The Periodic Table of HIP HOP

by Neil Kulkarni

Welcome to The Periodic Table of Hip Hop. Instead of hydrogen to helium, here you'll find James Brown to Kanye West - 94 artists that have defined Hip Hop arranged following the logic of The Periodic Table of Elements.

MCs, DJs, rappers and producers are the elements here, and this expert guide orders them to reveal their contrasts and connections, along with key movements and moments in the history of this music genre.

Includes: James Brown, P-Funk, Kool Herc, Melle Mel, Sugarhill Records, Fab Five Freddy, Whodini, Run DMC, Rick Rubin, LL Cool J, Kanye West and Jay Z and many, many more...

Also includes a beautiful Periodic Table of Hip Hop poster.

Genres: Hip Hop, Music

144 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 2015

About the author

British music journalist, perhaps best known for writing in Melody Maker in the 1990's, and more recently for websites such as The Quietus and Drowned in Sound.

Reviews

[Hangi Tavakoli]

It's very well written about the history of hiphop culture. But it's more suitable for people who want to just start learning about the background of rap music. It's mostly talking about the basics. Don't mistake it with a book about how to write rap songs or anything like that.

[Gorm]

it is a funny read. the fundamentals of hip hop history are implemented, the modern artists are a bit outdated of course.

not a must-have but a good addition to any hip hop book collection.
you could have detailed discussion about the selection and translation of periodic elements.

[Fraser Simpson]

Particularly enjoyed the slagging of NWA, Eminem, and Tupac.

[Wendy Marube]

The author starts out with a disclaimer that you are likely to disagree with his selection, and sure enough, I did. I am a mild hip-hop fan and I certainly found myself shaking my head a lot of times. I think music is a matter of taste to a certain extent but I stayed with the book for the lyrical and real language. Very well-suited to the subject. I also discovered quite a number of artists along the way and gained a general appreciation of the evolution of the genre.

[ingrid nozahic]

Was really looking forward to this as a Hip Hop reference book. I just found it far too subjective and lack of concise information. The entry for Warren G for example told you absolutely nothing about him just this era and concluded that no one listens to his era any more because it was terrible. Well I like to listen to it from time to time just for nostalgia.

On a plus side the entry for Kendrick Lamar was spot on - a great insightful analysis of TPAB and where Kendrick is taking Hip Hop.

Love the periodic table idea but too many artists left out.

The indexing is very unhelpful.

[brie bee]

An interesting read but also very subjective, sometimes biased? Artists beloved by the author get glowing reviews while others glossed over. A good starting point for someone wanting a little bit of back story/as a jumping off point to look up artists from hip hop/rap history.

[Peter Sumby]

...from James Brown to Chief Keef 👊
Neil Kulkarni sadly passed recently. One of the best UK music writers...