Just Read: Hip-Hop is History

I grew up on hip-hop. I’m old enough to remember when Run-DMC broke through on MTV, joining Prince and Michael Jackson as the only Black artists getting any kind of real airplay on MTV. They were definitely the only hip-hop act at the time on the channel. The future Rock & Roll Hall of Famers were my introduction to the genre. A year or two later, I’m sitting in the bedroom of one of my friends, and he’s shuffling through tapes of Run-DMC, the Fat Boys, and LL Cool J. It wasn’t long before I realized this had become the sound of my neighborhood. Some 40 years later, I’m still a fan of a genre that was deemed a fad in the beginning.

Hip-Hop Is History is Roots drummer Questlove pulling us into the story—five decades of beats, rhymes, and chaos, from dusty old B-sides to the tracks that blew up your radio. It’s wild Grammy nights, basement cyphers, and all the little moments that made hip-hop what it is. He’s talking as a fan, as someone who was there, and as a dude who just loves the music. Really, it’s the story of how hip-hop grew up right alongside him—and all of us.

The book is split up into 5–10 year time periods, each themed by the drug prevalent during that time. Each era had its trademark artists, and Questlove tells his feelings on those artists, sometimes admitting cynicism and later appreciation towards them. As someone who used to think of themselves as a “hip-hop snob”, I totally get it. There’s definitely some gatekeeping in the genre, but more so, none of that matters as it’ll continue to evolve regardless while still revealing artists who stay true to the lyricism and layered beat-making that show how advanced hip-hop can be.

Hip-Hop Is History is a love letter to the genre. For as much as I thought I knew already, I still learned a lot more. Yet, if Quest attempted to cover everything, this book would be as thick as The Art of War. What we get was something long enough to keep me engaged without getting too “inside baseball” with it. It’s a good read.