A Tribe Called Quest - Beastie Boys - De La Soul - Eric B. & Rakim - The
Fugees - KRS-One - Pete Rock & CL Smooth - Public Enemy - The Roots -
Run-DMC - Wu-Tang Clan - and twenty-five more hip-hop immortals
It's a sad fact: hip-hop album liners have always been reduced to a list
of producer and sample credits, a publicity photo or two, and some
hastily composed shout-outs. That's a damn shame, because few outside
the game know about the true creative forces behind influential
masterpieces like PE's It Takes a Nation of Millions. . ., De La's 3
Feet High and Rising, and Wu-Tang's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). A
longtime scribe for the hip-hop nation, Brian Coleman fills this void,
and delivers a thrilling, knockout oral history of the albums that
define this dynamic and iconoclastic art form.
The format: One chapter, one artist, one album, blow-by-blow and
track-by-track, delivered straight from the original sources.
Performers, producers, DJs, and b-boys-including Big Daddy Kane, Muggs
and B-Real, Biz Markie, RZA, Ice-T, and Wyclef-step to the mic to talk
about the influences, environment, equipment, samples, beats, beefs, and
surprises that went into making each classic record. Studio craft and
street smarts, sonic inspiration and skate ramps, triumph, tragedy, and
take-out food-all played their part in creating these essential albums
of the hip-hop canon.
Insightful, raucous, and addictive, Check the Technique transports you
back to hip-hop's golden age with the greatest artists of the '80s and
'90s. This is the book that belongs on the stacks next to your wax.
"Brian Coleman's writing is a lot like the albums he covers: direct,
uproarious, and more than six-fifths genius."
-Jeff Chang, author of Can't Stop Won't Stop
"All producers and hip-hop fans must read this book. It really shows how
these albums were made and touches the music fiend in everyone."
-DJ Evil Dee of Black Moon and Da Beatminerz
"A rarity in mainstream publishing: a truly essential rap history."
-Ronin Ro, author of Have Gun Will Travel
