In 1973, the music scene was forever changed by the emergence of hip-hop. Masterfully blending the rhythmic grooves of funk and soul with layered beats and chanted rhymes, artists such as DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash paved the way for an entire new genre and generation of musicians. In this comprehensive, accessible guide, Paul Edwards breaks down the difference between old school and new school, recaps the biggest influencers of the genre, and sets straight the myths and misconceptions of the artists and their music. Fans old and new alike will all learn something new about the history and development of hip-hop, from its inception up through the current day, in The Concise Guide to Hip-Hop Music.
Based on a true story, this gripping account of hip hop's early years follows Sherri Sher, who, growing up in the South Bronx during the 1970s and caring for her eleven siblings, forms an all-girl rap group and discovers that it is hard to earn respect in a male-dominated world. Original.
O is for Old School takes you on an alphabetical journey through the most iconic words and phrases in hip-hop. You'll soon learn that for new parents these words have new meanings: now Peace comes at naptime, a Hood is worn on a head and when they Flow it’s going to get wet. This book is your chance to become the freshest parent in your playgroup; while your lil' one learns their ABCs like a G.
The Hip Hop Movement offers a critical theory and alternative history of rap music and hip hop culture by examining their roots in the popular musics and popular cultures of the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power Movement. Connecting classic rhythm & blues and rock & roll to the Civil Rights Movement, and classic soul and funk to the Black Power Movement, The Hip Hop Movement explores what each of these musics and movements contributed to rap, neo-soul, hip hop culture, and the broader Hip Hop Movement. Ultimately, this book’s remixes (as opposed to chapters) reveal that black popular music and black popular culture have always been more than merely “popular music” and “popular culture” in the conventional sense and reflect a broader social, political, and cultural movement. With this in mind, sociologist and musicologist Reiland Rabaka critically reinterprets rap and neo-soul as popular expressions of the politics, social visions, and cultural values of a contemporary multi-issue movement: the Hip Hop Movement. Rabaka argues that rap music, hip hop culture, and the Hip Hop Movement are as deserving of critical scholarly inquiry as previous black popular musics, such as the spirituals, blues, ragtime, jazz, rhythm & blues, rock & roll, soul, and funk, and previous black popular movements, such as the Black Women’s Club Movement, New Negro Movement, Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Movement, Black Power Movement, Black Arts Movement, and Black Women’s Liberation Movement. This volume, equal parts alternative history of hip hop and critical theory of hip hop, challenges those scholars, critics, and fans of hip hop who lopsidedly over-focus on commercial rap, pop rap, and gangsta rap while failing to acknowledge that there are more than three dozen genres of rap music and many other socially and politically progressive forms of hip hop culture beyond DJing, MCing, rapping, beat-making, break-dancing, and graffiti-writing.
"A complete guide to the art and craft of the MC, anyone who's serious about becoming a rapper should read this first."--Hip Hop Connection magazine "A clever breakdown of the art form of hip-hop rhymes ... It's about time someone actually recognized this powerful music for its artistic integrity." -Speech, Arrested Development Examining the dynamics of hip-hop from every region and in every form-mainstream and underground, current and classic-this compelling how-to discusses everything from content and flow to rhythm and delivery. Compiled from the most extensive research on rapping to date, this first-of-its-kind guide delivers countless candid and exclusive insights from more than 100 of the most critically acclaimed artists in hip-hop-including Clipse, Cypress Hill, Nelly, Public Enemy, Remy Ma, Schoolly D, A Tribe Called Quest, and will.i.am-revealing the stories behind their art and preserving the genre's history through the words of the legends themselves. Beginners and pros alike will benefit from the wealth of rapping lore and insight in this remarkable collection."--
Contains brief reviews of over five hundred old school rap and hip-hop albums, as well as albums from the 1960s and 70s that provided inspiration for the development of rap; arranged alphabetically, some with cover art.
HIP-HOP (AND OTHER THINGS) is about, as it were, rap, but also some other things. It's a smart, fun, funny, insightful book that spends the entirety of its time celebrating what has become the most dominant form of music these past two and a half decades. Tupac is in there. Jay Z is in there. Missy Elliott is in there. Drake is in there. Pretty much all of the big names are in there, as are a bunch of the smaller names, too. There's art from acclaimed illustrator Arturo Torres, there are infographics and footnotes; there's all kinds of stuff in there. Some of the chapters are serious, and some of the chapters are silly, and some of the chapters are a combination of both things. All of them, though, are treated with the care and respect that they deserve. HIP-HOP (AND OTHER THINGS) is the third book in the (And Other Things) series. The first two—Basketball (And Other Things) and Movies (And Other Things)—were both #1 New York Times bestsellers.
Closing the circle examined in "Rap Attack" and "Rap Attack 2, " this book looks at the fatal shootings of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G., gangsta rap overload, and the resultant upsurge of nostalgia for old-school hip-hop. 100 illustrations.
Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong was not only jazz's greatest musician and innovator, but also arguably its most famous entertainer and the frontal figure in the development of contemporary popular music. Overcoming social and political obstacles, he created a long and impressive career and an enormous musical output. Now, his ground breaking musical career is amassed and detailed in this discography of all his works, from professionally made commercial releases, to amateur and unissued recordings. All of Me is a comprehensive, chronological discography born out of love and admiration for Louis Armstrong, and devotion to years of collecting his musical accomplishments. Author Jos Willems has meticulously compiled all of Satchmo's known recordings_both studio and live performances_and with assistance from internationally renowned specialists, has assembled an impressively detailed, accurate, and complete listing. This volume is superbly formatted and presented, logically organized, and thoroughly indexed by song title and individual. Researchers, collectors, and enthusiasts can easily look up any detail of a recording: issues and releases of particular songs; publishing companies; producers; catalog numbers; dates, times, and locations of recordings; musicians Armstrong played with; and format, be it 78 or 45 RPM records, LPs, CDs, or media appearances. Every detail of Armstrong's career is listed in this impressive volume, shedding light on the enormity of his impact on jazz and popular culture. This is the ultimate reference guide for the complete works of Louis Armstrong.