Hip Hop in America

Gr 9 Up—This title offers a few fascinating twists that others books on the topic don't. The set has a more scholarly bent than many other available works on the subculture and delves into the lives and impact of the practitioners who were and are most representative of a geographical area. Readers will be treated to a study of hip hop as it was and is practiced in a host of areas throughout the United States, including the Bronx, Harlem, Houston, Boston, Minneapolis, Atlanta, and (in the most fascinating read of all) Hawaii, and in parts of Europe. Each essay examines a specific city, providing profiles of major artists and chronicling the progression of the style there, from its introduction to the present day. The articles are followed by a bibliography, a further-reading list, and a selected discography for each artist. Text boxes further explain concepts or provide more detail on a club, a park, or an event. Most of the set's few photographs are grainy and lack clarity. Still, this is a must-have for hip-hop fans.—Carol Jones Collins, Hanover Park High School, East Hanover, NJ