The History of Hip Hop: Volume 5

By 2011, hip hop didn't need radio, labels, or permission. Volume 5 covers the streaming decade: Kendrick Lamar turned the album into literature — and took home a Pulitzer. SoundCloud kids recorded in bedrooms and charted by Friday. Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion, and Rapsody ran the mic. Migos made trap the default setting. And from the Obama years into the Trump era, the music carried the protest with it — anthem and headline at the same time.

INSIDE THIS VOLUME:

• The poet laureate: Kendrick Lamar's run — classic albums, a Pulitzer Prize, and the voice of a generation

• The streaming revolution: SoundCloud, Spotify, and the algorithm replace radio as kingmaker

• Queens of the era: Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion, and Rapsody seize the spotlight

• The soundtrack of protest: hip hop and the movement — from anthems to the front lines

Bedroom studios. Billion-stream anthems. One decade, total saturation.

Featured in The Source's National Reading Month roundup of top hip-hop history books.

THE COMPLETE SERIES:

Vol. 1 — Origins

Vol. 2 — The 80s Golden Era

Vol. 3 — Rhythms of Resistance: 90s Hip-Hop

Vol. 4 — Beats of the New Millennium

Vol. 5 — 2011–2020: you're here

Vol. 6 — Trap

Vol. 7 — Worldwide

Vol. 8 — The Quiz Book: prove you know all 50 years

Topics: hip hop, rap, music history, African American culture, urban culture, music biography, music education, cultural studies, hip hop culture, rap artists, music industry, Black history, music evolution, urban music, musical genres, hip hop origins, rap legends, music analysis, cultural movements, music reference, music appreciation, contemporary music history, musical influence, social commentary, music and society, entertainment history, performing arts

Readers of: Jeff Chang, Dan Charnas, Nelson George, Tricia Rose, Jay-Z, Questlove, Shea Serrano, Bakari Kitwana, S. Craig Watkins, Mark Anthony Neal, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Hanif Abdurraqib, Touré, Danyel Smith, Erica K. Blount, Michael Eric Dyson, Nikki D. Giovanni, Joan Morgan, Adam Bradley, Rakim, Chuck D, KRS-One, Kendrick Lamar, Ice-T, Russell Simmons, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Danyel Smith, Kathy Iandoli, Marcus Reeves, Brian Coleman, Vikki Tobak