proto-raps

Noun

proto-rap (countable and uncountable, plural proto-raps)

1. (uncountable) Performance art forms that served as precursors to rap, especially those that feature rhythmic spoken or half-sung lyrics.
   • They make much ado over Bob Dylan as a proto-rap pioneer, and taunt Public Enemy for being "unable to locate even one pure black source" (begging Chuck D's own question in "Fear of a Black Planet": "Who is Pure? What is pure?").1995, Russell A. Potter, Spectacular Vernaculars: Hip-Hop and the Politics of Postmodernism, →ISBN
2. (countable) A specific piece or performance delivered in such an art form.
   • Another source of rap, this one closer to home, was George Clinton's funk; we heard a proto-rap at the beginning of “Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk).2008, Michael Campbell, Popular Music in America: And The Beat Goes On, →ISBN, page 286