From Sugarhill Gang to NWA to Biggie to Kanye, The Rap Year Book takes readers on a journey that begins in 1979, widely regarded as the moment rap became recognized as part of the cultural and musical landscape, and works its way right up to the present.New York Times Bestseller!Washington Post Bestseller!Pitchfork Book Club selection!Foreword by Ice-T Award-winning writer Shea Serrano deftly pays homage to the most important rap song of each year. He also examines the most important moments that surround the history and culture of rap music—from artists’ backgrounds to issues of race, the rise of hip-hop, and the struggles among its major players—both personal and professional. Covering East Coast and West Coast, famous rapper feuds, chart toppers, and showstoppers. It’s like the gold tank from Master P’s “Make ’Em Say Uhh!” video, except it’s a book. It’s like Kanye’s verse on “Put On,” except it’s a book. It’s like the face Biggie made when on the boat with Puff in “Hypnotize,” except it’s a book. Songs include:
1979: Rapper’s Delight
1982: The Message
1988: Straight Outta Compton
2004: Still Trippin’
2007: International Players Anthem
2010: Monster
One for every year!
Featuring illustrations by Arturo Torres, The Rap Year Book is an in-depth look at the most influential genre of music in our generation. Complete with infographics, lyric maps, hilarious and informative footnotes, portraits of the artists, and short essays by other prominent music writers, The Rap Year Book is both a narrative and illustrated guide to the most iconic and influential rap songs ever created.
Shea Serrano is an award-winning writer, author, and illustrator. His recent book, The Rap Year Book, reached the bestseller lists of the New York Times and Washington Post, topped the iBooks arts and entertainment bestseller list, and was named one of Billboard’s Best 100 Music Books of All Time. Serrano is a staff writer for The Ringer. He lives in Houston, Texas.
There’s a new obsession sweeping this country. It wears breeches. It drops rhymes. It’s Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop homage to our first secretary of the treasury. You may not have been able to secure tickets to the full Broadway production, but a fair number of fan-iltons have been forged by near-constant looping of the cast […]
