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Read the Witcher

Ode to Hip-Hop

50 Albums That Define 50 Years of Trailblazing Music

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  • Interior spread from "Ode to Hip-Hop" displaying illustrations and text
  • Interior spread from "Ode to Hip-Hop" displaying illustrations and text
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Contributors

By Kiana Fitzgerald

Illustrated by Russell Abrahams

Formats and Prices

Price

$28.00

Price

$35.00 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. Hardcover $28.00 $35.00 CAD
  2. ebook $14.99 $19.99 CAD

Also available from:

Celebrate the music that has shaped the culture and given us some of the greatest hits of all time with this vibrantly illustrated anthology, featuring 50 of the most lauded, controversial, and iconic hip-hop albums!

From underground roots to mainstream popularity, hip-hop’s influence on music and entertainment around the world has been nothing short of extraordinary. Ode to Hip-Hop chronicles the journey with profiles of fifty albums that have defined, expanded, and ultimately transformed the genre into what it is today. From 2 Live Crew’s groundbreaking As Nasty As They Wanna Be in 1989 to Cardi B’s similarly provocative Invasion of Privacy almost thirty years later, and more, Ode to Hip-Hop covers hip-hop from coast to coast. Organized by decade and with sidebars on fashion, mixtapes, and key players throughout, the result is a comprehensive homage to hip-hop, published just in time for the fiftieth anniversary. Enjoyed in the club, at a party, through speakers or headphones–the albums in this book deserve to be listened to again and again, for the next fifty years and beyond.

Albums featured: Kurtis Blow (self-titled, 1980); The Message (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, 1982); Run-D.M.C (self-titled, 1984), Hot, Cool & Vicious (Salt-N-Pepa, 1986); Paid in Full (Eric B. & Rakim, 1987); Straight Outta Compton (N.W.A, 1988); Lyte as a Rock (MC Lyte, 1988); As Nasty as They Wanna Be (2 Live Crew, 1989); Mama Said Knock You Out (LL Cool J, 1990); People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (A Tribe Called Quest, 1990); The Chronic (Dr. Dre, 1992); Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (Wu-Tang Clan, 1993); Black Reign (Queen Latifah, 1993); Doggystyle (Snoop Dogg, 1993); Illmatic (Nas, 1994); Ready to Die (The Notorious B.I.G., 1994); The Diary (Scarface, 1994); Funkdafied (Da Brat, 1994); Mystic Stylez (Three 6 Mafia, 1995); Hard Core (Lil’ Kim, 1996); Ridin’ Dirty (UGK, 1996); All Eyez On Me (2Pac, 1996); Supa Dupa Fly (Missy Elliott, 1997); Aquemini (Outkast, 1998); The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Lauryn Hill, 1998); It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot (DMX, 1998); Things Fall Apart (The Roots, 1999); Da Baddest B***h (Trina, 2000); The Marshall Mathers LP (Eminem, 2000); The Blueprint (JAY-Z, 2001); Lord Willin’ (Clipse, 2002); Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (50 Cent, 2003); The College Dropout (Kanye West, 2004); Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101 (Young Jeezy, 2005); King (T.I., 2006); Lupe Fiasco’s the Cool (Lupe Fiasco, 2007); The Carter III (Lil Wayne, 2008); The State vs. Radric Davis (Gucci Mane, 2009); Pink Friday (Nicki Minaj, 2010); Watch the Throne (JAY-Z & Kanye West, 2011); Nothing Was the Same (Drake, 2013); To Pimp a Butterfly (Kendrick Lamar, 2015); DS2 (Future, 2015); Culture (Migos, 2017); Invasion of Privacy (Cardi B., 2018); Whack World (Tierra Whack, 2018); Eve (Rapsody, 2019); City on Lock (City Girls, 2020); Montero (Lil Nas X, 2021); Traumazine (Megan Thee Stallion, 2022)
 

Genre:

On Sale
Jul 25, 2023
Page Count
224 pages
Publisher
Running Press
ISBN-13
9780762482979

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An Ode to Hip-Hop Fashion

Featured Post

An Ode to Hip-Hop Fashion

Despite their disparity in age and birthplace, high fashion and hip-hop go hand in hand. With their music providing the perfect runway – so to speak – for hip-hop artists to make waves in the fashion industry and beyond, it’s no wonder so many have made their mark on the culture. As hip-hop celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, let’s look back at a few of its most iconic cuts…of cloth, that is.
Read full article
An Ode to Hip-Hop Fashion

Listen to the Featured Tracks on Spotify!

Photo of author Kiana Fitzgerald

Kiana Fitzgerald

About the Author

Kiana Fitzgerald is a freelance music journalist, cultural critic, and DJ. Her writing credits include Billboard, The Cut, NPR, Complex, Nylon Magazine, and Rolling Stone, among other publications. She writes for the world from deep in the heart of Texas.

Learn more about this author

Photo of illustrator Yay Abe, credit to Saulegh Hendricks

Russell Abrahams

About the Illustrator

Yay Abe is the illustration studio name of Cape Town-based illustrator Russell Abrahams. As an extension of his personality, his designs are best described as colorful, playful, and able to own any space.

Learn more about this illustrator