Do you really need any knowledge to admire the art, architecture or music? I think no. This kind of knowledge might be even a kind of barrier - it leads to futher analysing, comparing and shit. What for? Music is like a pair of jeans - tomorrow tight, today baggy, tomorrow - who knows? The thing is that you feel comfortable.
On the other hand - everything has to have a beginning. Everything's got its history. You cannot judge the present or foresee the future without knowing the history. Especially when we talk about hip hop music - a melting pot of years of slavery, jazz, racial issues, blues, discrimination, funk, Malcolm X, poverty, Black Power and blaxploitation. A dynamic, changing collage, which is basically a recirculation of the whole musical heritage of human race. Like Busta Rhymes told me once: "you can turn every music into hip hop, but you cannot turn hip hop into anything else".
In general there are 4 basic elements of the hip hop culture: graffiti, breakdance, DJ'ing and MC'ing [plus beatboxing, often forgotten but how important at the same time]. 2 of them - DJ'ing and MC'ing constituted rap music.
that bolded line is so true, it was sorta what i was saying, about you can be a rapper but not be into hip hop at all, and not know the history (that im so glad this guy highlighted) so for me you are not hip hop your just rapping.
Abstract Hip Hop: mostly instrumental hip hop, but also experimental projects - mixing rapping with poetry. DJ Krush, DJ Shadow, RJD2.
Dirty South: 'third' coast rap, rap from Georgia, Louisiana, Texas and Florida. Lil Jon, OutKast, TI, Arrested Development.
Crunk: 'party' rap, which originated from the Southern rap. Lil Jon, Ying Yang Twins,
Dirty Rap: sexual content. Goldfinger, Kool Keith
Christian Rap: religious. Gospel Ganstaz [LOL!!], 12th Tribe
Conscious Rap: which often has got political background, but it's about social problems. Arrested Development, Talib Kweli/Mos Def [Black Star], Common, The Roots.
Kid Rap: rofl - Lil' Bow Wow, Lil' Romeo this shit's weird, but yeah, obviously it's a genre..
Eastcoast Rap: positive, afrocentric movement, somewhere between 80's-90's - Native Tongues [De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, ATCQ], Jay-Z, Eric B & Rakim, LL Cool J, Jeru The Damaja, Ultramagnetic MC's and so on.
Electro: mix of funk and rap. Kraftwerk, Planet Patrol, World Class Wreckin' Crew
Emo-hop: (blahahahahah, that cracked me up!! ) - a journalistic idea mostly, regarding to artists whose lyrics are every emotional and private. Atmosphere, Emanon, Sage Francis.
Freestyle: we all know that rofl.
Gansta Rap: same here.
G-Funk: close to gangsta rap, more chilled though. characteristic organs, bass and funk samples.
Hardcore Rap: you can use this term to describe different types of rap, i.e. gangsta rap. it can be used in terms of lyrics and beats. DMX, Method Man, NWA
Hip House: mix of rap and house music. Big Daddy Kane, De La Soul, Queen Latifah.
Jazz Rap: obvious.
Miami Bass: deep, pulsating bass, fast beat, sexual content.
Old School Rap: Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow, Whodini.
Underground Rap: far from mainstream. it can be used to describe different styles, it pertrains more to labels than to actual lyrical content. ya dig?
Political Rap: ya dig?
Pop Rap: mostly the very mainstream like Flo-Rida, T-Pain n shit. you get it, right?
Alternative Rap: far from popular styles and beats, mixing rap with gospel, rock, reggae, folk, soul. The Roots, OutKast, De La Soul, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien.
Latin Rap: latin artists, i guess it's more about origin than actual content.
Rapcore: rap + rock.
Trip-Hop: british answer for hip hop. it originates from Bristol, so UK artists tend to call it Bristol Sound. jazz, funk, soul, electro mixed with rap.
Turntablism: turntables + mixers.
Westcoast Rap
Golden Age: 80-90's rap.
the breakdown is true but here's my view on this, all these sub genre's and style of rap are hip hop no doubt about that for me, they all ventured out from the same culture and the same roots BUT not all the artists who put thereselves in these sub genre's are hip hop..does that make sense ? in no way for me is t-pain hip hop, never in a million years will i accept that, he is not doin what hip hop is about he is not making that movement he isnt what its about, he is a guy rapping (sorta) but he is not a Hip Hop artists, im finding this hard to explain so tell me if your getting me lol
when i try explain that alot of these people are rappers but not hip hop artists its always taken the wrong way, people say i just dont like mainstream, that isnt true, or that i dont like club tracks, that isnt true either, there's just certain ways things are done that make it hip hop for me and how the artist carries himself, a good example is 50 cent, hes a smart guy he carries himself like a hip hop artist, he always has and always will coz he was once a hip hop artist and you dont lose that influence but he lost hunger and his music no longer expressed the hip hop he once was he is now just a rapper not a hip hop artist (this is just my perception on this example so dont hate) he was never lyrical he was of the Gangsta Rap genre and some other Rap genre's but he was also hip hop, he now just does the genre's and no longer the hip hop part of it.
so even if an artist takes the frame of a hip hop artist and does one of these sub rap genre's you list doesnt make him hip hop, when this gets put forward to artists they say "we are ALL hip hop just different styles of hip hop" thats a lie, they are all rap and all different styles of rap but that doesnt say they embrace hip hop.
for me if your hip hop your for the cutlure want to progress the culture and promote the culture, you obviously want to get your money and shit but your goal is always in the best intrests of the culture if it isnt and your in it for yourself your just a rapper not a hip hop artist. < thats a short example of my opninion on it coz my full one would go on forever.
omg, a long-ass post, but i just wanted to make it clear. i agree with what that guy wrote. it's important though to understand that there's no strict border between each style. like for example, Jazz Rap and Eastcoast Rap, or Hardcore and Westcoast. artists can connect between styles, that's the beauty of music.
you hit on why i love hip hop here, the connection bewtween styles doesnt happen in other styles, only hip hop embraces it, the big style connection for pop was robbie williams and kylie minoge doin a song together, for hip hop its shit like LInking Park and Busta Rhymes or Eminem And Elton John, thats the great thing about hip hop like the guy sayed, any style can go with hip hop but hip hop can never change style.
also, from my point of view you can use "hip hop" while talking about the music only, because rap is actually part of the whole culture. you cannot use "rap" while talking about the culture in general though. i hope you get what i mean, it's like every square is a rectangle, but not every rectangle is a square lol. but stating the difference between "rap music" and "hip hop music" is totally pointless for me. or inventing a totally new genre called "rap/hip hop" - for heaven's sake, what the fuck is that?..
i think i get you and imo Rap Is part of Hip Hop, Hip Hop Is Not part of rap
and that's a good point. talking about movement.. i'd really LOVE to feel the spirit of the 80-90's.. the clothes, music, lifestyle.. everything. 
], but at this point, he is the part of it. 
