Rap or Hip-Hop, is there a difference?

Is there a difference? I've been a hip-hop/rap fan for twenty years and no-one ever explained it to me, other than originally hip-hop referred more to the musical style, whilst rap referred more to the lyrical style. I always thought that was a bit vague - the example I was often given was that Soul II Soul were a hip-hop band but not a rap band. Still I don't really care and use the two terms interchangeably. Got to go - DJ Kool 'Let Me Clear My Throat' just came on, on my random play. Time to jump around.

there is alot of difference between rap and hiphop....you can actually make out the difference yourself if u listen to rap and hiphop properly..

What 's up? There is main defference between rap and hip-hop. Hip-hop is the culture, which rap music is a part of. Back in the 70's hip-hop started out in the Bronx,NY. It was born out of frustration of the youth, who started out in the park, with a 2 turn tables and a microphone. Other kids started break dancing to the music of the DJ and the lyrics of the rapper.So, thats how 3 of the 4 elements of hip-hop is born. Last but not the least is the graffiti art. The conclusion is Rap,DJ'ing,Graffiti and break dancing are the elements of Hip-Hop.