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nickscoby's review against another edition
3.0
I spent several years teaching college students NOT to write like Shea Serrano, i.e., rambling, unconnected, unnecessarily self aware. But I am no longer teaching and Shea has written several books, so what does that say?
Up until around the year 1994, I read the book with fervor and dedication. While I definitely did not agree with everything Serrano says, I still nodded and shrugged and kept it pushing. The things he says about the early years make sense for the most part. But then we get to 1997. Shea's pick? Can't Nobody Hold Me Down. Puff and Mase. Eh. It was definitely a surprising hit and it reinvented Puff as a solo artist and not just a producer. And then Serrano does what he does when he runs out of things to say, and that is list a bunch of stats as though album sales alone explain importance. Also released that year? The Rain by Missy Elliott. I was like, C'monnnnn, dude. That's the biggest gimme ever. This is why terms like "low hanging fruit" are invented. This oversight is even more egregious when you consider that the most important song for every year is by a man or a group of men or a group of men with only one woman. And to add insult to injury, the rebuttal for that year (1997) is written by a woman. Shea, you should know better. I know you know better.
ANYWAY, next comes 1998, and Serrano has the audacity to name Ruff Ryders Anthem as the important song of the year and my brain completely short circuits and damn near explodes because the whole world knows that Ha is one of the greatest--and most important--songs ever made. Not even DMX thinks that his song is more important than the greatness that Juvie spits. X apologies to Juvenile on behalf of Shea Serrano.
So at this point, I am hella skeptical about this whole project because dude's credibility is out the window, rolling down the street and crushed by a mack truck. I have to say Serrano never recovers though. By the time we get to 2004, and he gives the nod to Still Tippin over Knuck if You Buck, I am doing one of those Joker laughs because, dude, you crazy.
I do finish the book, but certainly not with the same energy that I had prior to 1997. It's like when you have a really bad professor but you can't drop the class, so you show up but just doodle in your notebook the whole time and look out the window.
Up until around the year 1994, I read the book with fervor and dedication. While I definitely did not agree with everything Serrano says, I still nodded and shrugged and kept it pushing. The things he says about the early years make sense for the most part. But then we get to 1997. Shea's pick? Can't Nobody Hold Me Down. Puff and Mase. Eh. It was definitely a surprising hit and it reinvented Puff as a solo artist and not just a producer. And then Serrano does what he does when he runs out of things to say, and that is list a bunch of stats as though album sales alone explain importance. Also released that year? The Rain by Missy Elliott. I was like, C'monnnnn, dude. That's the biggest gimme ever. This is why terms like "low hanging fruit" are invented. This oversight is even more egregious when you consider that the most important song for every year is by a man or a group of men or a group of men with only one woman. And to add insult to injury, the rebuttal for that year (1997) is written by a woman. Shea, you should know better. I know you know better.
ANYWAY, next comes 1998, and Serrano has the audacity to name Ruff Ryders Anthem as the important song of the year and my brain completely short circuits and damn near explodes because the whole world knows that Ha is one of the greatest--and most important--songs ever made. Not even DMX thinks that his song is more important than the greatness that Juvie spits. X apologies to Juvenile on behalf of Shea Serrano.
So at this point, I am hella skeptical about this whole project because dude's credibility is out the window, rolling down the street and crushed by a mack truck. I have to say Serrano never recovers though. By the time we get to 2004, and he gives the nod to Still Tippin over Knuck if You Buck, I am doing one of those Joker laughs because, dude, you crazy.
I do finish the book, but certainly not with the same energy that I had prior to 1997. It's like when you have a really bad professor but you can't drop the class, so you show up but just doodle in your notebook the whole time and look out the window.
hellsfire's review against another edition
4.0
This started out as such a great and fascinating book. In the early years, it talked about the history of a song and it's importance. Yet as the years went on, it would talk about that less about that instead being filled with antidotes from the author or pop culture references that had nothing to do with the song. When that happened, the book started to lose my interest.
I feel like this happened because the author wasn't born in the early years or didn't grow up with the songs. We're about the same age and while I don't hold that against him, he should have been more focused.
That said, I still think it was a good read and worth it. However, I feel this book would have been better as the basis of a VH1 documentary perhaps hosted by Ice-T or various influence people in the rap game. In fact, they could have started a whole series.
Time to go make a playlist involving with these songs.
I feel like this happened because the author wasn't born in the early years or didn't grow up with the songs. We're about the same age and while I don't hold that against him, he should have been more focused.
That said, I still think it was a good read and worth it. However, I feel this book would have been better as the basis of a VH1 documentary perhaps hosted by Ice-T or various influence people in the rap game. In fact, they could have started a whole series.
Time to go make a playlist involving with these songs.
evoluvi's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it! Would recommend to someone who has sufficient amount of knowledge of rap music.
tupacsgurl's review against another edition
5.0
Incredibly, and pleasantly, surprised at how clever and witty Shea Serrano's writing is. Although it only scratches the surface of the cultural influence that is hip hop, Serrano's writing does a beautiful job of illustrating that rap and hip hop are pieces of literary artwork in their own right. Literature that expressed a time and place and culture that morphed and expanded and grew over the last 37 years. And what else is literature if not a wonderful way to peek inside another time, another place, another culture? I felt like this book gave seriously backed up legitimacy to what makes hip hop great. God bless Shea Serrano.
marireadstoomuch's review against another edition
5.0
The problem with Serrano’s book is that I now want to do a similar project, and I don’t have time. A lot of fun! I made a playlist on Spotify of the songs and rebuttal songs and it was a great listen-along.
cnewbs's review against another edition
5.0
If you’ve yet to read a book by Shea Serrano, change that now and enjoy a happier life. The writing style, accompanying art, and of course the footnotes, make this a wonderful addition to anyone who loves rap, or even kind of likes music.
burgerqueen's review against another edition
3.0
This book was fun to read and interesting to see an overview of the history of rap, but I didn't like the writing style. I felt it too often went off-topic and I got bored of the anecdotes which were often irrelevant.
chatb's review against another edition
5.0
Great read! I loved the author's snarky tone throughout the text. A rap history lesson and the author makes pretty strong claim as to why each song is the most important of that year. Must read for anyone who loves music.
charliezegers's review against another edition
4.0
The boy had to read this for a class. I don’t remember ever reading anything this cool for any or my college classes. (I mostly remember trying to avoid Jane Austen.)
Book is a bit heavy on the Kanye West, which is sort of unfortunate given his most recent exploits.
Book is a bit heavy on the Kanye West, which is sort of unfortunate given his most recent exploits.