Old School Hip Hop Books
Looking to dig deeper into the History of Hip Hop? Many of this books provide you an excellent opportunity to learn more.
Books are listed alphabetically by Title, includes author(s) and published year.
Click below to read more on each title.
- And It Don’t Stop : The Best American Hip-Hop Journalism of the Last 25 Years by Nelson George (Foreword), Raquel Cepeda (Editor) – 2004
- Back in the Days by Jamel Shabazz (Photographer), Fab 5 Freddy (Introduction), Ernie Paniccioli (Contributor) – 2001
- Bring the Noise by Havelock Nelson & Michael Gonzales – 1991
- Can’t Stop Won’t Stop by Jeff Chang – 2005
- Ego Trip’s Book of Rap Lists by Sacha Jenkins, Elliott Wilson, Chairman Mao, Gabriel Alverez & Brent Rollins – 1999
- Hip Hop America by Nelson George – 1998
- It’s Like That : A Spiritual Memoir by Joseph Simmons (aka DJ Run) – 2000
- Jam Master Jay: The Heart of Hip-Hop David E. Thigpen – 2003
- King of Rock : Respect, Responsibility, and My Life With Run-DMC by Darryl McDaniels (aka DMC) – 2001
- Last Night a DJ Saved My Life : The History of the Disc Jockey by Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton – 2000
- Life and Def : Sex, Drugs, Money, and God by Russell Simmons – 2001
- Looking for the Perfect Beat : The Art and Culture of the DJ by Kurt Reighley – 2000
- Rap by B. Adler – 1991
- Rap Attack 3 by David Toop – 1999
- Rev. Run’s Words of Wisdom by Rev Run – 2006
- Raising Hell : The Reign, Ruin, and Redemption of Run-D.M.C. and Jam Master Jay by Ronin Ro – 2005
- Street Conscious Rap by James G. Spady – 1999
- The Hip Hop Years: A History of Rap by Alex Ogg with David Upshal – 1999
- The New Beats by S.H. Fernando Jr – 1994
- Tougher Than Leather: The Authorized Biography of Run DMC by B. Adler – 1987 (updated in 2002)
- Vibe History of Hip Hop by Alan Light – 1999
- Who Shot Ya? Three Decades of Hiphop Photography by Ernie Paniccioli (Photographer), Kevin Powell – 2002
- Yes Yes Y’All: The Experience Music Project Oral History of Hip-Hop’s First Decade by Jim Fricke (Editor), Charlie Ahearn (Editor), Nelson George (Introduction) – 2002