Review of Hip Hop A2Z
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Kutloano Makhuvhela
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- Latest Review: Hip Hop A2Z by Robert Waugh
Review of Hip Hop A2Z
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Hip Hop A2Z" by Robert Waugh.]
It is almost impossible to come across a person who does not know what Hip-Hop is. I do not care what corner of the world you are from; you have heard of Hip-Hop. But do we really know what Hip-Hop truly is? I think most people would say Hip-Hop is music, rap music to be specific. They would say it is the opposite of pop culture. However, that is not quite true. Hip-Hop is more than that. Hip-Hop is a culture that is distinct and very different. It encompasses many elements, and it is open to all people. That is what this book, Hip Hop A2Z, by Robert Waugh, tries to teach us.
In the foreword, the author says, ‘Hip-Hop is more than rap music. It is intended to present facts to support Hip-Hop as a movement of peace and unity through creative expression. This publication is intended to document Hip-Hop’s rise from a local, condemned fad to arguably the most influential culture in the United States and throughout the entire world.’ After that, the book begins, starting with A, for African and Pan-African. Here, the author tells us about the African and Pan-African cultures that contributed to Hip-Hop and its rise. Their spoken-word tradition, their use of drums to create rhythms, their energetic dances, colourful paintings, and shared history of marginalisation, colonisation, and slavery all played a part in creating Hip-Hop, and the author gives ode to them. Another A is for Afrika Bambaataa, an artist who contributed heavily to Hip-Hop by turning his life around from being involved in gangs to uplifting his community. B is for break-dancing (B-boying and B-girling). Here, the author talks about this dance that has taken the world by storm. He briefly talks about its history in New York and where it is now. He says it is one of the nine elements of Hip-Hop.
Read this book to find out what the other letters in the alphabet stand for and what other elements of Hip-Hop are. As you can already see by this format, the book was a quick read because it was short. Of course, a culture that is as broad as this can’t be fully discussed in 26 letters of the alphabet. So there were instances where some alphabet shared two examples. The author also agrees that the people or the institutions he mentioned here are a few of many. So he had to choose those he thought played a vital role in advancing Hip-Hop in some way. As a person who loves Hip-Hop, I learnt a lot. I thought I fully knew Hip-Hop until I read this book. There were many artists I did not know, like Afrika Bambaataa and Lady Pink.
The author presented the book in a way that was easy to read and understand. When I saw artists whose work I was already familiar with, like Jay-Z, Ice Cube, and Queen Latifah, just to name a few, I smiled. I liked that the writing was easy to read. So you do not have to be an expert in music to understand it. I also liked that the book had pictures and hand-drawn illustrations to complement the writing. Those worked as a breather because I had to pause reading and look at them. The colours were bright, vibrant, and popping. They caught my eye and made me see that indeed, African heritage played a part in Hip-Hop.
I loved that the book did not come across as preachy about the subject. This could be read as a guideline, either to a Hip-Hop fanatic or someone who is interested in it and is not sure where to start. I think the reader will be compelled to research their favourite person or institution mentioned here if they are interested in learning more about them. My favourite part the most was differentiating rap and Hip-Hop. The former is just the style of music that was born from spoken words, while the latter is the culture that encompasses it and many other things like break-dancing, DJing, etc.
There is nothing I disliked about this book. I felt like it delivered on its promises and went further than that, too. The errors that I saw were minor and didn’t distract from my reading. So I can definitely say it was professionally edited. With all of this said, I rate it a full five out of five stars.
I recommend it to people who love Hip-Hop and are interested in it. Even for those who are just curious about it and want to learn briefly about it, this book is for them. People of all ages should read it. I think if you’re into art, you would love it the most because I think Hip-Hop is about art lovers more than anything.
******
Hip Hop A2Z
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
It is almost impossible to come across a person who does not know what Hip-Hop is. I do not care what corner of the world you are from; you have heard of Hip-Hop. But do we really know what Hip-Hop truly is? I think most people would say Hip-Hop is music, rap music to be specific. They would say it is the opposite of pop culture. However, that is not quite true. Hip-Hop is more than that. Hip-Hop is a culture that is distinct and very different. It encompasses many elements, and it is open to all people. That is what this book, Hip Hop A2Z, by Robert Waugh, tries to teach us.
In the foreword, the author says, ‘Hip-Hop is more than rap music. It is intended to present facts to support Hip-Hop as a movement of peace and unity through creative expression. This publication is intended to document Hip-Hop’s rise from a local, condemned fad to arguably the most influential culture in the United States and throughout the entire world.’ After that, the book begins, starting with A, for African and Pan-African. Here, the author tells us about the African and Pan-African cultures that contributed to Hip-Hop and its rise. Their spoken-word tradition, their use of drums to create rhythms, their energetic dances, colourful paintings, and shared history of marginalisation, colonisation, and slavery all played a part in creating Hip-Hop, and the author gives ode to them. Another A is for Afrika Bambaataa, an artist who contributed heavily to Hip-Hop by turning his life around from being involved in gangs to uplifting his community. B is for break-dancing (B-boying and B-girling). Here, the author talks about this dance that has taken the world by storm. He briefly talks about its history in New York and where it is now. He says it is one of the nine elements of Hip-Hop.
Read this book to find out what the other letters in the alphabet stand for and what other elements of Hip-Hop are. As you can already see by this format, the book was a quick read because it was short. Of course, a culture that is as broad as this can’t be fully discussed in 26 letters of the alphabet. So there were instances where some alphabet shared two examples. The author also agrees that the people or the institutions he mentioned here are a few of many. So he had to choose those he thought played a vital role in advancing Hip-Hop in some way. As a person who loves Hip-Hop, I learnt a lot. I thought I fully knew Hip-Hop until I read this book. There were many artists I did not know, like Afrika Bambaataa and Lady Pink.
The author presented the book in a way that was easy to read and understand. When I saw artists whose work I was already familiar with, like Jay-Z, Ice Cube, and Queen Latifah, just to name a few, I smiled. I liked that the writing was easy to read. So you do not have to be an expert in music to understand it. I also liked that the book had pictures and hand-drawn illustrations to complement the writing. Those worked as a breather because I had to pause reading and look at them. The colours were bright, vibrant, and popping. They caught my eye and made me see that indeed, African heritage played a part in Hip-Hop.
I loved that the book did not come across as preachy about the subject. This could be read as a guideline, either to a Hip-Hop fanatic or someone who is interested in it and is not sure where to start. I think the reader will be compelled to research their favourite person or institution mentioned here if they are interested in learning more about them. My favourite part the most was differentiating rap and Hip-Hop. The former is just the style of music that was born from spoken words, while the latter is the culture that encompasses it and many other things like break-dancing, DJing, etc.
There is nothing I disliked about this book. I felt like it delivered on its promises and went further than that, too. The errors that I saw were minor and didn’t distract from my reading. So I can definitely say it was professionally edited. With all of this said, I rate it a full five out of five stars.
I recommend it to people who love Hip-Hop and are interested in it. Even for those who are just curious about it and want to learn briefly about it, this book is for them. People of all ages should read it. I think if you’re into art, you would love it the most because I think Hip-Hop is about art lovers more than anything.
******
Hip Hop A2Z
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
‘When you do a good deed, people are grateful, and that creates a nice feeling inside you; and then because it feels good, that makes you want to do more good deeds. That repetition is the cycle of goodness.’
~Hogoromo.
~Hogoromo.
Latest Review: Hip Hop A2Z by Robert Waugh
