Customer Reviews

Vibe History of Hip Hop

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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...

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.

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.

Vibe History of Hip Hop Culture is a accurate chronology of the hip hop movement and its impact on urban culture. The book documents the urban experience and gives a great entree for brand marketers considering using the genre to hype their products.

This book tells the complete story of hip hop the photos are cool of the true pioneers in the industry Pac, Big, and it shows where hip hop first orginated to where it is today. I rate this book #1 in all hip hop literature.

The VIBE Histroy of Hip-Hop is a great source for learning the history of the hip-hop world. It tells how it began and includes many popular artists profiled, from the past, and popular today.

This is the first book that tells the complete history of Hip-hop. From its South Bronx roots to today's status. Recommended for everyone who want to know more about hip-hop.

Fine and well-informed history of hip-hop, the music and the culture arranged chronologically and by topic/theme. Comes with a CD (fairly inconsequential).

I think you would have to have been brain dead or asleep for the past decade or so to not have noticed that hip-hop has become the single most important form of art or even communication in the world. Surpassing even the internet, I think history will remember hip-hop as the most important development made by civilization in the last half of the twentieth century. There is little doubt in my mind at least that figures like Dr Dre, 2 Pac, and Snoop Doggy Dogg will, in due course, blot out such lesser figures as (in politics) JFK, (in music) Bernstein, and (in philosophy) Derrida and Foucault who some backward-thinking people still regard as more important than the fathers of hip-hop in our culture. This book does not make my claims, which is why I give it three stars rather than five, but it is certainly an emotional and compelling history of a movement more important than civil rights, the space program, social security, and the first amendment all rolled into one.