I value the opportunity I was given to read this in advance, but I still haven't read this. With so many books ahead of me, I cannot return to this title.

I took my time reading Questlove's Hip-Hop is History. The book was 50 years in the making - hip hop is middle aged! You can't rush through these things!

Each section of the book corresponds to a 5 year period that Quest views as generation, and like human generations, there's overlap and change and generalities and defining moments.

Epihanies, deep cuts, new techniques, anecdotes - we get enough to both educate and remind us of the past, as well as where hip hop is going.

It's a hell of a ride. 10 mics!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Hip-Hop Is History by Questlove!

Hip-Hop Is History is an incredible read, especially with Questlove himself narrating the audiobook. He and I are close in age, so I was fairly familiar with a lot of the music and cultural markers discussed. I saw a few reviews saying they didn't enjoy the stream-of-consciousness style of the book, but that might be mitigated by listening to the audiobook version. It flows quite naturally and is extremely enjoyable. A must for music and hip-hop fans, even someone with just a little knowledge on the genre will likely learn a lot and enjoy the ride!

Questlove compiles a history of hip hop from its birth to the 50th anniversary tribute for the Grammys. It details the love and history of how the genre developed from what came before and what influenced the start of a new form of expression.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest reviews.

I went into this book knowing a little bit more than maybe the average person about hip hop history (thanks to my boyfriend being a huge fan of music that grew up in NYC), and I felt like I learned soooo much that I didn't know. Questlove dives into his connections to the history of hip hop (although still debated in certain points, as he mentions), and how the genre grew and changed through his personal and professional experiences with the genre. I listened to a handful of the songs as I went and it made the experience so incredibly immersive! the book is a little dense at some points (particularly in the beginning where he's listing name and song after name and song). In general though, it was a really interesting blend of hip hop history and a personal memoir of his experiences. Highly recommend for fans of music wanting to learn more about hip hop or people just getting into the genre and want to learn about its cultural significance!

I love hearing from talented musicians and this was great. Hip-hop isn't my usual genre so it was great to learn more about the music and context.... and inspire me to listen to a broader range of music.

What a great book, but not surprising considering the author. Part history book, part biography, completely great.

Leave it to Questlove to write an incredible history of hip hop which is so much more. It tracks social changes, technological change, various influences of music, and more. I will definitely be adding this one to my personal library.

I get that this was about history but it was like reading an encyclopedia about the topic, only the person writing the encyclopedia really loved the topic and was still excited about al the details. This book goes from one topic to another, one artist to another, one time to another, yet everything feels as though it fits within a pattern. The writing on this was so amazing, and other people writing history books could learn a lesson from the way this was organized and written. Hip-hop is history, and has an effect on not just music but society. Choosing to use one song at a time helped frame a complicated topic and contextualize so much recent history. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

Damn was this book good. It is so special to read about the history of hip-hop from the perspective of someone who was a part of it.

And not only is Questlove (and The Roots) a big part of hip-hop, but Questlove himself is a musicologist. He’s a student, constantly learning, reinventing the wheel and opening his mind to what comes next. Those are the musicians I’m most attracted to, and Questlove’s passion for the music really shines through in HIP HOP IS HISTORY.

I especially loved the playlist at the end of the book. For each section (hip-hop in 5 year incremental passages), Questlove shared his list of songs from that era that he still listens to. Not only is it a window into his taste and soul, but it’s a great encapsulation of the theme of each chapter. Through these songs, you get to listen to how the genre changed. It was really fun to read a chapter and then delve into the recommendations.

Thank you to Auwa Books, FSG and NetGalley for the advanced copy. It’s a prized possession on my bookshelf and I can’t wait to get my hands on a finished copy 💜

I truly cannot think of anyone better as a guide to 50 years of Hip-Hop than Questlove. He provides not only an incredibly detailed history of the genre, but also makes it personal to him and his relationship to Hip-Hop. Among many of the incredible anecdotes, one of my favorites was that Questlove found J. Cole’s iPhone in 2013 in the parking lot of a gas station across from a McDonald’s in Montauk. He tells the history in 5 year cycles spanning the very beginning in the 70's up through 2023. His thesis throughout is that "history is about cycles - ideas are born, run their course, and die or give way to afterlife."

Even though I would consider myself more of a casual fan, I learned so much and this book has made me want to start delving back into the beginnings and everything that I have missed in between. I highly recommend for anyone with an interest in the genre, you will end up learning so much and coming out with a new appreciation for Hip-Hop and Questlove.

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the advanced copy.

"Hip-Hop is History" by Questlove is a fantastic ride down music memory lane. It smartly connects the dots between different eras of hip-hop, with each chapter diving into groups of artists or standout tracks from specific periods. Questlove uses cultural references to show how the music changed and influenced future artists.

What's really great about this book is that it's not just a history lesson; it's also a personal journey. Questlove shares his own thoughts and stories about the artists and music he writes about, making it feel like you're having a conversation with the author rather than receiving a history lesson. His insights are always interesting and well-thought-out, even if you don't always agree with them.

If you're a music lover, this book is a must-read. Questlove fills in a lot of blanks about how hip-hop evolved over the years. He mentions right from the start that he had to make some tough choices about what to include, and admits that his own perspective is bound to show through. Even if you don't agree with all his opinions, his take is definitely food for thought.

Overall, "Hip-Hop is History" is a great read that captures the essence of hip-hop's growth and its cultural impact. Questlove's passion and knowledge make this book a highly recommended addition to any music enthusiast's collection.

Thank you to NetGalley, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and AUWA for this advanced readers copy in exchange for a honest and thoughtful review.

As a fan of Questlove and The Roots, I was excited to read Hip Hop is History. Mixing personal history and first hand accounts with historical timelines and genre firsts, this was an interesting introspection into a genre I lived through but knew very little about. I enjoyed the section with songs Questlove wanted to highlight and focus on the most. Gave me a playlist to listen to once done with the book. Had me going to look up another book by Questlove: Music is History.

Questlove is such an interesting person and musician, that I wanted to read this book.
Im more well known with hip hop from the mid 90s on.
The book is a mix of music history and his own personal connection to it.
It is clear it’s really well written and researched. However it is a lot of new information especially because artists go by different names and it reads confusingly. I think the reader would do well listening to the songs mentioned but means the book will take a long time to read.
It was a little too dense and info heavy so I had to keep putting it down.
I do believe I want to read the rest of the book sometime but it was a struggle for part of it so DNFed around 40% in.

You can always count on Questlove for a good laugh and a great nugget of information. This book is chock full of it. Indeed skillfully traced, Hip-Hop is History effectively reviews the arc of hip hope's history and his personal intersection with the subject.

Great read for music buffs, especially with an interest of hip-hop, rap, and R&B. I would recommend having a music app open to get audio references, or reading the audio book to get the full music experience. (Recommendation will be sent to email subscribers of WordSmarts.com)

It was such a pleasure reading this book!

I love Questlove's style and when I saw this book I was so intrigued, it was a topic I wanted really bad to know more about. His personal touch, stories, insights and connections made this book even more valuable than even making hip hop's history such a comprehensible topic. Not to mention the big playlist it inspired! I cannot recommend this book enough!

I received a copy of this in order to share my view on it.

(Received gratas from NetGalley)

I really wasn't sure if I needed yet another history of hip-hop book. For one having grown up in it, and for two we already have Dan Charnas's amazing Big Payback, Jeff Chang's exhaustive Can't Stop Won't Stop, Brian Coleman's oral histories, and a growing number of artist-specific autobiographies, the market is thankfully filled with options.

But I'm a huge fan of The Roots and Questlove, and a longtime Okayplayer, and any chance to read Questlove's stream of consciousness (with editing from Brian Greenman), monologues, insider stories, and autobiographical stories is a welcome one. One of these days maybe he'll publish a collection of his Lesson/OKArtist threads (D'Angelo tour diaries, album reviews, etc).

It's the insider stories and personal touches that make this an excellent read. The side tangents and SQUIRREL-ing ("but more on that later", after exhaustively telling more sooner). The future-forecast chapter is a rare miss that I found myself scanning more than reading, because that isn't what we came for, was it? And while it ends with an expected and appreciated playlist, I honestly was hoping for chapter-playlists as we went along. Perhaps we'll get some DJ-sets on Twitch and YouTube as part of the book's promotion...

I read Questlove's book Music Is History so I had an idea of what this book would be like. Questlove is very informational and knowledgable. I think I enjoyed this book a lot more because of the subject matter, but admittedly this does read like a textbook at times. I don't mind it, but it's something to considered. I enjoyed his personal accounts as well and value his perspective being a Hip Hop legend as well. It felt really great an appropriate to read this book during Black Music History Month!