Vibe History of Hip Hop [Paperback]

Alan Light (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 1999

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY.

--This text refers to the School & Library Binding edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In his introduction, founding Vibe editor Alan Light justifies the magazine's 300-page hip-hop chronicle in historical terms, noting that while less than 15 years passed between Elvis's first single and Woodstock, it's been two full decades since rap busted out of New York City street parties via the Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight." It's a righteous point, and the multi-author Vibe History indeed deserves to be filed next to The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll. Like that book, Vibe's serves both as a fact-heavy primer and a passionate critical missive aimed straight for fans' hearts. Here we find all the contradictions of a pop-culture phenomenon: art and a hope for immortality rolled into a brightly colored form whose practitioners, even the most politically driven, demand to get paid. Or, as Charles Aaron writes in his essay on KRS-One, the rapper "has never failed to passionately contradict himself--footnotes, bibliography, and dope beats included." Those contradictions may not make the culture go, but as with rock's, they help make it both more frustrating and more fascinating. Whether reminiscing about the future shock of first hearing Run-D.M.C.'s "Sucker M.C.'s," gnawing at the tragic knots at the heart of Tupac Shakur's story, or celebrating women rappers, hip-hop movies, and dancehall reggae, these chapters do what the best music writing should--educate, excite, and lead the reader to the record racks. --Rickey Wright --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-This chronicle of the music parents love to hate is a must purchase, and should be shelved right next to The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll (Random, 1992). The book covers a remarkable amount of history, and readers will find the answers to many of their pressing questions about hip-hop culture, such as how rap got started, who the earliest performers were, etc. Even larger issues such as the role of women as rap artists, regional rivalries, money, power, and the merge of rock and roll are examined in great detail. A discography is included for many of the popular artists profiled, as is a sample unreleased CD by the original hip-hop kings Run-DMC. This gargantuan masterpiece is profusely illustrated.
ayo dayo, Chinn Park Regional Library, Prince William, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Plexus (December 31, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0859652904
• ISBN-13: 978-0859652902
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,670,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A STUDY IN MUSIC HISTORY - HIP HOP DEFINED AND ANALYZED, May 20, 2000

By 

Knyte "To The Stars" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Vibe History of Hip Hop (Paperback)

In this day and age, we are now witnessing an explosion of hip-hop in mainstream popular culture. Acts like Limp Bizkit, Korn and Kid Rock have all incorporated hip-hop into their music. Lately, hip-hop has been defined as 'the music of the youth'. This definition is devoid of color, making hip hop accessible to people of all races and cultures. The tricky aspect of this new 'universal' definition of hip hop is the possibility of the artform 'going the way of Rock and Roll' in that although it was pioneered by African-Americans, it may be 'stolen' by White artists the way Elvis and Pat Boone 'stole' Rock & Roll. There is sad evidence to this theory - Although TLC is the biggest selling female group of all time, they have yet to make the cover of Rolling Stone, yet Eminem made the cover after one hit song. There are countless other examples of this double standard that would take too much room to mention here. The history of hip hop is happening right now, but there's no better way to start paying attention by doing a little research, and VIBE's History of Hip Hop is the best place to begin.

This book is a masterpiece. Some break down hip hop into four elements: Graffitti, The Turntable, The MC and Breakdancing. I believe that while these are the cornerstones on which hip hop culture was built, this definition is too simplistic - and the VIBE history of Hip Hop does a wonderful job of bringing to life yet another form of Black music that has taken not only the United States, but the world by storm.

Broken down into many, many sections including "The Real Old School", "Pop Rap", "Ladies First" and "Hip Hop in the Movies", you can see first hand the amount of research and work that went into this book. Then, the book also focuses on hip hop icons like Run DMC, LL Cool J, Public Enemy and Salt-N-Pepa. Over 17 journalists contributed to this book and they are all well respected, talented writers in their own right. This book was edited by Alan Light, the original editor-in-chief of Vibe and current editor-in-chief of Spin magazine. It was published in the era of Danyel Smith while she was editor-in-chief, and now she's at Time Inc. Most of the writers in this book are youthful and hip, yet serious and ambitious. Authoritative is the best word to describe this document to hip hop.

But wait - there are the many, many pictures that say so much to support the knowledge that is recorded on each of the glossy 418 pages in this book. Even the last few pages that tell you about each and every one of the contributors is an entertaining read. It's also inspiring for those of us who also wish to be journalists (like myself).

So yes - if you want to learn about hip hop, or need a source to cite your knowledge of hip hop...this book is for you - by the editors of the best urban-oriented magazine since Ebony, Jet and Essence...Vibe is the magazine of our culture and our future.

You'll be picking this one up time and time again...

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent overview and critical history of Hip Hop, August 21, 2000

By 

Steve Sanderson (Long Island NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Vibe History of Hip Hop (Paperback)

This book was my introduction to Hip Hop and I recommend it both to people who want to rip their hands into the music and for those that been around it for years. I would rate this 4 1/2 stars if that was possible...

The book covers Hip Hop from every possible angle, charting the cultural as well as political significance of the misunderstood and under appreciated genre. The writers assembled for the book put down literate, well thought out prose that gives Hip Hop its perspective for just about anyone who wants it, whatever their cultural background.

I found The Vibe History of Hip Hop one of the best books I've read on music. I also used the editors' recommendations for CDs when I went shopping to flesh out my music collection.

If you are seriously interested in Hip Hop, in critical music writing, want to look at glossy black and white pictures of Hip Hop performers, or listen to the 4 song cd included with the book, then this is a good buy and an even better read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Comercial style, stunning images, February 2, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vibe History of Hip Hop (Paperback)

A large glossy book that outstands for its pictures. Written in a cronological manner, covers from the beginnings of the rap scene until nowadays. Very attractive to look at, but composed from a media point of view.