The Vibe History of Hip Hop

About this book

Music fashion dance graffiti movies videos and business: its all in this brilliant tale of a cultural revolution that spans race and gender language and nationality. The definitive history of an underdocumented music genre The VIBE History of Hip Hop tells the full story of this grassroots cultural movement from its origins on the streets of the Bronx to its explosion as an international phenomenon. Illustrated with almost 200 photos and accompanied by comprehensive discographies this book is a vivid review of the hip hop world through the eyes and ears of more than 50 of the finest music writers and cultural critics at work today including Danyel Smith Greg Tate Anthony deCurtis dream hampton Neil Strauss and Bnz Malone. "A history? No. A story really. A tale from the dark side. In this book hip hop is all. Its always there. Like hip hop this book is about the intense kind of aspiration that comes from having little. About holding and rhyming into a microphone. Mixing and scratching. Guns pain blood. Desire desperation truth true love. Art and mystery and metaphor. The singularity of voice. The magnificence of ingenious sampling. The glory of a beat. This book is that story." -- From the Preface by Danyel Smith editor-in-chief of VIBE the voice of the hip hop generation presents the essence of hip hop.