Hip-Hop Is History is “not an encyclopedia,” Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson warns in the opening pages of his fifth book. Instead, the spiritual sequel to his 2021 collection, Music Is History, offers an intimate look at the first 50 years of hip-hop through the celebrated musician and Oscar-winning director’s own memories. By combining music history with his personal recollections, the Philadelphia native traces the growth of the still-burgeoning genre. The book begins in 1979 with 8-year-old Questlove hearing the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” for the first time, a moment that would spark his lifelong love of hip-hop. By the early ’90s, the Roots drummer was listening to Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, trying to understand why West Coast rap had such a grip on the culture. Later, he writes poetically of how the rise of drugged-out rap in the 2010s coincided with the disillusionment of those who had believed in the promise of a “better future led by a Black president.” Hip-Hop Is History is Questlove’s love letter to the music that has had a profound impact on his life.
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