boom bap

noun

A style/subgenre of hip hop characterized by hard-hitting drums, usually containing the kick drum/snare drum/hi-hat combination rather than claps, snaps, TR-808 bass drums, cowbells, shakers, and various other percussion sounds used for rhythm.

“A beat made with the 808 drum kit isn't boom bap!”

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Meanings

nounboom bap (uncountable)
  1. uncountableentertainmentA style/subgenre of hip hop characterized by hard-hitting drums, usually containing the kick drum/snare drum/hi-hat combination rather than claps, snaps, TR-808 bass drums, cowbells, shakers, and various other percussion sounds used for rhythm.

    A beat made with the 808 drum kit isn't boom bap!

    1 more example

    The story of Boom Bap is closely associated with the development and practice of sampling, and as such, Boom Bap is often described as a production technique, a sound, a style, or a subgenre.

    2023, Michail Exarchos, Reimagining Sample-based Hip Hop: Making Records within Records, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 1997

Origin

Imitative, representing the sounds of the bass drum and snare drum, respectively.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

boom bap. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boom%20bap

MLA

“boom bap.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boom%20bap. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “boom bap,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boom%20bap.

Source: boom bap on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.