In Hip-Hop is History, Questlove, one of the major and most revolutionary figures of that genre, unpicks one hip-hop song from each of the years since the sound of breakbeat drums first burst out of a house party in the Bronx on 11 August 1973. Clive Campbell, a Jamaican-born teenager threw the party. Questlove wants to talk about the present. In this book he analyses the conditions of each song’s creation, its lyrical and musical content, and its role in pushing the genre forward and shining a light on Black American History. Questlove was there at the beginning. He’s still creating and influencing in the present. He is the perfect companion on this journey through the music, the context and the lasting impact.
