"There's no one like Ahmir — and there's no one better to take us on this fun, informative journey through hip-hop’s evolution.'"
—Michelle Obama
“Chronicles the first 50 years of hip-hop through insightful and passionate analysis that celebrates the big-named artists who popularized the style, as well as those lesser-known creatives who quietly influenced rap’s rise. Along the way, he offers personal recollections about how the relatively young music style has shaped his identity. A must-read for old school hip-hop heads and burgeoning fans alike.”
—Shannon Carlin, Time Magazine
“A wonderful ride, colored by personal digressions and crisp observations.”
—Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian
“[Questlove] is an affable and expert tour guide through the annals of hip-hop, as adept at spinning yarns as he is at spinning records.”
—G’Ra Asim, The Washington Post
"A trip worth taking. Questlove’s embedded narration of the infamous 1995 Source Awards . . . shows the author at his storytelling best."
—AD Carson, Los Angeles Times
"[Questlove is] a major artist and a major fan. With co-author Ben Greenman, [he] covers 50 years of hip-hop with insight, passion and the geeky love of a true believer. Not to be missed."
—Michael Giltz, Parade
“Like a window looking deep into the workings of a pretty special hip-hop mind . . . Entertaining and authoritative . . . [Questlove] uses his knowledge and experience to his advantage in every way, bringing unique and fresh perspectives. His well-honed instincts are spot-on . . . Immensely entertaining.”
—Pop Matters
“Hip-hop’s most accomplished musician on the musical masterpieces of hip-hop: this is the story Questlove was born to write. It’s as authoritative, as opinionated, as expansive—even his digressions have (amazing) digressions!—and as joyful as we have come to expect from him. If you’ve ever cared about this music, no matter what the era, you need this book on your shelf.”
—Jeff Chang, author of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation and Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America
Questlove is the rare history-maker in music with the ability to tell that history with gripping, personal prose and the perspective of a scholar. Hip-hop’s historian laureate, Questlove helped shape the genre's critical beatdown as an artist, but writes about it with a scholar's critical perspective. No figure so pivotal in a genre’s history has ever written so comprehensively and insightfully as its historian."—Dan Charnas, author of Dilla Time and The Big Payback
"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 closely examines the social, political, and artistic factors contributing to hip-hop’s growth, many facets and styles, stars, controversies, innovations, and far-ranging influence. This is a must-read . . . Questlove’s illuminating and insightful survey is as personal as it is expert.”
—Booklist (starred review)
"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. . . an exuberant account of a dynamic musical genre and the cultural climate in which it evolved."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
06/01/2024
Academy Award-winning filmmaker/drummer/DJ/music historian and cofounder of the Roots, Questlove (coauthor, The Rhythm of Time)—with the help of Ben Greenman (coauthor, I Am Brian Wilson)—delivers an impressionistic history of hip-hop from 1979 to the present. Linking different hip-hop eras to contemporary events and Questlove's connection to it, the book begins with hip-hop pioneers, such as the Sugar Hill Gang, Kurtis Blow, and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. The title chronicles mainstream success with Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys, who introduced hard-rock guitars into the mix. The emergence of Afro-centric hip-hop with N.W.A., A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, the Jungle Brothers, and the Bomb Squad-produced Public Enemy are noted, along with the blockbusters by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, the gangsta rap of Biggie Smalls, Tupac Shakur, 50 Cent, and Jay-Z, and Ye's work. For the Obama presidency years, the book focuses on Drake and DJ Khaled, highlights Kendrick Lamar during the post-Obama period, and drifts until the book ends. The dominant drugs of each era are also discussed. VERDICT Well-positioned to detail the genre's evolution, this book offers hip-hop fans an engaging journey through its history, with much of its focus on the first 30 years.—Dr. Dave Szatmary
★ 2024-03-25
A memorable, masterful history of the first 50 years of an indelible American art form.
While historians often cast themselves as omniscient in their works, delivering facts and stories as important without acknowledging the impact of their own experiences on the narrative process, Questlove—drummer, DJ, music historian, and author of Mo’ Meta Blues, Creative Quest, and Music Is History—is forthcoming about the fact that he experienced music differently as he grew older. “I wasn’t sitting down for five hours listening to them over and over and over again, trying to unpack every nuance from every corner,” he writes, recalling his feelings decades into his relationship with the genre. “But I was—I am—a DJ, which meant that I had a professional interest in excavating the songs that worked.” The author’s observations spanning the entirety of hip-hop’s history are consistently illuminating—e.g., connecting its shift in five-year increments to the dominant drug of the period, from crack to sizzurp to opioids. However, it’s his personal connection to certain eras that make his latest book stand out. Questlove considers the late 1980s and early ’90s as the “golden age of hip-hop, when innovative MCs and innovative DJs seemed to spring up every few months, and classic albums regularly sprouted on the vine.” That era—filled with masterpieces from Public Enemy, De La Soul, and N.W.A.—is universally revered, but Questlove also recognizes that it coincides with the years between high school and when he officially became an artist—a time when he was immersed in finding inspiration and understanding the construction of hip-hop. While the author’s knowledge of hip-hop is as deep as any musicologist, it’s his passion for certain artists and songs that sets him apart.
Questlove’s instincts as a superfan and artist take this history beyond the hype to something very special.
Questlove is an established musician, musicologist, DJ, and narrator of his latest audiobook. Here, he recounts the fifty-year history of hip-hop with exuberant joy. The result is a fascinating journey from the coastal cities in the early 1970s, where historians believe hip-hop started, to the current state of the art. From the nature of sampling, lyrics, and how music made the jump from vinyl grooves and mixtapes to streaming, Questlove's curiosity, intelligence, and natural ability to compel listeners are on full display. He weaves personal stories of record collecting and the pleasure of discovering new artists while delivering deeper discussions on the meaning of music. The production is punctuated with brief samples, highlighting key points and enhancing the journey. This is a thorough education. S.P.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine