5 comments about Making Beats: The Art of Sample-Based Hip-Hop (Music Culture).

1. I'm usually pretty skeptical of books written about hip-hop by authors with PhD's. Most of the time, they don't get it. They aren't hip hop heads, although they might own a few Cd's. Mike Dyson, Tricia Rose, et cetera.
   
   I think this book gets it right.
   
   But the title of this book is misleading. It's not a how-to book on making hip hop beats.
   
   It's an ethnographic study on hip hop producers, most of which are underground/college radio hip hop makers.
   So chances are most Amazon customers won't know the names of the producers, or even be able to recognize any of their songs.
   
   But if you know names like Paul C, Diamond D, Showbiz, Pete Rock, Premier, Dilla, Marley Marl, Supreme, Soulman, Dj Muro - this book is really good.
   
   There are a lot of insider issues that producers talk about between themselves, but never really get into the main hip hop discussion, and so it has no chance of getting into the mainstream.
   
   Joe decided to look at producers and ask these questions. He interviewed folks like Dj Kool Akiem (of the Micranauts), Vitamin D, Domino of Hieroglyphics, and he asks questions like
   - Why do you need to sample, why not just replay the sample?
   - What's the big deal with reissues?
   - Producers who didn't start out as Dj's
   - Will you sample from a rap record?
   
   If you're just a hip hop head, the quotes from producers are probably the most interesting part of the book. You really get to look into 1 school of thought on how to make beats.
   
   If you're an academic, it's got plenty of footnotes, and lots of support for his ideas.
   
   For me, I think the best part of the book was the literature review. He looks at a lot of the bigger books on the subject of hip hop and breaks them down as to why they don't make sense.
   
   The only problem I really see with the book, is that it focuses on a certain type of producer. Sample based, means sampled from vinyl. You won't find a "keyboard" producer. You won't find producers that make g-rap type beats. (Mannie Fresh type of producer). It's very biased towards an underground, old east coast sound 89-93 era, aesthetic. Which is all the more interesting since he's based on the West Coast.



2. Quality Material............................
   
   If I Have To Say What is Lacking I'd Have to Say Some Example Pics..But Not Much Else...
   
   The Sampling Ethics are GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
   
   The Diggin Info is GOOD ALSO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
   
   The DJ History/Info is KOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
   
   A Very Well Spent $20-----
   
   Trust That!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



3. .



4. As a producer and music fan, I was inspired by this book. It's an academic study, but unlike other such works, it's also a page-turner. The author does a great job of mixing data with anecdotal evidence that comes from his field work, and the result reads like a well-organized historical narrative.
   
   Perhaps my favorite aspect of this book was that it denies all the nonsense that other writers have asserted about hip-hop's use of sampling as only an ironic way of referencing the past. This book instead puts forth the idea, which I agree with as a music producer, that sounds are chosen because they simply sound pleasing when combined with one another. In this respect, sampled-based hip-hop is really no different from many types of electronic music: Compositions are built up by putting sounds into the mix that work well with what is already there, and this process continues until you have some kind of groove or atmosphere established. All this patronizing stuff about hip-hop producers all being street philosophers from the school of hard knocks needs to stop. The truth is that they are composers like the rest of us, and they dig stuff that sounds good in their tracks. Thus, I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to read about the nature of sample-based hip-hop as a musical genre rather than as purely a method of recontextualizing the past to pay some mystical homage to those who came before. A refreshing, realistic book that gives proper respect and validity to a genre that is too often misunderstood and marginalized.



5. Interesting exploration of underground hip-hop production. A limited diversity of interviewees hampers its usefulness - I was incredibly disturbed when one interviewee said, unchallenged, that the use of live instruments was "not real hip-hop." Otherwise, an interesting, albeit short-sighted journey.

2 comments about The World According to Pretty Toney.

1. Somebody once said that Wu-Tang presses albums like newspapers (i.e. daily). But nevertheless, they've still somehow sustained a high "killer" to "filler" ratio, and maintained a strong brand. So, as a huge Wu fan and an avid reader, I got excited a few years ago when I heard they were moving into publishing. The The Wu-Tang Manual confirmed my intuitions - it was a fun and substantial read, well worth the money for a look into the RZA's brain.
   
   I had high expectations for Ghostface's entry, but this book is not very impressive. Basically, this consists of a bunch of GFK aphorisms attached to some photos. They are less wise than ODB's "words of wisdom" (see Bigger & Blacker and less funny than anything on GFK's albums. You'll read it in about 15 minutes, then wonder where to put it. It's the wrong size for the shelf, too small for the coffee table, and the cover is too flimsy to chop lines on.
   
   I want to know more about GFK. I want to know how more about the cocaine trade. I want to know why this book is still dedicated to Michael Caruso and why Cappadonna had to drive a cab for 8 months. But you won't find any of that here.
   
   I think the problem is that this book was made in conjunction with MTV, who assumed that they were marketing to the TRL audience at a 4th grade reading level. So they made a book for people who don't read. And that sucks because the Wu has always been the thinking man's rap. If you still want to read it, just buy my copy.



2. book is funny. cd is ghost talkin, no songs. he just basiclly explains each page in the book.
   great for wu fans.

3 comments about Other People's Property: A Shadow History of Hip-Hop in White America.

1. I picked up this book because I like hip hop, but didn't really understand the incredibly interesting larger cultural and social context in which it arose and operates. Having read my fair share of books on jazz, I was concerned because I know authors can take great art forms and turn them into boring academic treastises. Thankfully, Jason Tanz has richly and engagingly captured an inner city art form and its often uncomfortable, yet strangely symbiotic, relationship with white middle America. Norman Mailer, Thoreau and Eminem all make an appearance as Tanz entertainingly traces the origins of hip-hop and the way it has influenced, but also been subverted by, the white audience and market.



2. OTHER PEOPLE'S PROPERTY; A SHADOW HISTORY OF HIP HOP IN WHITE AMERICA could also have appeared in our 'Social Issues' section but is reviewed here for its focus on the obstacles that stand between producers and consumers of rap music: a very different approach than your usual music book covering the history of rap and the evolution of rapsters. It blends a personal story of growing up in a racially divided America with cultural analysis and music insights: while this approach might defy easy categorization, it does make for a hard-hitting analysis which will reach not only college-level collections strong in social issues and music, but the general-interest public and libraries with holdings strong in ethnic issues debates.



3. Hip-hop music, what some of us still think of as "rap," isn't easy to sort out these days. It seems to have invaded all aspects of life, even in the seemely far-removed and lilly-white suburbs.
   
   So what counts today as "authentic" hip-hop? Is it necessarily black? If it's commercialized to identify with a product, say Sprite, does that make the rapper a "sellout?"
   
   And if you're white, suburban and, say, over 35, what is hip-hop culture all about?
   
   These, it turns out, are exceedingly complicated questions.
   
   They cut deeply to the root of what was once a raw expression of black realism to a place where, even within hip-hop, debates rage. But Jason Tanz, a rap-loving white kids from suburban Tacoma, Wash., has some surprising and fascinating answers for you in this thoughtful book with a perfect title -- Other People's Property.
   
   Tanz takes us on an illuminating journey from rap's emergence among graffiti artists and break dancers on the streets of the Bronx, through his own experience as a sometimes guilt-ridden rap music lover cocooned in safe, white suburia, to today's wildy diverse and commercially bankable hip-hop scene.
   
   Tanz personal story will, in turns, make you cringe, laugh and cheer. But his look at rap's varied charecters is what will keep you turning the pages.
   
   There's Grandmaster Flash's Rahiem, an icon of rap's roots on New York City's rough streets, now a "Legends of Hip-Hop" tour guide busing white fans through the Bronx for $75 a pop. There's Papa Rich, an authentic NYC street performer who teaches break dancing to the wealthy suburban children of Connecticut's soccer moms. There's Tha Pumpsta, an earnest white rap lover who misses entirely the irony when he DJ's "kill whitie" parties in the Virginia suburbs. And there's MC Frontalot, a comical hip hop anti-hero who excites nerdy white fans with his brand of "Geeksta" rap.
   
   Tanz travels to Green Bay to explore a rap radio experiment in one of America's whitest cities and to a garage studio in suburban L.A. where a group of goofy white losers play act the part of black gangsters.
   
   More than anything, this is a smart book. The anecdotes carry the story, but Tanz peppers in sharp analysis and displays a deep understanding of the delicate balances -- and sometimes blatant contradictions -- of race, culture, commerce and sincerity (or a lack of it) in hip-hop.
   
   And if you ever wondered how we got here, to an America where hip-hop music and style dominate the mainstream, Tanz's book takes you through it all with both unblinking criticism and fond affection.
   
   In a brilliant chapter on the marketing of hip-hop, Tanz concludes rap has has the potential, perhaps untapped, to be a cultural bridge between white and black America:
   
   "Inner city black kids, seeking a modicum of respect and financial security, create a point of entry into the commerical world that has ignored them for so long. We white kids, drawn to the implicit escape that their music and lifestyles represented, bought it. Hip-hop is where we meet, we on our way out of the system, they on their way in. Is hip-hop a door that swings open between our two cultures, letting us mix freely with each other, or is it a revolving door, endlessly spinning, allowing us to pass in opposite directions without ever actually touching?"

5 comments about Queens Reigns Supreme: Fat Cat, 50 Cent, and the Rise of the Hip Hop Hustler.

1. If your from Queens, or you have listened to 90's rap, then this is a good book for you. It explains the litany of characters(criminals) mentioned in so much gangster rap. It is also gives excellent accounts of the "crack" years of NYC in Queens. There were so many locations in Queens, that I was stunned to find out the history of. Well worth the cheap purchase price!



2. I read this book in its entirety today. It bought back a lot of memories and pain. As a 38YO husband, father of 3 beautiful children, with a wonderful wife and 18 year IT career, I grew up during the 80's crack epidemic. I sold drugs. I was a crack addict. I watched childhood friends involved in the drug game die. I saw beautiful women become crack addicts. Even then, as a teenager, I wondered why something so small could cause so much destruction. This book reveals a lot. How drugs almost destroyed Urban America, in particular NYC. This book should serve as a history lesson to young people who view rappers as gangsters. "Real gangsters move in silence". This book should also serve as a reminder to people who survived the devastating decade that was the 80's. "Never forget where you come from".
   
   It's easy for privileged people to dismiss the urban population; however when you have people that are disenfranchised, suffer abject poverty, and lack educational, creative, and/or financial opportunities; the majority will do whatever necessary to create opportunities for themselves, even if it means hurting their own. It's unfortunate that the crack epidemic was largely ignored until children of White America started dying.
   
   Although the author highlights the exploits of particular South Queens drug gangs, I think the overall context of the book should be reviewed in a larger perspective: From the Civil Rights inequality, to government disenfranchisement, as a result of Vietnam, subsequent escapism via drug abuse, to opportunities via drug sales, to capitalism/exploitation via urban music.
   
   This book should serve as a guide for kids that want to get involved in hip-hop/rap music (STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF. STOP BEING SOMEONE ELSE).
   
   It should serve as a wakeup call to those (Music companies/Law Enforcement/Religious organizations) that want to exploit kids in the music game (STOP EXPLOITING OUR CHILDREN).
   
   It should serve as a warning sign to all Black youth that murder each other for nonsense (STOP KILLING EACH OTHER. THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT US TO DO).
   
   As long as there's a mongoose, there'll be a snake. As long as there's an audience, there'll be a minstrel. It's sad how life chooses you....



3. Excellent Book, I read the entire book in less than 5 days, and I don't read many books. I lived in the south Jamaica Queens in the 80's, so I can relate to the story of the hustlers and gangsters that were roaming around during that time. The book gives you a peep at a underworld few people actually lived to tell. It blends the drug hustlers of that era with what is going on in Hip Hop these days. The book brillantly captures the rise and fall of the drug lords running Queens in the 80's. This book is hard to put down. Hopefully a lesson will be learned for whom ever reads this book.



4. Great book and great body of work documenting the origins of much of what commercial hip hop currently reflects. A must have for any rap music aficionado. Although rap was created in the Bronx the successful blueprint for the business of rap was drafted in Queens. While Bronx artists like Afrika Bambaata and The Furious Five were inspired by Funk and Soul acts of the time such as Parliment Funkadelic the rappers in Queens were heavily influenced by some of NY's most notorious hustlers and gangsters. Men like Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichols and Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff who also hail from Queens. Essentially, the legendary criminal figures of Queens influenced an entire generation worldwide through the pop icons who emulated them and also called Queens home. From Fat Cat to 50 Cent... Queens Reigns Supreme!
   
   [...]



5. The book Queens Reigns Supreme: Fat Cat, 50 Cent, and the Rise of the Hip Hop Hustler really depicts the inner circle of the 80's drug culture in South Side Queens. Growing up in Bedstuy,Brooklyn and hanging out in Jamaica, Queens gave me a whole new prospective of the "suburbs". I thought growing up in the projects in Bedstuy was bad enough and it was a condition you could not help. From murders, robberies to stick up kids, you name it, we had it. So when I went to high school in Queens I never thought that kids that grew up in houses, parents with the high paying city jobs could be be so dubious, cut throat and down right murderous all in the name of the almighty dollar from drugs sales. This book slices the cake straight down the middle and lets you taste the filling inside!

3 comments about How to Draw Hip Hop (How to Draw (Watson Guptill)).

1. I got this mainly for the Daimon Scott artwork,and its loaded with it. Some of the subject matter left me me a little distant. But over all a interesting read.



2. The instructions were easy to follow, and the illustrations are awesome. I'm having alot of fun with this book. The dialogue between the two characters keeps readers entertained.



3. this book was a very good find on my part not that i didnt know how to draw urban characters but it's always good to see how someone else does it,this book is a great tool to actually growing in a style of comics thats transcending just hip hop but comics all together,check out work by humberto ramos,skottie young,chris buchelo and many others use very similar styles so it's not just about hip hop...more about urban culture slipping it's way into the mainstream

5 comments about Behind the Beat: Hip Hop Home Studios.

1. If your like me and love vinyl, read liner notes front to back, spend hours in dusty un-nameable places looking for that perfect record (preferably in the dollar bin) and produce your own music then this book is a worthy addition to your stuido. Even if you don't have a studio it's still worth pickin up if you are a fan of "underground" hip hop. Raph takes you to many of the most prestigous producers "bedroom" studio's (not all of them are bedrooms) showing you their working enviroment and their gear. I can sit and flip through this book for hours on end disecting each picture finding the key elements to the studio's (and trying to pick up some new titles to go diggin for). If you are at all interested in how the sonic landscapes were crafted for some of the greatest albums in the last 10-20 years pick this up! Not to mention the fact that the DJ Ransom's Mix CD is worth the price alone as it includes rare and classic tracks!



2. I saw this book at Urban Outfitters but it was like $30. I loved the images and since I'm a bedroom producer, I loved the content. I hopped onto Amazon later and found it for almost half that price! The only downside is that it doesn't go in-depth enough about each producer's studios. I would've liked to learn more about their gear and environment.



3. knocking off one star on this book for the way they packaged the CD
   it's in a little paper sleeve attached the back inside cover of the book
   
   Now, I like my things to stay as fresh and clean as possible and this book was a highly anticipated gift to myself. That's where my troubles started...
   I found it a bit difficult to get the CD out without practically ripping the paper sleeve open. Ever see a record sleeve that hasn't been cut to the right size, seams all busted out and split open. Not nice. Finally found that you gotta wiggle the disk back and forth (wikki-wikki-wikki-scratch-scratch with that fragile digital disc) to get the thing out.
   Just when you think you've got it, the little white gummy strips of industrial strength rubber tape that are supposed to keep the flap closed smear their sticky gummed up gummy gum crap all over the disk. Yum.
   Ruined the CD. Won't play at all now. Would like another one please thank you.
   
   Warning - remove and destroy tape as soon as you buy this book before it destroys you.
   
   I've got a number of books that have CDs packaged in them and this is the first one I've ever come across that was designed this poorly. You don't put the gas can next to the fireplace - don't put sticky snot like tape on a CD flap.



4. this book is awesome, would recommend this book to anyone who is into music, a dj. real nice book



5. I bought this for my boyfriend as a gift a couple years ago (he is a hip hop head) and it is seriously his favorite book. He loves going through the different studios and it seriously inspires him. A lot of the producers in there are not mainstream and he loves that.

No comments about Rap Music and Hip Hop Culture: A Critical Reader.

3 comments about Straight from the Source: An Expose from the Former Editor in Chief of the Hip-Hop Bible.

1. This is a great read for anyone who loves hip hop, thrives off drama and wants to know what really goes on behind the scenes in the music industry. But more importantly, it is an Erin Brokovich type story of a woman who fought against the injustices of a corrupt organization and won.



2. I think the book is good for anyone to read but it's mostly geared to women and not just any woman- a woman on the come up of her career. Men will see the background bashment it takes to run a magazine and the minuet beefs that can get started in the entertainment industry in a New York minute if you're not paying close attention. Women, on the other hand, will get lots more from it if they really sit down and read it. They will understand what it's like to be a woman in a male dominating industry and how lots of times if something went wrong, it would be automatically be blamed on your emotions. It will also show you how petty the entertainment industry is and why you shouldn't deal with these cornballs in the industry because one moment you're enjoying nice love sessions in your favorite telly, the next you know your dessert of choice is blowing you up on the radio. Sad but true, there is a double standards when it comes down to men, women, and sexuality.
   
   Ms. Osorio works hard to show you her personal journey during the maniacal days at the Source and under the rule of Dave Mays (wanna-be-black behind) and Benzino. I think it's a good read if you're interested in getting in the industry or was a avid reader of the Source during her tenure, 2000-2005. I give this book 8 out of 10 stars respectively because everyone knows that Kim Osorio is a legend in modern-day Hip Hop in her own right.



3. It's was an excellent book....It just amazes me how Kim had to fight so hard to stay on top and how a dedicated mother fought for a great life for her daughter. As an ex- single mom I have put up with some crazy things at my job so I could put food on my table...I give Kim a lot of credit and look up to her....I would recommend this book to Oprah....

5 comments about The Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique (33 1/3).

1. I am not much of a Beasties fan. Like some of their music but their voices can drive me nuts at times, truth be told. I don't even own Paul's Boutique. I only bought this book on a lark as I knew the recording techniques forged within this record was a turning point of sorts in music. When I received the text in the post, I picked it up then could not put it down until I finished the entire thing. After that I went directly back to page one and started again from the top.
   
   The book begins in the late 80s and goes until '92 or so. Everyone the author discusses gets treated fairly, whether they deserve it or not. Delicious Vinyl is seen as a sort of west coast magnet for all things creative, though in truth they were a controversial label to say the least. Def Jam is somehow given a pass for not paying The Beasties over a million dollars in royalties after the author finds relevant quotes to show that Russell Simmons was just looking out for the group by stiffing them. The crazy thing is that everything seems so vivid, understandable and believable. It makes you long for those halcyon days when Joe Smith was CEO of Capitol Records but seemed more concerned with Magic Johnson's rebound average than any of his own recording acts. Of course, none of this makes any logical sense at all, but within the context of the book it is proven that some good things actually came out of this upside-down era in music.
   
   Rather than blow the book by revealing some of the sorrid details within it, I will simply say that whether you dig the Beasties or not, Pauls Boutique is worth a read. It is a fascinating story. Perhaps even the great Bob Mack himself could not have told this story any better.



2. ... and then I came here and read the unanimous 5-star reviews and agree with all of them.
   
   There's not much I can add that wouldn't be redundant.
   
   Except to say that "Paul's Boutique" -- one of my favorite albums -- has always kind of been shrouded in mystery. The album may be dense with information, but there's not a lot of background that I could find.
   
   This book changes all that. It is as filled with names and details as the album is full of samples.
   
   From Leroy's very well-reported account, we learn the backstory of the Dust Brothers and the mysterious Matt Dike (long rumored to be the main mastermind behind "Boutique") plus, a sampling of the late 80s L.A. scene from which this album emerged; we meet a host of side players like Mario C and Money Mark, and also the ill-fated exec Tim Carr (whose heart and mind, I'm convinced, where in the right place all along); there's the promotional wrangling that went on at Capitol before the release and after the record flopped; and also what was going on with the three main charcaters -- MCA, Ad Rock and Mike D -- who wanted to derail the locomotive of "License to Ill" and almost got crushed under the cattleguard.
   
   The book tells the story of the album, and at first I thought it kind of scrimped on the background of the recording of the individual songs, but it closes with a finely detailed track-by-track examination that reveals a lot (but not nearly all) of the samples that helped make up one of the richest, coolest, bangingest records ever made.



3. LeRoy knocks it out of the park. This book is what all the other books in the series should be. It's packed full of interesting information about before, during and after the making of the album. It's a fun read. Quick and easy. No filler.



4. poured through it in a couple of days, fantastic read during probably the most 'heady' times of the Boys. enjoy!



5. This book is the best source of information anywhere regarding Paul's Boutique.
   
   Highly recommended!

5 comments about Yes Yes Y'All: The Experience Music Project Oral History of Hip-Hop's First Decade.

1. This beautiful book attempts to trace the formation of hip-hop culture through interviews with those who were around for the first ten years. Fricke (a curator at the Experience Music Project museum) and Ahearn (photographer and director of the seminal hop-hop film Wild Style), attempt to document the New York City scene from about 1974-84 (right up to the formation of DefJam and Run-DMC) through photos, original party flyers, and the words of the DJs, MCs, b-boys (breakdancers), graffiti artists, and promoters who were there.

   The early portion shows how DJ sound-system battles emerged in the early to mid '70s against the backdrop of a decaying Bronx, attracting youths to more or less impromptu parties in parks, streets, and playgrounds. Competition was fierce as to who had the loudest sound system and the best records, and tough security (gang members) was a necessity. One thing that gets disappointingly glossed over is how this copied what happened in Kingston, Jamaica ten years earlier. It was exactly the same: competing street sound systems, with competing DJs who would take the labels off records so spies couldn't find out what they were playing, gangs, violence-all the same. DJ Kool Herc, who lived in Jamaica until 1967, makes a fleeting reference to it, but that's all.

   For the first few years, the DJs were the "stars" of the scene, offering an alternative to disco music. But as DJs started to learn how to manipulate their turntables to extend the "beats" from a song, eventually MCing started to become more vibrant. What had initially only been calls to the crowd to keep the party's energy up evolved into more and more sophisticated catchphrases, freestyle rhymes, and soon MCs were writing and memorizing lines. Again, it's a bit puzzling that no mention is made of Jamaican"toasting" which emerged in the mid to late '60s. This was the practice of DJs who would talk and rhyme over the records they played, and soon progressed to a point where they would have instrumental versions of popular songs laid down for them to rhyme over-often in a boasting style, talking about how they were the "#1", "champion", and so on. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

   The other two legs of hip-hop culture are given somewhat less space. The material on breakdancing (aka "b-boying" to the true old-schoolers) seems to indicate that the "b-boy " crews filled a kind of competitive void left by the waning of street gang culture. And while there was some of this dancing at the parties, music was the focus, rather than the dancing-which didn't get big until the early '80s. Graffiti, on the other hand, was clearly a prominent feature of the NYC landscape from the early '70s on. But, what's most interesting here is that while the graffiti artists often went to parties and knew some of the music people, the idea that graffiti was part of a larger hip-cop culture didn't emerge until late in the game. It wasn't until the downtown Manhattan art scene started getting interested that the music, breakin', and graffiti were packaged-by the white art scene-a unified "street" culture.

   The book is lavishly put together, with tons to look at-however, the oral history structure isn't the greatest. From a historical perspective, it's great to hear all these unknown voices from the past telling about their roles, but at times it does get tedious. Especially when it comes to details on how so and so met so and so and that led the the formation of this or that. Even more so late in the book, when record companies get in the mix, and then all kinds of resentments come pouring out. There could have been a little more editing, as well as a little more context to fill in some of the gaps. For example, there are a lot of references to gangs being involved in the early scene, and shootings, and violence, but there's never any unified discussion of it. The same for the role of drugs in the scene, at one point someone (I think Spoonie Gee) talks about how everyone was totally coked up all the time, and that's something that could have been explored a little more. In any event, it's still a great book for anyone with an interest in the days of hip-hop, giving proper space and voice to all the unknowns who deserve to be known.




2. I got the coolest book this passed Christmas, entitled ýYes! Yes! Yall! The Experience Music Project Oral History of Hip-Hopýs First Decade ý by Jim Fricke. This book focuses on Hip-Hop, and Black culture in America through oral history. Black urban culture gave birth to hip-hop and is the source of influence for todayýs American culture. ýYes! Yes! Yall!ý is a true period piece focusing on the growth of a new artistic movement. The book is very clear and is written as if youýre really listening to someone talk about Hip-Hopýs old school beginnings. This was a relaxing book to read, and very simplistic in form. As I was reading I felt as if I was sitting in a recreation center or classroom listening to the forefathers, and mothers of this great Black music culture.
   The book starts by panting a picture of New Yorkýs inner city in the early 1970ýs to the mid 80ýs. Each chapter focuses on all four elements of Hip-Hop, such as: d.j-ing, brake dancing, emceeing/rhyming or raping, and graffiti art. Looking at some of the old photos of B-boys and girls break dancing, the airbrushed clothing, party flyers, and old record jackets was very nostalgic.
   The book highlights the fact that the whole subculture came out of unequal systematic conditions in the late 1970ýs into the 80ýs. This is a real honest approach to the history of the newest, and highly co-modified cultures. Itýs filled with first hand accounts, stories of back stage antics, tours, emcee battles, dance battles, club fights, and groupies.
   In chapter two titled, ýThe Forefathersý, many people interviewed gave his or her respects to the godfather of Hip-Hop (d.j Kool Herc). They would talk about how d.j Kool Herc would play all the best brake beats at that time. D.j Kool Herc was Jamaica borne and his homeland would be the source that inspired his d.jing style.
   Kool Herc was the one who coined the term B-boy/B-girl, because boys and girls that would dance to brakes of different songs. The brake was the favorite part of the song, it was known as the get down part of the record. The other reason for calling the party people B-boys and girls was because they were all from Brooklyn also known as the ýBoogie Down Bronxý.
   Kool Hrec changed and revolutionized the whole music form, once he started toasting, what we call rapping or rhyming today. Toasting started in the Jamaican dance halls, or yard parties. The Selecta or D.j would chant out two or three bare rhymes to get the crowd hyped. Herc added the style toasting from his homeland, and the New York street style of d.jing, to cerate his own style. Thus giving birth to a new sound and genre of music.
   ýYes! Yes! Yall!ý lastly focuses on the gangs, graffiti, emceeing, and brake dancing and how they intertwine within hip-hop and black culture. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in finding more information on the history of Hip-Hop and how it stems from Black culture.



3. Anyone into Hip Hop must own this book. It's a seminal work. Like Toop's The Rap Attack or Nelson George's Hip Hop America...it must be owned. The most detailed Old School study ever and great visuals.



4. I am the original King LaBrue out of the camp of Kool Herc and the Herculoids. Before there was Sugar Hill and 50 Cent, there was King LaBrue--to this day still represents true hip-hop. I plan to write my own account of the true pioneers that should be respected for dedication and commitment for all these years.



5. As many other people, I consider myself a fan of true hip-hop but as they say, you must know where it came from before you can see where it is headed. This book perfectly recollected the beginning of hip-hop, breakdancing and DJ'ing that many of us have grown to know and love. It also has tons of pictures that also capture the essence of Hip Hop in its infancy! Definitely a collector's item!