HipHop Is History, Questlove
HipHop Is History, Questlove
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
Club: $13.49

Hip-Hop Is History

Bestseller

Author: Questlove, Ben Greenman

Narrator: Questlove

Unabridged: 11 hr 20 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/11/2024


Synopsis

Recorded at the legendary Electric Lady Studios in New York City, the audiobook features narration and storytelling by Questlove, who expertly weaves together a rich sonic tapestry of hip-hop tales large and small, well-known and obscure. From hearing “Rapper’s Delight” for the first time in 1979 to directing and producing the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop for the 2023 GRAMMYs, Questlove guides listeners through a musical journey brought to life by Questlove himself.

This program is read by the author.

"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." —AudioFile (Earphones Award Winner)

"Throughout, Questlove's resonant and impassioned voice serves as our noble guide. "—Booklist

"The opening introduction, in which Questlove describes the stress of putting together a special hip-hop performance for the Grammys had me on the edge of my seat with tension and delight."—The Guardian

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.

A Macmillan Audio production from AUWA Books.

About Questlove

Questlove is an Academy Award‒winning and Emmy-nominated filmmaker, drummer, DJ, producer, director, culinary entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, and as co-founder of the Roots, the unmistakable heartbeat of Philadelphia’s most influential hip-hop group. He is the musical director for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where the Roots serves as the house band. Questlove made his directorial debut with the Academy Award‒winning feature documentary Summer of Soul. He has written multiple books, including the New York Times bestsellers Mo’ Meta Blues, Creative Quest, Music Is History, Hip Hop is History, his picture book The Idea In You, and his first children’s book, The Rhythm of Time. He is the publisher of AUWA Books, an imprint of MCD / Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Instagram @Questlove

About Ben Greenman

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.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Janet on June 25, 2024

Questlove is a far better musician than writer. This is more a rambling stream of consciousness than a book. His knowledge is certainly encyclopedic (if severely lacking in female artists, especially in his most listened to index) but the digressions and on and on paragraphs all start to blend toget......more

Goodreads review by Kenzie | kenzienoelle.reads on July 11, 2024

So interesting! Highly recommend the audio as Questlove reads it himself.......more

Goodreads review by Amanda on June 28, 2024

In honor of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, Hip Hop is History takes us on a journey through milestone artists, producers, albums, songs, style developments, and events over time that have made the genre what it is today. Interwoven with this are stories from the life of Questlove, lover of hip-hop......more

Goodreads review by Derrek on June 23, 2024

Reminiscent and Enlightening Questlove’s well paced book pulled back the curtain on the Hip-Hop scene, past and present. I appreciated how he put the music and the artists into musical and political context. I was motivated to simultaneously listen to Hip-Hop classics on Spotify, both to reacquaint a......more

Goodreads review by Martin on May 10, 2024

Farrar, Sraus and Giroux provided an early galley for review. Back in 2021, I read Questlove's Music Is History and enjoyed it. I knew his knowledge would again provide an entertaining and enlightening read with this new book. I was at just the right age for music discovery (my teen years) when hip-h......more


Quotes

"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)

"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)


Awards

  • Carnegie Medal
  • CPL: Chicago Public Library Best of the Best
  • Time Magazine Best Books of the Year
  • Minneapolis Star Tribune Holiday Book Recommendations