The word hip-hop was coined by

Keith 'Cowboy' Wiggins, a member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, is credited with creating the term 'hip-hop' in the late 1970s. He reportedly used the term to mock a friend who had just joined the Army, alternating between saying 'hip' and 'hop' in a rhythm that later became the foundation of hip-hop music and culture.