The Come Up

An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop

By: Jonathan Abrams

Narrated by: Dion Graham, Diontae Black, Torian Brackett, Langston Darby, James Fouhey, Kevin R. Free, Dominic Hoffman, JD Jackson, Terrence Kidd, January LaVoy, Adam Lazarre-White, Leon Nixon, Reynaldo Piniella, Malik Rashad

The essential oral history of hip-hop, from its origins on the playgrounds of the Bronx to its reign as the most powerful force in pop culture—from the award-winning journalist behind All the Pieces Matter, the New York Times bestselling oral history of The Wire

“The Come Up is Abrams at his sharpest, at his most observant, at his most insightful.”—Shea Serrano, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hip-Hop (And Other Things)

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Boston Globe, The Guardian, Spin

The music that would come to be known as hip-hop was born at a party in the Bronx in the summer of 1973. Now, fifty years later, it’s the most popular music genre in America. Just as jazz did in the first half of the twentieth century, hip-hop and its groundbreaking DJs and artists—nearly all of them people of color from some of America’s most overlooked communities—pushed the boundaries of music to new frontiers, while transfixing the country’s youth and reshaping fashion, art, and even language.

And yet, the stories of many hip-hop pioneers and their individual contributions in the pre-Internet days of mixtapes and word of mouth are rarely heard—and some are at risk of being lost forever. Now, in The Come Up, the New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Abrams offers the most comprehensive account so far of hip-hop’s rise, a multi-decade chronicle told in the voices of the people who made it happen.

In more than three hundred interviews conducted over three years, Abrams has captured the stories of the DJs, executives, producers, and artists who both witnessed and themselves forged the history of hip-hop. Masterfully combining these voices into a seamless symphonic narrative, Abrams traces how the genre grew out of the resourcefulness of a neglected population in the South Bronx, and from there how it flowed into New York City’s other boroughs, and beyond—from electrifying live gatherings, then on to radio and vinyl, below to the Mason-Dixon Line, west to Los Angeles through gangster rap and G-funk, and then across generations.

Abrams has on record Grandmaster Caz detailing hip-hop’s infancy, Edward “Duke Bootee” Fletcher describing the origins of “The Message,” DMC narrating his role in introducing hip-hop to the mainstream, Ice Cube recounting N.W.A’s breakthrough and breakup, Kool Moe Dee recalling his Grammys boycott, and countless more key players. Throughout, Abrams conveys with singular vividness the drive, the stakes, and the relentless creativity that ignited one of the greatest revolutions in modern music.

The Come Up is an exhilarating behind-the-scenes account of how hip-hop came to rule the world—and an essential contribution to music history.

Great listen!

Exactly what I hoped for. Wish it included a Spotify playlist of all the songs, but easy enough to track them down online as you go.

Incredible historical work on the evolution of Hip Hop

I’m not usually interested in musical history, but this was absolutely amazing! I’d highly recommend it, even if you’re not a huge Hip Hop fan.

quite possibly the greatest history of hip-hop

what an absolutely amazing book. from start to finish it is enthralling, it takes you from the roots of the genre all the way until today as it leaves a complex story that you cannot stop listening to. the voice actors do a wonderful job, and the narrator is supreme.

Hip-Hop Hooray!

Very well researched and written, the vocal performances were all great and it made me go back and listen to a bunch of music with a new perspective. Definitely a must listen for fans of the genre, it was the fastest 18 hours of my life!

Masterpiece

If you don’t anything about hip hop, read this. Jonathon Abrams has done the impossible - creating a history in the words of the actual performers. Bravo!