Hip-Hop, R&B, Soul: What is the difference?

i like soul and r&b and rap

I'm not sure about the R&B and Soul thing, but the difference between hip-hop and rap to me is the message behind it. Hip-hop means more than just getting money and booty-shaking. You can also be a singer and be considered "hip-hop." It can also include dancing, too. I've never heard of someone who calls themself a "rap dancer", you know?

The common misconceptions these days about these genres of music is the fault of the commercial mainstream media. I will clear up these misconceptions with distinct and definite definitions. Rap music is music where somebody raps to a beat or tune - they don't talk, they don't sing - they rap - they spit poetic lyrics about a topic and they have a flow - it can be monotone, it can be a rhythmic talking. An example of rap music Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Eminem (before he started singing), Lupe Fiasco, Tupac, etc. Hip hop is not a genre of music - hip hop music is rap. Hip hop is the way of life that rappers live - it is a CULTURE, which includes many other things like production, rapping, djaying, breakdancing and grafitti writing. Most people like to refer to rap music as hip hop because they want to express the music of their culture, plus they don't like the word rap because it has been overused and abused with too many negative stereotypes. Kinda like how the english hate the word 'soccer' even though they invented it. R&B is modern day soul - it is a genre of music - it is exactly the same as soul artist like Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Whitney Houston, etc. Only today it is dominated by many other artists. R&B involves SINGING. The biggest reason i think for this misconception created by the mainstream media and culture is the fact that all of these genres of music were invented by African Americans and have been essentially in a majority - dominated by African Americans. Rock was also invented by African Americans but the anglos took it away from them. The thing about the mainstream media is - it is controlled by caucasions. They have decided that to avoid confusing their middle class children - they would group all of these music forms into one group and just make them all related - but R&B and hip hop are not related.