HIP-HOP AT 50: BIGGER & DEFFER

LL COOL J, author Vikki Tobak and Rock the Bells editorial director Alec Banks have released The Streets Win: 50 Years of Hip-Hop Greatness (Rizzoli). The coffee-table book contains dozens of essays by hip-hop's elite and images by some of the culture's most celebrated photographers.

From Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow, MC Sha-Rock, Chuck D and KRS-One to Nas, Eminem and Dr. Dre, the artists open up about their lives in hip-hop and what they've found so powerful about the form. Tobak, a veteran photographer and author of Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop, was tasked with finding a hook that didn't feel played out.

“This project had such a broad scope," Tobak tells HITS. "When LL and his team approached me, it was just, ‘We want to celebrate the greatness of hip-hop,’ which every book I produce does, but there’s usually a specific niche. This one had to be bigger as it was landing on the 50th anniversary; it had to a bigger story of what it means to be great, which was such a daunting task. So much has been written—what can we add?

"I thought, 'Here we are 50 years into this art form that started from humble beginnings, created by people who did it for reasons other than it becoming this mainstream thing. I started thinking about these artists as the great entrepreneurs of our time, like we think about Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, people who disrupted their industries.”

The resulting 336 pages include stories from revered MCs as well as the B-boys, graffiti artists and DJs who made hip-hop a cultural movement. In addition to photography by Joe Conzo Jr., Ernie Paniccioli, Jonathan Mannion, Janette Beckman and Estevan Oriol, among others, the book boasts album covers, notebook drawings, handwritten lyrics, party announcements and graffiti art.

LL COOL J posted a video about the book's arrival on X and discussed its importance, saying the project will prevent people from "hijacking" hip-hop's history. Check that out below and the book here.

Our own Kyle Eustice curated three of the essays in The Streets Win: those by Chuck D, KRS-One and Kurtis Blow—who still don't understand what's she doing at HITS.

Today is the day. Today Hip-Hop tells its story straight from the mouths of those that helped build it. ‘@llcoolj Presents #TheStreetsWin: 50 Years Of Hip-Hop Greatness’ is available in stores and online. Pick up yours and let’s celebrate the victory 💪 https://t.co/W6VfKwMGpS pic.twitter.com/ouLWV1tMcm

— Rock The Bells (@RockTheBells) October 3, 2023