The Most Important Rap Song From Every Year Since 1979

Idiosyncratic, seemingly encyclopedic, this was a great way for me, an old white guy, to fill in the gaps in my knowledge of the evolution of the various genres and artists. Highly recommend also watching "Straight Outta Compton," for a lively reinforcement of the basics of West-East, etc.

If you don't buy this book for it's insanely low price, you're an industry plug. Shea knocked this book out of the park and makes you care about the history of rap. The illustrations are amazing and I can rest easy at night knowing that Younger Jeezy is eating well now.

Shea is the greatest man who has ever lived, and has given us a book that we are not nearly worthy of. In all seriousness, I've read 6 pages and haven't been this happy with a book in a long time. I look forward to sharing this as well as forcing people to purchase it. Excellent excellent excellent.

If you want a review of what the author's deem as the best rap songs since 1979; this would be the perfect book to start with. I purchased The Rap Year Book for my boyfriend and he has genuinely enjoyed it thus far. Honestly, his biggest "complaint" is strictly not agreeing with some of the songs that have been chosen as the "most important".

This is the perfect gift or leisure read for the rap enthusiast in your life. Not only does this book name the most important rap song of that year, it also goes into detail about the artist, as well as an in depth description of why they deem the most important song. Also a bonus which I was pleasantly surprised by was the fact that the book included info-graphics and hand drawn illustrations; I believe this most certainly added to the integrity of the book. Plus this book is a New York Times Best Seller so I thought that spoke volumes to its worth.

In terms of purchasing and shipping, this book was a great price. This book was also offered as an the store Prime deal; therefore the shipping was free and I received it within two days of the purchase date. The Rap Year Book arrived on the date when it was supposed to and was in perfect condition upon its arrival.

I am not only pleasantly surprised by the condition that the book arrived in, but also the content. I would have happily given this a 5-star review, but my boyfriend is still holding a grudge about some of the songs that were picked as the most important. (If anything it's opened his eyes to different perspectives of what others might believe are the most important songs.) I recommend this to anyone searching to find more information and broaden their horizon on rap music or for the general rap lover in your life. Definitely worth the buy.

The concept is great! The information is wonderful. The narration is exceptionally annoying. I Found it difficult to enjoy the information I wanted to consume, because I was constantly distracted by a personality I just didn't enjoy.

I purchased this book (mistakenly) due to the solid reviews, and after reading maybe 1/4th of it (can't even continue & gave up) I have to agree w/ the other couple 1 star reviews. This book may be of interest to someone who doesn't listen to and/or like rap at all. It literally reads like a children's book for anyone even remotely interested in the genre & is much too remedial for adult level reading. Agree w/ the guy who said this book belongs in Urban Outfitters as I haven't regretted a $15 purchase like this as far back as I can recall. (as proof, this is my 1st review ever). Song of the year selections almost all miss the mark, even w/ a solid understanding of the criteria used. For someone who loves hip-hop & has read many books on the subject, I admittedly didn't do my research & paid the price. This is nt even bathroom reading & I should've known seeing how most praise its received has been from commercial conglomerates who base 'success' of an artist/album solely predicated on album sales / radio play.

I'd rather not give it any rating.... I'd rather Shea say or rename the book he's favorite... What's your favorite and the best are two different things. The artwork is cool and funny... But he's a 35 year old man child... Much of hip hop was created and evolutionized when he was a child... Krs, Russell, ll cool, her and the pioneers have the right to write an important book as this.... No offense to tribe called quest, but LL's around the way girl was far more important than Bonita apple bum as was Nas ether to takeover... Just tell the truth... Opinion is an opinion, but for facts a merit journalism... Tell the truth or stick to illustrating coloring books. Hip hop has enough culture vultures... No more internet pacing and creating things. If you wasn't there or old enough to understand ... Don't speak on it. I love Motown records, but I'd never dishonor smokey, Marvin and the legends...because I want a book out

I've only just begun reading this book and I am flummoxed. This book is the most insightful, intelligent, and creative breakdown of rap music. As a music genre that is usually regarded, by the populus, as shallow and just a "bunch of thugs spewing violence and sex," Serrano demands you respect the artists. His demand is backed up by an entertaining and ingenious regard for the verses, rhythm, and impact of rap songs. Highly recommend this book, not only for lovers of rap music, but for ANYONE with a love for the creativity of humanity. Great job Shea. I would like to note, also, that the illustrations done by Arturo Torres are a fantastic compliment to the writing. Wonderful job. ****** by Phoenix on Fire

This book raised as many questions as it taught me things, but in a good way.

Now that I know which song was most important every year since hip-hop became a music genre in collective consciousness, I want to know: who were its most important artists? There are none nominated more than two times, but West-Coast hip-hop had an eleven years run where it was at the forefront of the genre's innovation, so what does that mean? Is Dr. Dre the most important rapper of all-time, at least statistically. He was nominated by Serrano in 1988 with NWA, in 1992 for "Ain't Nutin' but a G Thang" and for his iconic collaboration (and personal favorite of mine) California Love in 1996. THIS NEEDS TO BE DISCUSSED.

What's a little more clear to me after reading THE RAP YEAR BOOK is how much the genre evolved over the years, found its place in mainstream music with an image it wanted to project and evolved past it over the last decade, thanks to self-conscious artists like Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar. Fun book. I could've read two hundred more pages on the subject. Looking forward to Serrano's basketball tome in October.

The concept is great! The information is wonderful. The narration is exceptionally annoying. I Found it difficult to enjoy the information I wanted to consume, because I was constantly distracted by a personality I just didn't enjoy.

I purchased this book (mistakenly) due to the solid reviews, and after reading maybe 1/4th of it (can't even continue & gave up) I have to agree w/ the other couple 1 star reviews. This book may be of interest to someone who doesn't listen to and/or like rap at all. It literally reads like a children's book for anyone even remotely interested in the genre & is much too remedial for adult level reading. Agree w/ the guy who said this book belongs in Urban Outfitters as I haven't regretted a $15 purchase like this as far back as I can recall. (as proof, this is my 1st review ever). Song of the year selections almost all miss the mark, even w/ a solid understanding of the criteria used. For someone who loves hip-hop & has read many books on the subject, I admittedly didn't do my research & paid the price. This is nt even bathroom reading & I should've known seeing how most praise its received has been from commercial conglomerates who base 'success' of an artist/album solely predicated on album sales / radio play.

I'd rather not give it any rating.... I'd rather Shea say or rename the book he's favorite... What's your favorite and the best are two different things. The artwork is cool and funny... But he's a 35 year old man child... Much of hip hop was created and evolutionized when he was a child... Krs, Russell, ll cool, her and the pioneers have the right to write an important book as this.... No offense to tribe called quest, but LL's around the way girl was far more important than Bonita apple bum as was Nas ether to takeover... Just tell the truth... Opinion is an opinion, but for facts a merit journalism... Tell the truth or stick to illustrating coloring books. Hip hop has enough culture vultures... No more internet pacing and creating things. If you wasn't there or old enough to understand ... Don't speak on it. I love Motown records, but I'd never dishonor smokey, Marvin and the legends...because I want a book out

I've only just begun reading this book and I am flummoxed. This book is the most insightful, intelligent, and creative breakdown of rap music. As a music genre that is usually regarded, by the populus, as shallow and just a "bunch of thugs spewing violence and sex," Serrano demands you respect the artists. His demand is backed up by an entertaining and ingenious regard for the verses, rhythm, and impact of rap songs. Highly recommend this book, not only for lovers of rap music, but for ANYONE with a love for the creativity of humanity. Great job Shea. I would like to note, also, that the illustrations done by Arturo Torres are a fantastic compliment to the writing. Wonderful job. ****** by Phoenix on Fire

This book raised as many questions as it taught me things, but in a good way.

Now that I know which song was most important every year since hip-hop became a music genre in collective consciousness, I want to know: who were its most important artists? There are none nominated more than two times, but West-Coast hip-hop had an eleven years run where it was at the forefront of the genre's innovation, so what does that mean? Is Dr. Dre the most important rapper of all-time, at least statistically. He was nominated by Serrano in 1988 with NWA, in 1992 for "Ain't Nutin' but a G Thang" and for his iconic collaboration (and personal favorite of mine) California Love in 1996. THIS NEEDS TO BE DISCUSSED.

What's a little more clear to me after reading THE RAP YEAR BOOK is how much the genre evolved over the years, found its place in mainstream music with an image it wanted to project and evolved past it over the last decade, thanks to self-conscious artists like Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar. Fun book. I could've read two hundred more pages on the subject. Looking forward to Serrano's basketball tome in October.

I think if Younger Jeezy read this book he could beat those squirrels. And FOH Matt Damon FOH Harry Potter FOH Nicholas Sparks this book should be No. 1. If you don't agree then we don't trust you and you probably call fouls in pickup basketball.

The Rap Year Book
By Shea Serrano
The Rap Year Book by Shea Serrano is a creative overview of rap music. The book acknowledges the most important and impactful rap songs of each year from the early days of rap in 1979 to the modern day of 2014.
For each year, Serrano selected a rap song from that year that wasn’t necessarily the most popular or best song of the year, rather the most important song. I noticed several of Serrano’s picks involved the revolution of rap music. They were songs that helped create the art of rap we know today. For example for the year 1980, the song Serrano selected was “The Breaks” By Kurtis Blow. While this song may not have been the most popular rap song in 1980, it was one of the most influential. This song was in fact the first rap song to have a hook! Rapper Kool Moe Dee highlighted the significance of this song when he said, “ If you listen to all the records that came before Kurtis Blow’s “The Breaks” you would notice that there was a very important element missing. The hook! Kurtis Blow is the inventor of the hook for rap songs.” ( Serrano page 53) A hook is catchy repetitive verse and is often what listeners remember most. In today’s rap scene you hardly ever see a song without some sort of hook in it. Using this technique, selecting most important songs, Serrano shows the progression and artistic growth in rap music.
I found The Rap Year Book to be very entertaining. It has been one of the few books I have been able to easily read while still being interested with the book. My favorite part of the book is how Serrano truly digs deep to find the most impactful rap song of each year. Serrano provides great examples and reasons to why he chose a particular song over another. Besides being entertaining, it also provides the reader with great insight into the evolution of rap music. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an appreciation of music and the art of rap. I would also recommend it to anyone interested in music history. I truly think this book is a must read for all music fans.

I enjoyed the hell out of this book. Shea Serrano came up with a brilliant concept and executed it to perfection. If you have any interest in the history, culture, or evolution of rap culture, this is a must-read. The author has a very unique voice that is entertaining, informative, hilarious and very earnest about the stories that make up the history of hip hop; the book reads like a 200 page blog post.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is fascinated with the whole spectrum of rap, has an eye for pop culture and appreciates good humor in writing. Everyone else can FOH! :)

Shea Serrano is one of the greatest writers in the 21st or whatever century were in. You have no idea what you are in for (a treat). So support this brilliant man and show some respect for one of the greatest writers in history.

Shea Seranno is one of my favorite writers from the old Grantland days. I'm glad he's back to writing on the Ringer site. This book gives you the song for the particular year in hilarious fashion. If you're a fan of Shea's, you'll already have the book. If you're not, then you're the police and we don't mess with you anyways. Follow him on twitter, even if you don't want to hear what he says. Younger Jeezy is the GOAT

I bought this book due to the Mr. Serrano's insistence over twitter that he was going to fight me if I didn't. As a small, white, peaceful man I figured the chances that Mr. Serrano could whoop me were pretty good, so I bought the book. After buying the book, I can see that while Mr. Serrano's intimidation was scary, it was really for my own good.

Pros:
The book is beautifully illustrated
The writing is hilarious while also being thoughtful and insightful.
It taught me how to properly use the phrase "bomb-ass"
Mr. Serrano will not fight you if you buy it.

Cons:
Nelly didn't win all of the "aughts" for Ride Wit Me.

Overall, I would say this is a "bomb-ass" book about rap music.

Purchased this for my brother as a gift and he has thoroughly enjoyed it! He goes back to the inception of rap music and so it played a huge part of his adolescent/teenage years. Reading this brought back fond memories and he has mentioned numerous times various new facts he's learned. He told me this book was the best gift he got this past holiday season. BOOM...(drops mic).

I got 2 copies of this book and it on Kindle so I can be counted on in a crisis. Shea is fam and I got a dog and 3 nephews to look after. Also it'll be great to see the boys in shirts for a chance. FOH Harry Potter

I liked how he touched upon the important songs that he thought were relevant but I feel that some of those songs mentioned could have been replaced with different songs. I understand why they went with certain songs but still it was a good read

I spent a good amount of time trying to create my own "yearbook" as I read, but I spent most of my time learning. This mesmerizing collection has given me a greater appreciation for a genre of music I've always enjoyed, but, as I learned while reading, I never fully understood.

You don't have to worry about breaking the law, but if Shea asks you got to break the law. The Rap Year Book is more than an awesome book with equal awesome words and art, it is a family. Once you buy this book not only will your life be enhanced with nanotechnology, but people who are a part of Rap Year Book gang will recognize you and give you knowing nods. No worries my introvert friends, nods only, no actually talking. This gang only converses via nods, 140 characters, or the store reviews. Don't be the police and join the gang.

I saw this book and started reading it while waiting for a table at Busboys and Poets, a restaurant in the DC Metro area. I could not contain my laughter. I cackled so abruptly that the host probably thought I was out of my mind. No regrets. Had to come home and order it for myself. 10/10 would recommend

I got this book as a birthday gift and I'm so happy with it. It's witty and thorough. Even if you don't agree with the song choice for each year, you will still learn a lot from this book. And the flow charts and illustrations are A+

I bought this book yesterday and finished it already. Shea is a really talented writer, and if you follow him on Twitter he also seems to be a genuinely good human being, which is nice. It's not often that you come across people like Shea, and when you do oh great I'm crying again.

Amazing, awe inspiring, and Pulitzer Prize worthy. Matter of fact, cancel the voting we have a winner for every category. I laughed, I cried (tears of joy), I lost ten pounds from not eating because I was too absorbed in this mesmerizing book. I found the ten pounds by eating some flamin hot cheetos. Anyone who purchases this book will help a dog achieve his dream of beating the backyard squirrels, and help a man purchase a second shirt for his sons. Do the right thing, let us know you can be counted on in a crisis.

I'm so upset it's sold out but GOD DAMN this might be the best book I've ever read and I haven't even read it yet. If you do t give this book 5 stars you're probably the police or a rapper that didn't make it in be book.

I'm so upset it's sold out but GOD DAMN this might be the best book I've ever read and I haven't even read it yet. If you do t give this book 5 stars you're probably the police or a rapper that didn't make it in be book.

Got this from the library to check it out. I do not own this book.
This is something they would sell at Urban outfitter or some other shallow store aimed at the masses.
The book if great if you only have a basic understanding of hip-hop. It did have a nice intro by Ice T.
I agree with about 10% of the choices for "song of the year".
Most of the songs are for people who listen to allot of radio and are spoon fed on what they should like.
For example, the author has three songs from Kanye West on the list. ??? Wow. nuff said.

Man, I don't know what y'all are reading. Actually, I do. I looked at it myself. Ice-T's foreword was legit, real, and passionate. And that's where the truth of those three adjectives ends. I knew something was fishy as soon as I saw the author butchering key aspects of the beginning of rap, calling versions of the history of rap that some people have given as rap going back to Gil-Scott Heron and West African griots "unnecessarily complicated and planted in the most unlikable kind of semantics" and claiming that Kool Herc's main innovation was extending the break through alternating between similar breaks from similar songs when it was really switching between different record copies of the *same break* from *the same song*, hence the loop (he had earlier used different breaks from different songs sequentially, which he had called the "Merry-go-round", and which led up to the looping of the breakbeat). These are not inconsequential distinctions, and I should not have had to educate anyone who reads my review here on them, because these distinctions should have been treated properly in the book. Instead, this book comes off as an exhaustive 'thesis' by someone who doesn't really love Hip-Hop, but instead is eager to USE an area he/she (I don't know the gender of the author) is somewhat knowledgeable about to make some money, by duping those who fall in love with this culture and really want to learn more about it. Maybe if you have the same irreverential attitude towards rap you'll like it too, even knowing now of what I've said, because you don't care about this great artform and s***show that has saved so many lives and led to the creation of so many lives.