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Hip-hop Is History by Questlove review – the story of rap


The musician reflects on the ever-evolving art form, drawing on the front-row seat he had at key events such as the notorious 1995 Source awards

On 11 August 1973, at an apartment block in the Bronx, an 18-year-old DJ called Kool Herc – short for Hercules, a nod to his considerable stature – put on some funk records at a dance party, turned up the beats and rapped along to the music. Dr No Percival Everett, Tantor Audio, 6hr 22min Amir Abdullah narrates this oddball crime caper, told from the perspective of Wala Kitu, a mathematician whose specialist subject is “nothing”. Eighteen Alice Loxton, Macmillan, 9hr 26min The author and historian reads her history of Britain, told through the lives of luminaries in their 18th year, from Empress Matilda and Elizabeth Tudor to Richard Burton and Vivienne Westwood.

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