Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop by Questlove

Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop Reviews

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  Sheila

  Saw this exhibit today at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles. The exhibit as well as the book was fantastic. Took me back to being a teenager in the late 80's
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  Matt

  woah!!! What an amazing collection of interviews and photos!! If you are any what a fan of Hip-Hop and would like some insight to some very iconic photos, then this is your book!!!!!
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  Rick Christiansen

  A must have for the true hip hop heads and photgraphy fans alike.
  
  The photographers give some interesting backstories about the artists and the origins of some of the most famous hip hop images of all time.
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  Jane

  Absolutely stunning photography, with commentary from the photographers on what the artists wanted, which frames were favorites, insights into the personality and style of their subjects, etc. Includes contributions from some of the artists themselves, and includes stories behind some of the most iconic images in hip hop history, and some really poignant moments - Biggie right before his death, Tupac, Nas, and others at a club together before they blew up, Jay-Z when he's just starting to come up and fantasize about a life in the skyscrapers of New York, Nicki when she was still just putting out mixtapes, etc.
  
  Fascinating, beautiful, a great add to any collection. Using the contact sheets to get a good feel for the overall shoot is genius, and sometimes ends up showing the other activities that photographer did that day (multiple shoots lead to a pageant winner on the same contact sheet as a shoot in one case). Definitely recommend.
• 
  Armando

  A fantastic visual narrative of various photographers who have documented Hip Hop artists since the advent of the musical genre. This is a must-have book for the music scholar or the Hip Hop historian. The portraits in the carefully curated book are strong & powerful, and the short stories from the photographers' accounts offer a nostalgic conversation to the reader. For those in Los Angeles, go and see the exhibition at The Annenberg Space for Photography.
  
  P.S. Do yourself a favor and create a classic Hip Hop playlist that will play in the background while you browse the book. It enhances the experience of this wonderful book and will allow you to be immersed in the music.
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  jonnnnn

  Breezed through this in just over a week. I love The Culture, photography, and learning about the process behind these iconic photos. Learned about some of my favorite shots, and discovered so much more. I could think of a few more shots both recently (to pimp a butterfly album cover) and from the past (only built 4 Cuban linx cover?) that I would've liked seen here, but this is still a beautiful, essential document of the most important art form in American society today.
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  Heather

  An amazing collection of images—shown with the very rarely given context of the contact sheets. This forms an incredible overview of hip hop from its inception until fairly recently, and what's most striking about it is the inclusivity. There are so many women included here (rappers, photographers and producers alike) that you can't fail to notice how bad most other books and publications are at showcasing the women of hip hop. A proper joy to sit down with on a rainy afternoon with a beer.
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  Dena

  Really remarkable to look through the contact sheets of these hip hop photographers. It’s the equivalent of making a book out of a portion of your camera roll & I loved reading the stories of “getting the shot” & how much the image of an MC could be just as pivotal as their bars for success. Definitely recommend for any music history buff or hip hop head.
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  ambassadorofthemartians

  Not just incredible photography but a concise history of Hip Hop
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  Kari

  Cool visual history of Hip Hop/rap/ musicians.....
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  Joy Davenport

  A great introduction to the history of hip hop, not too intimidating because of the format, photography mixed with archive and history.
  Some language. Some nudity.
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  Monique Gonzales

  Combination of 2 things I love. Hip hop and photography.
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  Nicki

  Fantastic photos and snippets into the lives of so many hip hop greats!!
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  Ron Maskell

  Great visual representation of Hip-Hop fun to read the behind the scenes.
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  S

  An irreplaceable piece of history. Amazing images and knowledge by people who not only love hip-hop but ARE hip-hop. One of the best visual books I've read on hip-hop thus far.
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  Raisa

  Hip-hop’s history and origins need to be preserved exactly like this
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  Markus Seaberry

  This book is great!! It’s so many cool photos of hip-hop artists from the 70s until the present day!! If you’re a fan of hip-hop, this book is a must-read!!
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  Bill

  It wouldn’t be fair for me to rate this book as I mostly skimmed through it and had only a passing interest in it based on a recommending review. I’m also not familiar with the history of hip hop nor it’s early practitioners and proponents, but this book did give me a nice chronological overview. Many of the figures talked about and featured in the photos were familiar names to me, but many were not. My criticism, if it is such, is that the premise of the book, the fact that the well-known iconic photos are accompanied by the photographer’s contact strips of that particular photo shoot, isn’t really all that impressive as the main photo is not surprisingly the best one.