dvry216's review against another edition
5.0
Ever need a primer on the roots of hip-hop and primary people that took on the form within the early years and newer generations, start here.
elbarton312's review against another edition
4.0
I originally got this book as an ARC when I was working in the book business. What I thought might be of a little interest ended up becoming a textbook of my development in my musical taste as a youth and teenager in the late 70s and early 80s. I was Phase I of the Hip Hop Generation and I guess this was how my mother felt when she first saw The Beatles: you were witnessing something completely NEW and it was going to change not just your life, but the world in general. I'm still Old School East Coast and rarely listen to the corporate sludge poured out for mass consumption, but when I encounter a rapper like Cakes Da Killa, it reminds me of the days when rap/hip hop was all about originality and setting yourself apart from the pack. I'm writing this now as I'm about to re-read my ARC copy as a kind of 10th Anniversary to the book and the excellent writing of Jeff Chang. ~BRC
dustcircle's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
I read this book at the same time as The Come Up, and found it awesome to follow the timeline of hip-hop culture and rap music.
sde's review against another edition
2.0
I'm not sure what audience this book was aimed at. It wasn't really an academic work - the tone was conversational and assumed a fair bit of knowledge of the main players in hip-hop in the past. It would not really appeal to younger fans of hip-hop, though, because although it did discuss a lot of the founders of the movement and how they affected social culture, it did so in a superficial way without, again, really explaining to an outside/younger audience why these players were important. I would have liked more information on the context of any of the players - for instance, the South Bronx gang leaders.
My second gripe is purely personal - the font is the sort of font that the "feel good" books of the early 70's were written in. Perhaps that was purposeful - to be evocative of the time that a lot of the action was taking place - but it made me take the book less seriously.
OK, I know I'm in a minority in my views on this book. Perhaps that was part of the problem - I was expecting too much after reading the reviews.
My second gripe is purely personal - the font is the sort of font that the "feel good" books of the early 70's were written in. Perhaps that was purposeful - to be evocative of the time that a lot of the action was taking place - but it made me take the book less seriously.
OK, I know I'm in a minority in my views on this book. Perhaps that was part of the problem - I was expecting too much after reading the reviews.
dbjorlin's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars. It tends to flag a little towards the end, but the first 3/4 is brilliant.
duncanvb's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
It's not a history of hip-hop! It's a history of the hip-hop generation! That's a very important distinction!
lilsolty's review against another edition
4.0
The first half, chronicling the beginnings of hip-hop from early dub records to Grandmaster Flash and the first graffiti artists is great. It brought a new perspective to the music for me and had me digging for countless albums for weeks. The second half, where the book focuses more on the "hip-hop generation" than the story of the music, is where it begins to fall apart a little bit. There is still great stuff, especially where the author helps place some songs and albums in the context of what was going on with LA police and gang culture at the time. In this way, the book is great for any music fan, even if you don't enjoy hip-hop - it excited you to look for records you haven't heard before and makes you rethink the genre. Where the book fails is really in the final third where the focus narrows to activist culture (sometimes really tenously attached to hip-hop) and gives a lot of stage to some questionable ideas without questioning them. Regardless of the final third, it's still one of the best music books I have ever read.
marcegum's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Lost points bc it was not written by a black person ANDD they talked about women in hip hop for 2 secs but gave wholllee chapters to predators and abusers