Pop rap is a genre of music fusing the rhythm-based lyricism of hip-hop music with pop music's preference for melodious vocals and catchy tunes emphasizing on pop like productions and structure. The lyrics are often positive, with choruses similar to those heard in pop music. This genre gained mainstream popularity during the 1990s, though the influences and roots of pop rap can trace back to late-1980s hip-hop artists such as Run-DMC, LL Cool J, and Beastie Boys.
MC Hammer performing with Vanilla Ice in July 2009, who were both described as early pop rap artists for blending rap music with catchy hooks.
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. During the 1950s and 1960s, pop music encompassed rock and roll and the youth-oriented styles it influenced. Rock and pop music remained roughly synonymous until the late 1960s, after which pop became associated with music that was more commercial, ephemeral, and accessible.
The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that the term "pop" refers to music performed by such artists as the Rolling Stones (pictured here in a 2006 performance).
Amr Diab, Egyptian pop star, named "El-Hadaba", for achieving high records sales in the Middle East and Africa for the last three decades
Bing Crosby was one of the first artists to be nicknamed "King of Pop" or "King of Popular Music".[verification needed]
The 1960s British Invasion marked a period when the US charts were inundated with British acts such as the Beatles (pictured 1964).