Anthology of Rap

Adam Bradley is associate professor of English at the University of Colorado and the author of Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip-Hop and Ralph Ellison in Progress. He is also co-editor of Ralph Ellison’s unfinished second novel, Three Days Before the Shooting. Andrew DuBois is associate professor of English at the University of Toronto Scarborough and the author of Ashbery’s Forms of Attention. He is also co-editor of Close Reading: The Reader.

“This landmark work chronicles an earth-shattering movement with deep roots.”—New York Times Book Review“The Anthology of Rap is among the best books of its kind ever published.”—Dan Chiasson, New York Review of Books“For the reader who’s really interested in modern poetics a profitable week or three could be spent sitting with The Anthology of Rap.”—Will Self, Times (UK)“The authors have built a poignant collection of rhythm and rhyme. . . . For hard-core hip-hop heads, this book confirms what we have always known: that some of the most innovative writing hails from the imagination of the rapper.”—Idris Goodwin, Boston Globe“As ambitious and intelligent as anyone might want, and more enjoyable than anyone might think. . . . If you want to hear how the latter part of the twentieth century sounded, you can’t do better than this book.”—Kevin Young, Bookforum“Intelligent and authentic. . . . Written for both the hip-hop head and the uninitiated.”—James Johnson, Philadelphia Inquirer“An important contribution to this highly contested lyrical culture.”—David Barnes, Times Literary Supplement“A chronology of rap that highlights significant figures in its short history and offers a window into how rappers harmonize the world through a distinct form of self-expression.”—Library Journal“Reading The Anthology of Rap, which covers everything from Afrika Bambaataa to Young Jeezy, it’s hard not to appreciate rap’s astounding love of words, of the way they fit together and play off each other, and of how meaning can be layered upon meaning to get at a deeper truth. Which sounds an awful lot like poetry.”—Joshua Ostroff, Globe and Mail“The eye-opening essay by [Henry Louis] Gates . . . provides deep historical context for rap; it alone makes the book worth owning.”—Slate“Bradley and DuBois succeed in lucidly explaining how societal shifts have been reflected in rap lyrics. . . . This book is a fitting tribute to a genre not far short of its fortieth anniversary and which was once dismissed as a passing fad.”—Geoff St Louis, Time Out“Groundbreaking. . . . It makes the history, development and variety of the genre plain to see in vivid detail.”—Bernadine Evaristo, The Independent“An extraordinary collection of lyrics showcasing rap’s poetic depth and diversity.”—Bookseller’s Buyer’s Guide“A perfect primer for newcomers.”—The IndependentHonorable mention in the Compilations/Anthologies category of the 2010 New England Book Festival, given by the JM Northern Media family of festivals“An essential contribution to our living literary tradition. . . . This groundbreaking anthology masterfully assembles part of a new vanguard of American poetry.”—from the Foreword by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.  “What you hold in your hands is more than a book. This is a culture. This is hip-hop. . . . This book offers a view of rap in full, from the root to the fruit.”—from the Afterword by Common  “Every great literature deserves a great anthology. Rap finally has its own.”—from the Afterword by Chuck D  “From the Sing Song cadence of the slave preachers to the emotional bravery of Tupac Shakur to the clarity of Queen Latifah . . . for all the hearts and heads and voices who have still to be heard: We Now Have an Encyclopedia. Good for us. Much needed. Much needed.”—Nikki Giovanni“The Anthology of Rap is an instant classic. It brings together the lyric poetry of some of the greatest artists of our time. Hip Hop is here to stay and rap lives forever—on the stage and now on the page!”—Cornel West“These Rappers’ lyrics love. Cut. Curse. Fight. Teach. Play. Pray. Testify. They bring us the pace of sound. The swiftness of sound. The discordant way of looking at the world of sound. The Blackness of sound. The new bebopic beat of sound. These are word sorcerers who love language and hablar sin bastón (speak without a crutch).”—Sonia Sanchez“This monumental encyclopedia of rhymes is great for hip-hop newbies or longtime fans, lyric lovers and poetry devotees. It’s an invaluable reference on hip-hop history spanning from Afrika Bambaataa to Kanye West.”—Touré“Some readers of poetry still wonder where the rhymes went. One answer is they left the ends of the lines and went inside the poem. But rhyme also strongly re-emerges in rap. Whatever the stakes or the messages contained in this monumental volume, the like-sounds that used to be the engine of English poetry drive and power these energetic lyrics.”—Billy Collins