Braggadocio (rap)

Braggadocio is a type of rapping where the MC is "bragging and boasting" and can include subjects such as physicality, fighting ability, financial wealth, sexual prowess, or coolness. It is often heavily used in battle rapping, and braggadocio lyrics can range from simply stating how skillful one is to employing complex literary techniques.

The book How to Rap shows an example of complex braggadocio through Eric B. & Rakim's track "No Omega" from their Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em album. MCs such as Murs, Guerilla Black, and Esoteric also suggest reasons in How to Rap for why braggadocio is so common in rapping, ranging from competitiveness in the old-school hip hop ethic, to the struggles of "young, black males in America". MCs also feel that braggadocio is an important aspect of hip hop and rapping and that it can also be mixed with other topics to good effect.

Rap's braggadocio—unlike other bragging by young men about sex, wealth, and physical strength—can also be about the rapper's artistic or poetic ability.

The term did not originate as a rap term. The origins are very much older. The term is noted as having originated from the late 16th century, and denotes a boaster. It is from Braggadocchio, the name of a braggart in Spenser's The Faerie Queene. It is a composite of the word brag or braggart, and the Italian suffix -occio, denoting something large of its kind. Refer to the Oxford Dictionary for more details.

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