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The Graphic History of Hip Hop
92 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2024
19 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 30, 2024
For anyone who came of age during the Hip Hop generation (which I'm designating as 1980-2000) this book is a fun ride through the past. The entire book is good, but parts are so great it hurts.
The Art: For any book with pictures, the art plays a major role. I've read books in this broad category and the art returns can vary widely. Books that aren't focused on sequential storytelling, or books that are one-offs focusing on atypical graphic novel fare, can often use an artist with skills that aren't ready for prime time. In this case, the artist, Tim Fielder, is most definitely ready for prime time. His work is a great complement to the narrative and enhances Greason's words. The line work is a beauty to behold, and the coloring is perfect. I can't say enough about Fielder's contribution to this book.
The Story: This is a good-and-great thing. The entire book is good. There are parts where Greason digs into more or a stronger narrative, where he pulls together historical/cultural threads and sews them into the history of Hip Hop. Those are the GREAT parts of this book. In addition to being a Hip Hop head, Greason is well-versed in subjects that give him an extremely intelligent take on Hip Hop. When he weaves economics and politics into what was going on at various points in Hip Hop, this book hits a fantastic level of engagement. I love this book, but I wish it had more of his insight.
Overall: Officially this is a 4.5 star book for me, just because I want Greason to unleash the full powers of his analytic creativity. If you love Hip Hop, you'll love this book. Period. Word.
The Art: For any book with pictures, the art plays a major role. I've read books in this broad category and the art returns can vary widely. Books that aren't focused on sequential storytelling, or books that are one-offs focusing on atypical graphic novel fare, can often use an artist with skills that aren't ready for prime time. In this case, the artist, Tim Fielder, is most definitely ready for prime time. His work is a great complement to the narrative and enhances Greason's words. The line work is a beauty to behold, and the coloring is perfect. I can't say enough about Fielder's contribution to this book.
The Story: This is a good-and-great thing. The entire book is good. There are parts where Greason digs into more or a stronger narrative, where he pulls together historical/cultural threads and sews them into the history of Hip Hop. Those are the GREAT parts of this book. In addition to being a Hip Hop head, Greason is well-versed in subjects that give him an extremely intelligent take on Hip Hop. When he weaves economics and politics into what was going on at various points in Hip Hop, this book hits a fantastic level of engagement. I love this book, but I wish it had more of his insight.
Overall: Officially this is a 4.5 star book for me, just because I want Greason to unleash the full powers of his analytic creativity. If you love Hip Hop, you'll love this book. Period. Word.
July 30, 2025
This book was decent but there's not much to it and I wasn't in love with the art in it but it was okay. I liked that it showed some of the early political events that led to hip hop's creation but it took about 10 minutes to read the whole thing, if that, and it only showed one or 2 song highlights per year. It was underwhelming but it was okay for a simple graphic novel
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews