The Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip-Hop

SLJ said, "The author captures a complex art form in just a handful of short stanzas; the extensive back matter fills in any gaps." I ... disagree. I feel like the book did a lot of name-checking, but it didn't really explain its subject. Reading the illustrator's biographical note made me want a

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more focused story that talked about his life instead! (He was a graffiti artist and backup dancer for The Sugarhill Gang who visited the Louvre while on tour and was inspired to become a professional artist.) That said, the art is fantastic, and the book works okay if you view it not as a nonfiction text but as a poem about hip hop that could inspire readers to do their own research into the artists named.

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In the poetry of rap, readers get a lively overview of hip-hop’s history, culture, founders and stars.

Along with movies and pro-wrestling, one of my favorite forms of entertainment is music. As such, I wanted to have a book about one of my favorite genres be included in this list. One day at work, I found this book recently returned. I was surprised seeing a book on this topic for kids since

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rap’s recent popularity has not really translated into a greater literary presence (a fact Swizz Beatz also brings up in the beginning of the book). Given this book’s existence, for kids, they can now see how the genre has evolved over the years. Meanwhile, for myself, I was hoping to learn something that would make me even more appreciative of rap.

At the heart of this book are the artists that transformed rap. Admittedly, I knew the majority of them. Although my preference for rap music is in the 90s and later, I still recognized names from the golden age of hip-hop like Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow, etc. I ended up finding out that writer Paul Lawrence Dunbar played a part in giving rap its poetic roots. If I had to change anything, however, it would have been to include a CD with the book. Even if Weatherford did not want to include explicit gangsta rap on it, she could have put Dunbar’s poems being read or some of the more innocuous hip-hop tracks from rap’s beginnings. That suggestion aside, readers can definitely tell care was put into this book and because of that, will surely enjoy reading it too.

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This ode to hip-hop culture nods at its history from poets like Langston Hughes to rap icons like Biggie Smalls.

This was one of those books that wasn't what I expected at all. Despite the subtitle which should have indicated I was getting an extended poem, for some reason I thought I would be

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looking at a book full of informational text in the straightforward manner of many children's nonfiction titles. While this book does contain some facts, the reader will glean most of those from the backmatter glossary and "who's who" of rap history rather than from the main text.

That all being said, this was an interesting read, even though it was not the one I was expecting. I admire the authors for giving children an introduction to rap, which is not a subject I've seen in children's literature before (at least not as the main focus). The poem is quite lovely and works well as a readaloud (as great poems do). The illustrations are top-notch, striking and colorful.

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