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nickscoby's review
4.0
Entertaining and educational but uneven. Not to mention that the representation of Russell Simmons seems a little mean.
trevoryan's review
5.0
Amazing! This fantastic book combines two of my favorite things - Comics and Rap Music! This first volume goes DEEP into early Hip Hop Culture and the beginnings of Rap Music.
unladylike's review
3.0
This was good and informative, but could have been so much better if the narrative had been written with more flare. It felt so boringly linear and factoid-esque that I felt like I was reading bullet points. The illustrated depictions of the earliest hip-hop founders, flounders, and successes, however, added enough personality to keep me interested. I've always enjoyed hip hop and appreciate being introduced to facets of its history that I was previously unfamiliar with.
ybuss's review
3.0
A bit hard to follow if you are not a hardcore fan, but it gets better towards 2/3 of the book. Can't wait to read the next one.
foofers1622's review
5.0
This was awesome! The first taste of hip hop/rap I ever got was The Fugees and The Beastie Boys. They of course come on later in the scene but this was a great introduction on how it all started. I also had no idea Debbie Harry was in on the scene as well. Totally makes sense when I think of Rapture!
saidtheraina's review
3.0
It's an impressive effort. Slices of the hip hop story, featuring the beginning of a new art form. I definitely learned a lot, but missed context, since it's such a broad effort. I wanted to know more about the lives of these artists, and found myself thinking back to what I know about history a lot. Great illustrations, of course.
osmojam's review
3.0
Le premier tome d'une saga qui retrace la naissance et le développement du mouvement hip hop à partir des années 70. Avec une profusion de références de MC, DJ, producteurs et surtout de sons, dessinés comme dans un manga de super héros, Ed Piskor permet de comprendre comment dès le départ, le hip hop c'est un art collectif et multiforme, à l'affut de la moindre innovation technique ou créative, traversé par des histoires de territoires, de rivalité et d'argent. On savoure les petites anecdotes sur tel black out qui a permis à de nombreux passionnés de voler du matos et de former des crew, ou sur tel MC qui a inventé l'art du storytelling. A lire en déroulant en même temps la discographie qui est donnée à la fin pour se mettre dans l'ambiance.
scubacat's review
3.0
I picked this book up on the recommendation of my local library to fulfill the pop culture category on their 2021 reading challenge. I was looking for something totally out of my comfort zone and I love the quick read aspect of graphic novels. I just finished the Kindred graphic novel and was looking forward to learning about the roots of hip hop. For the positives- good artwork, very comprehensive, interesting material. The negatives- reads more like a laundry list of who's who than a story, introduced way too many characters in too short a time. I think if I had some background knowledge of this industry and history I would have enjoyed it more. Instead it was a warp speed crash course into what felt like more people than pages. At times we jumped so quickly that I had to look at the page numbers to make sure I wasn't missing any. I had trouble keeping people straight and following some of their stories. It didn't help that many people had their real names, their nicknames, their band names, and sometimes solo names or new band names. Overall the book was comprehensive but confusing to a total rap newbie like myself.
bbabyok's review
3.0
Loved the attention to detail that Ed put into making this book, from the treasury edition large format, to the the muted color palette to the yellowed pages of aged comics.
The series itself is a well researched overview of the beginnings of Hip Hop. It's an entertaining factual read with plenty of visual information to keep the reading moving along.
Looking forward to the next one!
The series itself is a well researched overview of the beginnings of Hip Hop. It's an entertaining factual read with plenty of visual information to keep the reading moving along.
Looking forward to the next one!