Hip-Hop History—For All Ages
Hip-Hop History—For All Ages
By Bookish Chicago
A community partnership prompted us to create this list to highlight some of the best books out there for learning and loving hip-hop.
History Comics: Hip-Hop: The Beat of America
Jarrett Williams
$12.99 $12.08Kid tested...kid approved!
Rapper's Deluxe: How Hip Hop Made the World
Todd Boyd
$79.95 $74.35Visual and cultural history of hip-hop.
Gotta Stay Fresh: Why We Need Hip-Hop in Schools
James Miles
$34.99 $32.54Coming late 2023, a new book for educators from the Fresh Professor!
Fresh Fly Fabulous: 50 Years of Hip Hop Style
Elizabeth Way and Elena Romero
$55.00 $51.15Show the kids what FLY really looked like. New art & fashion book for 2023.
Never Far from Home: My Journey from Brooklyn to Hip Hop, Microsoft, and the Law
Bruce Jackson
$28.00 $26.04Modern Memoir. New for 2023.
A Child's Introduction to Hip-Hop: The Beats, Rhymes, and Roots of a Musical Revolution
Jordannah Elizabeth and Markia Jenai
$21.99 $20.45New, August 2023!
When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop
Laban Carrick Hill and Theodore Taylor
$19.99 $18.59Our favorite hip-hop picture book! Still.
Hip Hop Family Tree Book 1: 1975-1981
Ed Piskor
$27.99 $26.03Start here...and then collect them all!
It Was All a Dream: Biggie and the World That Made Him
Justin Tinsley
$17.00 $15.81Biggie and the bigger picture. Now in paperback!
Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation
Jeff Chang
$23.00 $21.39The classic "textbook".
Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm
Dan Charnas
$20.00 $18.60Fascinating. Now in paperback, great for elevated beach/vacay reading.
Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest
Hanif Abdurraqib
$16.95 $15.76A must-read for all fans.
The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop
Jonathan Abrams
$35.00 $32.55This tome is best for the guy that thinks he already knows it all....
DJ Shadow's Endtroducing
Eliot Wilder
$14.95 $13.90For a one-breath deep dive, we love these bite-sized books!
Life Lessons from Hip-Hop: 50 Reflections on Creativity, Motivation and Wellbeing
Grant Brydon
$19.99 $18.59They break it down to build us up. Great for Grads, jaded tweens and an approachable coffee table book.
Ice Cold. a Hip-Hop Jewelry History
Vikki Tobak
$100.00 $93.00For the baller with a dollar—the cover and price tag say it all in this book by Fine Arts publishing house, Taschen.
Hip-Hop (and Other Things)
Shea Serrano and Arturo Torres
$27.00 $25.11Chronicles and comments on the minutiae.
The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America
Marcus J. Moore
$18.99 $17.66One of the most influential rappers of his generation, Lamar is a musical force.
Can't Stop Won't Stop (Young Adult Edition): A Hip-Hop History
Cook and Jeff Chang
$18.99 $17.66Recommended for ages 10 & up.
Street Cred: Tara's husband is a DJ (by night) and Angela hosted Grandmaster Flash when his memoir was released back in '08.