Foreword by Shepard Fairey.

As featured in Best stocking-filler books of 2017 - The Guardian

'If you want to understand our culture. To learn knowledge itself. Truth about the art form of poetry in motion. The struggle of our community through rhyme and rhythm. This is the book that inspired me long before I found my place in hip-hop. The power of self-expression. Unapologetically. Taught by the teacher himself. Chuck D!!!'. - Kendrick Lamar

'This book is required reading for those who claim to know hip-hop, love hip-hop, and want their information from a true Master and General of the hip-hop culture...Public Enemy #1, Chuck D!' - Ice-T

'Chuck D wasn't put here to play any games. He created the greatest hip-hop album in my opinion to date, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. But the very first minute he sonically appeared to us, I knew rap was changed forever. Power, awareness, strength, and militancy is his stance in a world obsessed with punishing poor people. I knew he would righteously and boldly die so that a little young boy he didn't even know from Queensbridge could live. He attacked wickedness head-on being the rappin' rhino terror that he is. He represented for all of us putting his life on the line and making the right music fighting for hip hop, the youth, truth, and justice. Chuck D made the lane for people like me to walk.' - Nas

'Reading this book is like reliving my life all over again. Chuck D is Dope!!!' - LL Cool J

In the more than 40 years since the days of DJ Kool Herc and "Rapper's Delight," hip-hop and rap have become a billion-pound worldwide cultural phenomenon that reaches well beyond music, into fashion, movies, art and politics. Yet there is no definitive history of the genre - until now.

This massive compendium details the most iconic moments and influential songs in the genre's recorded history, from Kurtis Blow's "Christmas Rappin'" to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill to Kendrick Lamar's verse on "Control." Also included are key events in hip-hop history, from Grandmaster Flash's first scratch through to Tupac's holographic appearance at Coachella.

Throughout the book, Chuck offers an insider's perspective on the chart toppers, artists and key moments. Illustrating the pages are more than 150 portraits from mADurgency, an artist collective specialising in art and design for the hip-hop community.