What do Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Mingus and Louis Armstrong all have in common?

Scottish surnames, that's what! Scottish slave owners gave their names to generations of black Americans. Similarly, Scottish migrants may have influenced American blues music with their own traditions of acapella singing. Now it has been suggested that rap music may link in with the medieval Scottish tradition of settling scores through verbal jousting – so called "flyting", where opponents take turns to trade insults, the more sarcastic and satirical the better.

In my Edinburgh days, I did frequent a rap night on Morrison St. But can't say I'm aware of any outstanding local rap artists…