For my research project I want to map the progression and development of the rap industry through its artists. I love almost all music but it all started with hip hop and rap, and I want to tell the history of the art by separating artists by time period region and influence while telling a little bit about there individual history and discography much like musicmap.com has done but instead of a concept map do it on a physical map of the United States. Region plays a huge role in the history of this music as different genres came from different areas and similar artists emerged from the same areas around the same times as a result. Rap music began in New York and was heavily influenced by funk and disco at neighborhood parties during the 1970’s. During this time artists scratched old records (break down an existing song into its individual sounds and re-align them as you see fit) to change there sound entirely and rap over the new beat. Then during the 1980’s it spread through the entire east coast and artists started to be able to make a real living off of it as artists began making their own beats to go along with the raps. During the late 80’s gangsta rap came out of the west coast influenced by the struggles of everyday live in low-income areas in the greater Los Angeles area and began a long trend of anti-establishment themes in rap music, while the drum machine created a new bass heavy bouncy sound in the south. In the 90’s east coast gangsta rap emerged and a rivalry developed between the two coasts all exploding at the Source Awards. It was a time where rhyme schemes and lyrics determined talent. In the south slower bass heavy rap songs were growing popular that would eventually influence and develop into trap music in the 2000’s and then to mumble rap in the during this decade, where lyrics and rhyme schemes have much less meaning. The other genre of rap that followed east coast gangsta rap during the 2000’s was heavily influenced by R&B with a heavier bass-line with lyrics talking about the party scene or sex life and brought the music to a wide variety of audiences. The music industry has become one of the more lucrative industries in the country and rap music continues to be in competition as one of the most popular genres for this countries younger generations. How this came to be is important to illustrate for the people that brought it to where it is today and would be interesting to anyone else who enjoys the music. In terms of technical issues I think finding the right map-making software is the only one but I will need to collect materials discussing individual artists regions, and time periods in order to accurately fill out the map. Most of the resources and materials I will need to complete this project will be found online but I will use the library for sources discussing the actual history of rap. As I mentioned I only need to find the right map-making software for this project but other than that I don’t think I will require much from ITS or the library. I spend way too much of my time listening to and looking for new music and my love for that began with hip hop and rap. Illustrating the history of this music through a digital map would be something I would very much enjoy doing myself while offering a good resource for those who enjoy the music or want to learn about it’s role in the social and political spheres.