What Is Hip-Hop?

Let's teach them about the greatest wordsmiths in the world. The culture will be moving on for generations to come.

I bought this and 'What is Punk?' for a friend's babyshower. It makes for a wonder gift for present and future music nerds alike.

The most adorable book! I've purchased multiple times and gifted to all the children of the "hip hop heads" in my life, for them to read and enjoy as a family. Wish they had more genres in the series!

I liked the imaginative graphics and how the figures captioned the very essence of the rappers.

Delivered quickly and as described

One of Black Sheep/Akashic Books newest releases is WHAT IS HIP-HOP? by Eric Morse. Art is by Anny Yi and the book is ‘produced’ by Nelson George. I acquired this ‘Advance Reading Copy’ from Akashic Books in exchange for an unbiased, honest review. The book jacket tells me it is a “playful, guided tour of one of the most revolutionary pop culture movements of the twentieth century: hip-hop.” The book is a follow-up to the title, WHAT IS PUNK? This is a hard-cover, children’s picture book with gorgeous clay figure illustrations. Anny Yi is “an artist who makes clay-art dioramas and non-stop motion films inspired by fashion and music.” She is extremely talented. The clay figures are very life-like; very realistic. How does she ‘dress’ them? and make them break-dance? The book is in verse: “In the beginning, there was a beat. Two records spinning, and the crowd got on its feet.” The ‘story line’ is very fast-paced, with Dr. Seuss-like rhyming and lots of information. It is a simplistic biography of such hip-hop artists as LL Cool J, Salt-N-Pepa and Jay Z. The book was gorgeously put together. The illustrations really fit with the verse. The verse was fast, snappy and easy to read. It had quite a beat of its own. I really liked the book because I learned something from it. Me, who knows absolutely nothing about hip-hop, can now rattle off names like RUN-DMC and Missy Elliott. “But hip-hop remains, deep down at its heart, a unique expression, an urban form of art.”

Using clay style illustrations, this children's book follows the history of hip hop. The top artists are represented including Grandmaster Flash, Run-DMC, The Beastie Boys, Tupac, Eminem, and more recent artists like Drake and Nicki Minaj. To be honest I was surprised at how thorough the book was and couldn't come up with any artist off the top of my head that wasn't included. The book follows a rhyming format when talking about each artist which at times can be a little awkward sounding, but overall is pretty fun to read. Kudos to the author for managing to make the NWA portion of the book kid-friendly! This is a book that is fun for both adults and kids and I highly recommend to anyone who likes this genre of music. I received a free copy of this book from Akashic Books but was under no obligation to post a review. All views expressed are my honest opinions.

Thank you to #KidLitExchange for a review copy of this book, I’m not sure I ever would have heard about it without them. In What is Hip-Hop, Morse gives a history lesson, in rhyme, about the names that brought this genre to the forefront. It starts with DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash and proceeds through the years to Drake and Kendrick Lamar. One of the best sections also pays homage to the fact that “there’s much more to hip-hop than what you can hear!” Hip-hop really is a culture. It is a style of dancing, dressing, and art. While it started in certain neighborhoods, hip-hop has spread through the entire country. Hip-hop has been a place for artists to express everything from materialistic desires to political messages. This is a great book for kids that are into hip-hop. It lures them in with verse and gives credit to the greats in the business, past and present. Hip-hop doesn’t always get the respect that it deserves, but it is an art form in and of itself. The ability to write and rap the words they come up with is truly amazing and something a lot of us can’t do.