has been popular during the 2010s with hip hop artists and hip hop music groups such as Migos, Travis Scott, and Kodak Black . </P> <P> The creation of the term hip hop is often credited to Keith Cowboy, rapper with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five . However, Lovebug Starski, Keith Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when the music was still known as disco rap . It is believed that Cowboy created the term while teasing a friend who had just joined the U.S. Army, by scat singing the words "hip / hop / hip / hop" in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of soldiers marching . Cowboy later worked the "hip hop" cadence into a part of his stage performance, which was quickly used by other artists such as The Sugarhill Gang in "Rapper's Delight". Universal Zulu Nation founder Afrika Bambaataa is credited with first using the term to describe the subculture in which the music belonged; although it is also suggested that it was a derogatory term to describe the type of music . The first use of the term in print was in The Village Voice, by Steven Hager, later author of a 1984 history of hip hop . </P> <P> 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 City . Hip hop's early pioneers were influenced by a mix of music from their cultures and the cultures they were exposed to as a result of the diversity of U.S. cities . New York 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 City and the American - born Jamaican youth who were coming of age during the 1990s . </P> <P> In the 1970s, block parties were increasingly popular in New York City, particularly among African - American, Caribbean and Latino 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, and was largely introduced into New York by immigrants from the Caribbean, including DJ Kool Herc, one of the pioneers of hip hop . </P>

Who are the founding fathers of hip hop