One of Black Sheep/Akashic Books newest releases is WHAT IS HIP-HOP? by Eric Morse. Art is by Anny Yi and the book is ‘produced’ by Nelson George.
I acquired this ‘Advance Reading Copy’ from Akashic Books in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.
The book jacket tells me it is a “playful, guided tour of one of the most revolutionary pop culture movements of the twentieth century: hip-hop.” The book is a follow-up to the title, WHAT IS PUNK?
This is a hard-cover, children’s picture book with gorgeous clay figure illustrations. Anny Yi is “an artist who makes clay-art dioramas and non-stop motion films inspired by fashion and music.” She is extremely talented. The clay figures are very life-like; very realistic. How does she ‘dress’ them? and make them break-dance?
The book is in verse: “In the beginning, there was a beat. Two records spinning, and the crowd got on its feet.” The ‘story line’ is very fast-paced, with Dr. Seuss-like rhyming and lots of information. It is a simplistic biography of such hip-hop artists as LL Cool J, Salt-N-Pepa and Jay Z.
The book was gorgeously put together. The illustrations really fit with the verse.
The verse was fast, snappy and easy to read. It had quite a beat of its own.
I really liked the book because I learned something from it. Me, who knows absolutely nothing about hip-hop, can now rattle off names like RUN-DMC and Missy Elliott.
“But hip-hop remains, deep down at its heart, a unique expression, an urban form of art.” ( )