Philadelphia native and former member of the Roots, Questlove, has announced that he will release a new book entitled Hip-Hop Is History in June of this year. The non-fiction book is one of many projects the instrumentalist has created to chronicle the culture.
The upcoming book was co-written alongside Questlove’s longtime collaborator, Ben Greenman and is written from the perspective of the Philly instrumentalist (real name Ahmir Thompson) who, as a member of The Roots, saw the culture evolve first-hand.
According to the book’s synopsis, it shows Thompson’s encyclopedic knowledge of “the creative and cultural forces that made and shaped hip-hop, highlighting both the forgotten but influential gems and the undeniable chart-topping hits.”
The book has been described as “an intimate, sharply observed story of a cultural revolution and a sweeping, grand theory of the evolution of the great artistic movement of our time, and Questlove, of course, approaches it with not only the encyclopedic fluency and passion of an obsessive fan but also the expertise and originality of an innovative participant.”
The book will be released through Thompson’s own imprint, AUWA Books, on June 11th. It will be the second book released on AUWA Books following Sly Stone’s memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again), which was published last year.
Questlove announced this project last year. The lyricist and producer has become somewhat of a music historian and, in recent years, has dedicated himself to documenting and emphasising African-American music’s essential and long-lasting legacy worldwide.
Hip-Hop Is History will just be the latest in a long list of texts Questlove has written, which includes titles like his memoir Mo’ Meta Blues and Music Is History — both written with Greenman — and the middle school novel The Rhythm of Time.
