An American professor is claiming that rap — or more specifically, rap battles — has its roots in the medieval Scotland: "The Scots have a lengthy tradition of flyting — intense verbal jousting, often laced with vulgarity, that is similar to the dozens that one finds among contemporary inner-city African-American youth." The theory posits that "Scottish slave owners took the tradition with them to the United States, where it was adopted and developed by slaves, emerging many years later as rap." The Bronx was unavailable for comment. [Telegraph]