Hip-Hop Is History - by Questlove

Book Synopsis

This is a book only Questlove could have written: a perceptive and personal reflection on the first half-century of hip-hop.

When hip-hop first emerged in the 1970s, it wasn't expected to become the cultural force it is today. But for a young Black kid growing up in a musical family in Philadelphia, it 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 try to make his own songs. That kid was Questlove, and decades later, he is a six-time Grammy Award-winning musician, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker, a New York Times bestselling author, a producer, an entrepreneur, a cofounder of one of hip-hop's defining acts (the Roots), and the genre's unofficial in-house historian.

In this landmark book, Hip-Hop Is History, Questlove skillfully traces the creative and cultural forces that made and shaped hip-hop, highlighting both the forgotten but influential gems and the undeniable chart-topping hits--and weaves it all together with the stories no one else knows. It is at once an intimate, sharply observed story of a cultural revolution and a sweeping, grand theory of the evolution of the great artistic movement of our time. And Questlove, of course, approaches it with not only the encyclopedic fluency and passion of an obsessive fan but also the expertise and originality of an innovative participant.

Hip-hop is history, and also his history.

Review Quotes

"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)

About the Author

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 audiobooks Creative Quest and Music Is History. 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 who has written both fiction and nonfiction. His novels and short-story collections include The Slippage and Superbad. He has been Questlove's collaborator on a series of books, including Mo' Meta Blues, Creative Quest, and Music Is History, and he has written memoirs with Sly Stone, George Clinton, and Brian Wilson. His writing has appeared in numerous publications.