There’s some disagreement over rap’s origins, but it’s generally agreed that the track that first brought the music from New York’s streets to wider attention was 1979’s Rappers’ Delight, by the Sugarhill Gang.

Following this hit, the genre’s first generation of pioneering artists emerged. There was Grandmaster Flash, who politicised the music through social comment. Kurtis Blow was the first rap artist to appear on national television in the States. And Afrika Bambaata not only created some of the first imaginative musical mixes, he coined the phrase “hip hop” to describe rap culture.

The first act to successfully cross over from rap to rock was Run DMC, who revitalised Aerosmith’s career with the classic version of Walk This Way. The hip hop trio were signed to Def Jam, the best-known of the many rap labels launched during the Eighties.

Run DMC’s main rivals and successors of being very influential were Public Enemy. Led by Chuck D, the “crew” were highly politicised, controversial and much adored by fans and critics alike.

While Public Enemy were loud and angry, De La Soul were mellow, preached love and peace and led the line for other “hippy hop” acts like The Fugees. Then there were the Beastie Boys, the first popular white crew, who went from beery sexism to astute social awareness.

In the early Nineties, the violently-themed gangsta rap emerged thanks to the like of NWA, whose Dr Dre went off to create the G-funk sound and co-founded Death Row records on America’s west coast.

At the other side of the country was Puff Daddy, a rival in the ongoing east-west battle that exploded into violence and claimed the lives of Tupac and Notorious B.I.G.

The Nineties also saw the emergence of Eminem, who had his first hit at the end of the decade. Now he is not only the one truly successful white hip hop artist, but also by far the biggest act of the predominantly black genre that is rap.