The History of Hip Hop

Before the Bronx, there was the blueprint.

Everybody knows August 11, 1973 — the back-to-school party that started it all. But the ingredients? Those go back a century. The jazz horns. The street poets. The Jamaican sound systems shaking the block. Volume 1 traces hip hop's DNA all the way to the 1920s and shows you exactly how the culture got built — piece by piece, park by park, break by break.

What's inside:

How jazz, blues, spoken word, and sound system culture laid the foundation

Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash — the architects of the movement

The four pillars — MCing, DJing, breaking, graffiti — and the real story of how each was born

The jump from Bronx park jams to a worldwide takeover in under a decade

No dry textbook. No footnotes for footnotes' sake. Just the story — the full, uncut origin of the most influential culture on earth.

Featured in The Source's "Top Books about Hip-Hop History and Culture" for National Reading Month.

THE COMPLETE SERIES:

Vol. 1 — Origins: you're here

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

Vol. 6 — Trap

Vol. 7 — Worldwide

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

Start at the beginning. The culture starts here.

Topics: Hip Hop History, History of Hip Hop, Rap History, History of Rap, History of Rap Music, Rap Music History, Hip Hop Culture, Hip Hop Origins, Origins of Hip Hop, Origins of Rap, African American Music, Black Music History, African American Culture, Bronx Hip Hop, New York Hip Hop, 1970s Hip Hop, Old School Hip Hop, Underground Hip Hop, Gangsta Rap, Crunk, Hip Hop Artists, Rap Artists, Rap Legends, Hip Hop Pioneers, Hip Hop Genres, Rap Genres, Breakdancing, Graffiti, DJing, MCing, Urban Music, Urban Culture, Music History, Popular Music History, Black Culture, Music and Society, Cultural History, Music Culture, Music Evolution, Cultural Studies, Entertainment History, Hip Hop Influence, Hip Hop Movement, Rap Culture, Evolution of Hip Hop