Overview

'Questlove radiates passion, knowledge, wit and profundity as he reflects on this ever-evolving art form' GUARDIAN For a young Black kid growing up in a musical family in 1970s Philadelphia, hip-hop 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 Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson. Now, in this landmark book, Questlove traces the creative, cultural forces that made and shaped hip-hop, highlighting the forgotten influential gems and the 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 greatest artistic movement of our time. Questlove approaches it with both the encyclopaedic fluency of an obsessive fan and the unique expertise of an innovative participant. Hip-hop is history, and also his history.

Full Product Details

9781399621632

Table of Contents

Reviews

Hip-Hop Is History melds a detailed chronological retelling of the genre's story with occasionally hair-raising memoir * Guardian * A must-read for old-school hip-hop heads and burgeoning fans alike * Time * Questlove interweaves sharp and lyrical analyses of hip-hop's evolution with fascinating, up-close recollections of the genre's turning point...It's an exuberant account of a dynamic musical genre and the cultural climate in which it evolved * Publishers Weekly * A memorable, masterful history of the first 50 years of an indelible American art form...[Questlove's] observations spanning the entirety of hip-hop's history are consistently illuminating... [His] instincts as a superfan and artist take this history beyond the hype to something very special * Kirkus Reviews * Hip Hip is not History, it's Our story. Brilliant book. * Craig Charles * This is a must-read for music lovers, cultural history buffs, and hip-hop fans... Questlove's illuminating and insightful survey is as personal as it is expert * Booklist * The musician and Oscar-winning director traces the first 50 years of hip-hop... Questlove pairs the history of hip-hop with a personal reflection on how the genre shaped his identity during his childhood in Philadelphia * The Week *

Hip-Hop Is History melds a detailed chronological retelling of the genre's story with occasionally hair-raising memoir * Guardian * A must-read for old-school hip-hop heads and burgeoning fans alike * Time * Nobody knows more about hip-hop, and perhaps popular music in general, than Ahmir ""Questlove"" Thompson...a wonderful ride, coloured by personal digressions and crisp observations * Observer * Sharp insights...[an] engaging chronology...entertaining * Financial Times * Questlove interweaves sharp and lyrical analyses of hip-hop's evolution with fascinating, up-close recollections of the genre's turning point...It's an exuberant account of a dynamic musical genre and the cultural climate in which it evolved * Publishers Weekly * A memorable, masterful history of the first 50 years of an indelible American art form...[Questlove's] observations spanning the entirety of hip-hop's history are consistently illuminating... [His] instincts as a superfan and artist take this history beyond the hype to something very special * Kirkus Reviews * Hip Hip is not History, it's Our story. Brilliant book. * Craig Charles * Engaging and deeply knowledgeable * Buzz Magazine * This is a must-read for music lovers, cultural history buffs, and hip-hop fans... Questlove's illuminating and insightful survey is as personal as it is expert * Booklist * The musician and Oscar-winning director traces the first 50 years of hip-hop... Questlove pairs the history of hip-hop with a personal reflection on how the genre shaped his identity during his childhood in Philadelphia * The Week * Hugely readable...an encyclopaedic and idiosyncratic personal history of rap music now that it is more than 50 years old...[Questlove is] great at catching the sonic thrill and originality of the music. Nearly every page will have you jumping onto YouTube just to listen to the tunes he's talking about * Herald * With Questlove, his world is wrapped up in that history. So you get the story mixed with his personal experience. It's also beautifully written * Moonbuilding * Questlove radiates passion, knowledge, wit and profundity as he reflects on this ever-evolving art form * Guardian *

Author Information

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 audiobook Creative Quest. 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. Ben Greenman is a New York Times bestselling author and New Yorker contributor. He has been Questlove's collaborator on a series of books, and he has written memoirs with Sly Stone, George Clinton, and Brian Wilson.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available