This chapter provides a historical grounding and introduction to rap – the lyrical element of hip-hop – as the genre with which we identify it today. It details the origins and the multicultural nature of the deep history that rap carries in its words and rhythms, blending cultural influences and practices across the continents, stretching as far back as the seventeenth century. For such a contemporary and relevant form of music, rap has deep and widespread roots, both musical and lyrical. The chapter therefore tackles some of the complex questions that arise regarding the genre’s changing, and often contested, musical and political identity, as well as its potential to represent the plethora of different communities that claim it as their own. Is rap a vessel for otherwise unheard voices? Does it represent all that came together to make it what it is today, or have these identities shifted over time and space? The chapter concludes with a case study of French rap as an example of dialogue between rap, politics, and cultural representation.