Morrison’s illustrations set the stage for Weatherford’s rhythmic history in verse, breaking from hip-hop’s early influences to today’s global hip-hop takeover.

This celebration begins, appropriately, with the ancestors. An homage to Afro-descendent “folktales, street rhymes, and spirituals,” along with images of Langston Hughes and Paul Laurence Dunbar, is juxtaposed with a backpack-toting black male with a crisp fade and T-shirt emblazoned with the signature words of Notorious B.I.G.: “It was all a dream.” This slogan recalling the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. highlights how the art form has served a dual purpose for hip-hop heads to get down at the party as well as to unify on the streets. Weatherford demonstrates how James Brown’s funk matched with Jamaica’s dub was present in DJ Kool Herc’s Bronx block parties, at which hip-hop’s birth is formally credited. But Weatherford and Morrison don’t stop at the music. Graffiti artists on the subway lines of NYC, B-boys and B-girls on the cardboard dance floors, and the unforgettable hip-hop fashion are featured prominently, albeit with a heavy regionalist emphasis on its East Coast–reppin’ legends. Bronx-born superproducer Swizz Beatz provides the foreword, honoring the role models that paved the way to his flourishing artistic career. (There are relatively few artists from outside New York and New Jersey featured, though some come through in thumbnail biographies of both male and female artists in the backmatter.)

No way around it, this book is supa-dupa fly, with lush illustrations anchored in signature hip-hop iconography for the future of the global hip-hop nation.

-Kirkus Review

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 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. ( )

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 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. ( )

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