Hip-Hop Is History

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Pub Date Jun 11 2024 | Archive Date Jul 11 2024

Description

This is a book only Questlove could have written: a perceptive and personal reflection on the first half-century of hip-hop.

When hip-hop first emerged in the 1970s, it wasn't expected to become the cultural force it is today. But for a young Black kid growing up in a musical family in Philadelphia, it was everything. He stayed up late to hear the newest songs on the radio. He saved his money to buy vinyl as soon as it landed. He even started to make his own songs. That kid was Questlove.

Now, in this landmark book, Questlove traces the creative and cultural forces that made and shaped hip-hop, highlighting both the forgotten but influential gems and the undeniable chart-topping hits-and weaves it all together with the stories no one else knows. It is at once an intimate, sharply observed story and a sweeping theory of the evolution of the great artistic movement of our time. Questlove approaches it with both the encyclopedic fluency of an obsessive fan and the unique expertise of an innovative participant. Hip-hop is history, and also his history.

This is a book only Questlove could have written: a perceptive and personal reflection on the first half-century of hip-hop.

When hip-hop first emerged in the 1970s, it wasn't expected to become the...


A Note From the Publisher

Questlove is a six-time Grammy Award–winning musician, Academy Award–winning filmmaker, drummer, DJ, producer, director, culinary entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, cofounder of the Roots, and the musical director for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where the Roots serves as the house band. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Mo’ Meta Blues, Creative Quest, Music Is History, and his first children’s book series, The Rhythm of Time, as well as the James Beard Award–nominated somethingtofoodabout, Mixtape Potluck, and the Grammy-nominated audiobooks Creative Quest and Music Is History. Questlove made his directorial debut with the Academy Award–, Grammy Award–, and BAFTA Award–winning documentary film Summer of Soul, which broke the record for the highest-selling documentary to come out of the Sundance Film Festival. Questlove is a cofounder of Two One Five Entertainment. He is the publisher of AUWA Books, an imprint of MCD / Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Questlove is a six-time Grammy Award–winning musician, Academy Award–winning filmmaker, drummer, DJ, producer, director, culinary entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, cofounder of the...


Advance Praise

★ "A memorable, masterful history of the first 50 years of an indelible American art form. . . Questlove’s instincts as a superfan and artist take this history beyond the hype to something very special." Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

★ “Questlove lays down a kaleidoscopic chronicle of hip-hop’s 50-year history . . . Throughout, Questlove interweaves sharp and lyrical analyses of hip-hop’s evolution with fascinating, up-close recollections of the genre’s turning points . . . It’s an exuberant account of a dynamic musical genre and the cultural climate in which it evolved.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

★ "A memorable, masterful history of the first 50 years of an indelible American art form. . . Questlove’s instincts as a superfan and artist take this history beyond the hype to something very...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780374614072
PRICE $30.00 (USD)
PAGES 352

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Average rating from 33 members


Featured Reviews

Hip-Hop Is History by Questlove is hands down one of the best books on contemporary music history I have ever read. The title may be slightly miscontrued, but it is all about perception and after you read the book, you will likely change it in your mind ot "Hip Hop IS History"

Questlove outlines the book in the introduction and this in itself gave a wonderful taster of this incredibly talented musicians highly knowledgable and personable narrative which immediately hooked me in, detailing the accepted beginnings of HipHop at a party in 1973 but expanding on this and why it could be seen as a springboard for a movement as opposed ot a definitive start date.

The book then goes on to explore the evolution of Hip Hop through the years, from a personal perspective as well as a social one, and on to advancements in technology and culminating in an absolutely blinding playlist that is organised by years in the same way the chapters are (this has my sensibilities firing on all of their happy cylinders!)

If you like music, history, and a really, really good read, then this is for you

Thank you to Netgalley, Farrar, Straus and Giroux | AUWA and the author Questlove for this stunning ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

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Fantastic overview of the history of hip hop from someone who's studied it religiously since near-birth. Always insightful, honest, and open. Amazing book. As good as "Go Ahead in the Rain" but less from a fan's POV. Need to go back and read his earlier works after reading this one.

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