Rating: 
Summary: So Good I read it Twice!
Review: I read this book finished it and then reread it. It moves at a brisk pace and its about a topic we all love. There still isnt enough of a body of litereature on hip hop and this is about as good as there is.
Rating:
Summary: So Good I read it Twice!
Review: I read this book finished it and then reread it. It moves at a brisk pace and its about a topic we all love. There still isnt enough of a body of litereature on hip hop and this is about as good as there is.
Rating: 
Summary: Especially good on the early days of hip hop
Review: I read this book for an African-American Studies class at UNC. At first I did not like it at all. I did not connect with George's choice of language, which seemed outdated and out of touch with current hip hop lingo.But as I got into the book, I realized that this outdated language was not George's fault. After all, as George himself points out in a section about hip hop movies, trends and lingo in hip hop change too quickly for anyone to keep up without a very detailed scorecard. So if you can get past him using somewhat outdated language, this is a great book. George manages to discuss a wide array of topics, from graffiti to break dancing to production and distribution of records to hip hop themed movies to hip hop lingo to the proliferation of hip hop around the world. Despite the very diverse topics, George manages to tie everything to a common theme, the impact of hip hop on American culture. If I had to pick one aspect of the book that was especially good, I would have to choose his discussion of the roots of hip hop and its early days. As a native of New York during hip hop's formative years, George is very well informed on the topic and indeed was a witness to many key events in the early days of hip hop. He also has connections with many key figures, throughout the time period covered in the book, and he is able to recall these connections to tell unique stories you cannot find anywhere else. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of hip hop. It is a quick, enjoyable, and informative read.
Rating:
Summary: Especially good on the early days of hip hop
Review: I read this book for an African-American Studies class at UNC. At first I did not like it at all. I did not connect with George's choice of language, which seemed outdated and out of touch with current hip hop lingo. But as I got into the book, I realized that this outdated language was not George's fault. After all, as George himself points out in a section about hip hop movies, trends and lingo in hip hop change too quickly for anyone to keep up without a very detailed scorecard. So if you can get past him using somewhat outdated language, this is a great book. George manages to discuss a wide array of topics, from graffiti to break dancing to production and distribution of records to hip hop themed movies to hip hop lingo to the proliferation of hip hop around the world. Despite the very diverse topics, George manages to tie everything to a common theme, the impact of hip hop on American culture. If I had to pick one aspect of the book that was especially good, I would have to choose his discussion of the roots of hip hop and its early days. As a native of New York during hip hop's formative years, George is very well informed on the topic and indeed was a witness to many key events in the early days of hip hop. He also has connections with many key figures, throughout the time period covered in the book, and he is able to recall these connections to tell unique stories you cannot find anywhere else. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of hip hop. It is a quick, enjoyable, and informative read.
Rating: 
Summary: Needs more insight
Review: I received this book as a Christmas gift and wasn't dissapointed at all. I wish that Mr. Nelson would have been more in depth in his book because I was still a child when hip hop blossomed and lived in upstate New York so I have no firsthand knowledge of what hip hop was like back in the day. All I knew was what MTV allowed me to see on Yo! MTV Raps. So for the people who were not old enough to go to Run DMC,LL or other pioneers' concerts and who didn't live in the South Bronx a more in depth look at hip hop's beginning is needed. Also a lot of the musical industry terminology and speak should've been elaborated for those of us who are not in the music industry. Despite these shortcomings the book was still a decent read. The quality of the book will force me to read a more in depth book about hip hop to fill in the blanks. Overall this is a good book and anyone who claims they are interested in hip hop should read it. To the reader who says that if you don't play your old records or are a trendy fan you shouldn't read that who are you to judge anyone's musical taste and loyalty to hip hop? I believe the trendy fans album sales count also. Peace
Rating:
Summary: More thought required
Review: I was disappointed with this book in view of the great press it's had in the UK. I don't want to criticise George for writing a book he didn't set out to write, but a more comprehensive critical overview of the music would have been more interesting than the in-depth analysis of the business history which is often substituted. Politically his view seems no more than a glib assumption that all forms of power, wealth or influence accumulated by black people is demonstrably good. An egalitatarian social critique needs to recognise that the evils arising from monopoly of power by a small elite are not significantly reduced by a few black pop musicians or their business managers joining it. Finally,in considering the issue of misogyny in rap lyrics George is scathing about 2 Live Crew, an easy target, but does not sidesteps the difficulty that similar lyrical material can be found in the work of arguably greater artists like Dr Dre.
Rating:
Summary: inside story of hip hop business
Review: I've listed to hip hop music for 16 years and Nelson George filled in all the blanks of things I wish I understood better. From the internal conflict at the Source magazine, to the story of several hip hop producers including Puff Daddy, Teddy Riley, and Dr. Dre as well as the record execs behind the scenes like Andre Harrell, etc...Nelson George covers it all. I loved this book. It does not describe hip hop as a dance or an artist or a song, but as the cultural phenomenon it has become.
Rating: 
Summary: superficial cut and paste job
Review: If you are looking for a well researched historical or musical analysis of rap/hip-hop, this is not the book. The book is filled with glaring spelling, factual, and dating errors, is repetitious, and contains little research. It is really a set of personal reflections and reminiscences filled with namedropping and predictable political views. Even the casual follower of the music and culture of the last 20 years will learn little. A satisfactory oral history of the music and industry along the lines of a Please Kill Me or Easy Riders, Raging Bulls has yet to be written.
Rating:
Summary: This is not hip-hop
Review: In this case, you can judge the book by its cover art: Nelson George's version of hip-hop's elements now includes the mighty dollar. Anyone looking for a deeper understanding of hip-hop (as a progressive artisan culture born from the capitalist wasteland) will be greatly disappointed. George tells of a bizarro world at the intersection of Wall Street and Madison Avenue. It is a pitiful tale of the appropriation of rap music (not to be confused with hip-hop culture) and George's own journalistic misfocus in a consumer society. You will find a similar account of this so-called hip-hop America by watching MTV for an hour or two.
Rating:
Summary: Go Nelson!
Review: Nelson George, possibly the most underrated music writer of our time, has done it again. "Hip Hop America" is a worthy successor to his classic "Death of Rhythm & Blues". If you're some [like me] who has never taken rap music seriously before, Nelson will make you sit up and take notice. Like Bill Rhoden in the NY Times, Nelson George may not be someone you always agree with, but he is a writer who commands respect and attention. His recent nomination for the National Book Critics Circle Award for "Hip Hop" is all the evidence you need.
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