Starred Review ALA Booklist (Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

Starred Review Starting with its attention-getting cover, this picture book does an excellent job of capturing the essence of rap. Written in free verse, the text effortlessly pays homage to the four pillars of hip-hop culture: rap music, graffiti, break dancing, and DJing. The spare, four-line verses embody all the right ingredients, blending together creative wordplay, clever allusions, expressive storytelling, and shout-outs to other artists, all delivered in a rhythmic beat. Rap luminaries and their contributions get nods: the text acknowledges the poetry of Langston Hughes; the exuberant stage presence of James Brown; the innovative blendings of DJ Kool Herc; and the artistry of such stars as Eminem, Queen Latifah, and Nas. While the undulating cadence of the text begs to be read aloud, the illustrations are no less impressive. Images swirl and flow across pages, catching street artists in action while celebrating hip-hop clothing and hairstyles. Each double-page spread delivers lots of visual details, making it hard to believe that the entire written content consists of only 16 lines (or, as the book's subtitle states, "bars," to put it in music terms). This tribute to hip-hop culture will appeal to a wide audience and practically demands multiple readings.

Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

Morrison's illustrations set the stage for Weatherford's rhythmic history in verse, breaking from hip-hop's early influences to today's global hip-hop takeover. This celebration begins, appropriately, with the ancestors. An homage to Afro-descendent "folktales, street rhymes, and spirituals," along with images of Langston Hughes and Paul Laurence Dunbar, is juxtaposed with a backpack-toting black male with a crisp fade and T-shirt emblazoned with the signature words of Notorious B.I.G.: "It was all a dream." This slogan recalling the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. highlights how the art form has served a dual purpose for hip-hop heads to get down at the party as well as to unify on the streets. Weatherford demonstrates how James Brown's funk matched with Jamaica's dub was present in DJ Kool Herc's Bronx block parties, at which hip-hop's birth is formally credited. But Weatherford and Morrison don't stop at the music. Graffiti artists on the subway lines of NYC, B-boys and B-girls on the cardboard dance floors, and the unforgettable hip-hop fashion are featured prominently, albeit with a heavy regionalist emphasis on its East Coast-reppin' legends. Bronx-born superproducer Swizz Beatz provides the foreword, honoring the role models that paved the way to his flourishing artistic career. (There are relatively few artists from outside New York and New Jersey featured, though some come through in thumbnail biographies of both male and female artists in the backmatter.) A glossary of classic hip-hop terminology is included along with an author's note and an illustrator's note. No way around it, this book is supa-dupa fly, with lush illustrations anchored in signature hip-hop iconography for the future of the global hip-hop nation. (Picture book. 4-14)

School Library Journal Starred Review (Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

K-Gr 4 Award-winners Weatherford and Morrison team up to document the history of hip-hop. The four pillars (graffiti, break dancing, rapping/MCing, and DJing) each play a role in the 16 bars that make up the book. Weatherford writes spare rhyming text, which follows hip-hop's roots in folktales and spirituals to its current status as a cornerstone of culture. The verses contain Weatherford's characteristically powerful and flawless wordsmithery: "Dropping, scratching, beat juggling/matching wax on wheels of steel." The author captures a complex art form in just a handful of short stanzas; the extensive back matter fills in any gaps. Morrison, a former dancer for the Sugar Hill Gang, has superbly captured Weatherford's narrative in his mural style and portrait-quality illustrations. New York cityscapes, the fashion styles of the previous decades, and the key figures of the genre fill each page. The artist plays with perspective and scale in such a way that each page stands out uniquely from the last. There are several pages where the text and its illustration fall on separate sides of a page break, which could be tough for read-alouds. VERDICT A winning addition to music history collections, pair with Eric Morse's and Nelson George's What is Hip-Hop? and Laban Carrick Hill's When the Beat was Born . Clara Hendricks, Cambridge Public Library, MA

Horn Book

This look at the pioneers of rap music begins with canonical African American poets and ends with the women who rapped first: "Female MCs break it down: Salt-N-Pepa and TLC. / Queen Latifah sports a crown, reigning like royalty." The rhymes suffer a bit without a backing track, but the art, spiked with graffiti motifs, hits all the right notes. Glos.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Morrison's illustrations set the stage for Weatherford's rhythmic history in verse, breaking from hip-hop's early influences to today's global hip-hop takeover. This celebration begins, appropriately, with the ancestors. An homage to Afro-descendent "folktales, street rhymes, and spirituals," along with images of Langston Hughes and Paul Laurence Dunbar, is juxtaposed with a backpack-toting black male with a crisp fade and T-shirt emblazoned with the signature words of Notorious B.I.G.: "It was all a dream." This slogan recalling the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. highlights how the art form has served a dual purpose for hip-hop heads to get down at the party as well as to unify on the streets. Weatherford demonstrates how James Brown's funk matched with Jamaica's dub was present in DJ Kool Herc's Bronx block parties, at which hip-hop's birth is formally credited. But Weatherford and Morrison don't stop at the music. Graffiti artists on the subway lines of NYC, B-boys and B-girls on the cardboard dance floors, and the unforgettable hip-hop fashion are featured prominently, albeit with a heavy regionalist emphasis on its East Coast-reppin' legends. Bronx-born superproducer Swizz Beatz provides the foreword, honoring the role models that paved the way to his flourishing artistic career. (There are relatively few artists from outside New York and New Jersey featured, though some come through in thumbnail biographies of both male and female artists in the backmatter.) A glossary of classic hip-hop terminology is included along with an author's note and an illustrator's note. No way around it, this book is supa-dupa fly, with lush illustrations anchored in signature hip-hop iconography for the future of the global hip-hop nation. (Picture book. 4-14)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

With short, rhyming lines and dramatic portraits of performers, the creative team behind How Sweet the Sound: The Story of Amazing Grace offers a dynamic introduction to hip-hop. -I was not raised on rap, but I was rooted in the African American musical- and spoken-word traditions that preceded it,- Weatherford writes in her author-s note. She begins the book-s text by contextualizing the movement, honoring some of the poets (Langston Hughes) and musicians (James Brown) whose work helped to influence hip-hop-s birth. Celebrating all four -pillars- of hip-hop artistry--graffiti, break dancing, rapping/MCing, and DJing/scratching/turntablism--the pages pair succinct, informative rhymes with Morrison-s vibrant paintings of street artists, b-boys, and DJs along with their gear: spray paint, giant boom boxes and turntables, -sheets of cardboard for a stage.- Female MCs dominate two spreads, one an unforgettable portrait of Queen Latifah. With a closing spread that emphasizes hip-hop-s international reach as a -language that-s spoken the whole world -round,- and a glossary of terms aimed at a digital generation (vinyl records are defined), this artful introduction to one of the most influential cultural movements of the 20th century pulses with the energy and rhythm of its subject. Ages 4-8. Author-s agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. Illustrator-s agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Jan.)