Rap and Rock

A question on Yahoo Answers posed an interesting question for me tonight... "Which came first: rap or rock?" The obvious answer is, of course, rock; it's been around since Elvis in the '50s, rap's been around since Run DMC in the '80s, right? I did some research, here's what I came up with:

"Modern-style rock came about 20 years before modern-style rap.

The first rock record, arguably, was "Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley And The Comets in 1954.

Rap first appears, also arguably, with The Last Poet's eponymous debut album in 1970.

However, rapping has been around for centuries in the form of rhythmic storytelling by African "griots," often performed over light percussive backing, similar to early "modern" rappers like Run DMC.

Rock really can't be traced to much before the 1920s, with rhythm and blues "race music," which was much more blues/folk/country than rock n' roll. The first "real" rock music came in the late '40s/early '50s with artists like Chuck Berry and Little Richard.

Also, rock music was actually recorded long before any rap was, even if rap's origins are way further back.

So, in a way, rap came centuries before rock. Interestingly though, both genres can be traced back to black musicians."

I also did some listening, some essential records are The Last Poet's eponymous debut and "Pieces Of A Man" by Gil Scott-Heron.