NAV is one of the better known artists in today’s Rap/Hip Hop scene, captivating audiences worldwide with his take on the genre. Hip hop has become more than a musical genre and today describes an all-encompassing cultural movement that includes music, fashion and art. For many, the genre can be broken down into four key elements or activities; MCing or rapping, DJing and scratching, break-dancing and graffiti writing. It is certainly one of the newer genres that dominate modern-day music. While it originated in the 1970s, the term ‘hip hop’ first came into use in the mid-eighties. It was particularly prolific among African-American, Jamaican and Caribbean communities living in the Bronx around that time, but today it is enjoyed by people all over the world. In the mid-2000s it experienced a revival of sorts and was combined with other styles such as pop and Islamic eco-rap. Popular artists of this more recent proliferation of hip hop include M.I.A and Kanye West.

Rap is considered as one of the more defining aspects of hip hop music and the sub-culture the term has come to define. Also known as MCing, rap is a vocal style where performers sing or speak lyrics in a rhyme and verse style, more often than not following a 4/4 time signature or beat. Rappers will rap about any topic be it love, society, politics or their own personal experiences. It has become a type of urban poetry, nowadays artists use synthesizers and drum machines to set the pace of the performance and sometimes combine verses of rap with verses of melody.