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How to Rap

{{Short description|Book by Paul A. Edwards}}

{{italic title}}

{{Infobox book series

| name = How to Rap series

| image = Howtorap.jpg

| caption =

| books = Volumes:
How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC
How to Rap 2: Advanced Flow & Delivery Techniques

| author = Paul Edwards

| country = United States

| language = English

| genre = Non-fiction hip hop

| publisher = Chicago Review Press

| pub_date = December 1, 2009 (sequel was published on September 1, 2013)

| media_type = Print (paperback)

| preceded_by =

}}

How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC is a book on hip hop music and rapping by Paul Edwards. It is compiled from interviews with 104 notable rappers who provide insights into how they write and perform their lyrics.{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/catalog/showBook.cfm?ISBN=1556528167 |title=Chicago Review Press |publisher=Chicago Review Press |date=2009-12-01 |access-date=2010-09-10}}Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press.

How to Rap 2: Advanced Flow & Delivery Techniques is a sequel to the book, also on hip hop music and rapping by Paul Edwards. It includes more insights from the interviews done from the first book.{{cite web|url=http://www.ipgbook.com/how-to-rap-2-products-9781613744017.php|title=How to Rap 2|publisher=Ipgbook.com|access-date=29 September 2014}}

Publication

How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC was published by Chicago Review Press on December 1, 2009 with a foreword by Kool G Rap.{{cite web|url=http://rapradar.com/2009/12/03/how-to-rap-kool-g-rap-foreword/ |title=How To Rap: Kool G Rap (Foreword) |publisher=Rap Radar |date=2009-12-03 |access-date=2010-09-10}}{{cite web|url=http://www.howtorapbook.com |title=How To Rap |publisher=Howtorapbook.com |access-date=2010-09-10}} Publishers Weekly states that it “goes into everything from why rappers freestyle to the challenges of collaboration in hip-hop”,{{cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20090907/11057-the-song-remains-the-same-.html |title=The Song Remains the Same |publisher=Publishersweekly.com |date=2009-09-07 |access-date=2010-09-10}} and Library Journal says, "instruction ranges over selecting topics and form, editing, rhyming techniques, putting words to music, collaborating, vocal techniques, studio tips, and performance".{{cite web |url=http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6708280.html |title=Xpress Reviews-First Look at New Books |publisher=Libraryjournal.com |date=2009-11-20 |access-date=2010-09-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114073857/http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6708280.html |archive-date=2012-01-14 }}

How to Rap 2: Advanced Flow & Delivery Techniques was also published by Chicago Review Press on September 1, 2013 with a foreword by Gift of Gab of Blackalicious.{{cite web|url=http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.25072/title.gift-of-gab-to-write-foreward-of-paul-edwards-how-to-rap-2-advanced-flow-delivery-techniques-|title=Gift of Gab to Write Foreward [sic] of Paul Edwards' How To Rap 2: Advanced Flow & Delivery Techniques|work=HipHopDX|date=16 August 2013 |access-date=29 September 2014}} In the sequel, reviewers note that, "Edwards asks advanced wordsmiths for advice on rhythm, melody, pitch, timing, enunciation, percussion, playing characters, rhyme schemes, and rhyme patterns."{{cite web|url=http://roychristopher.com/rhymin-and-stealin|title=Hustle and Flow: Hip-hop Theory and Praxis|work=Roy Christopher|access-date=29 September 2014}}

How to Rap is published in the UK by Random House on their Virgin Books imprint.{{cite web|url=http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/editions/how-to-rap/9780753540893|title=How to Rap : Paul Edwards|publisher=Randomhouse.co.uk|access-date=29 September 2014}} This edition is also published by Random House in Australia.{{cite web|url=http://www.randomhouse.com.au/books/paul-edwards/how-to-rap-9780753540893.aspx|title=How to Rap|work=Random House Australia|access-date=29 September 2014}} It was translated and published in Japanese by P-Vine Books in 2011{{cite web|url=http://p-vine-books.com/how_to_rap/|title=「HOW TO RAP 104人のラッパーが教えるラップの神髄」ポール・エドワーズ 著|access-date=29 September 2014}} (part of P-Vine Records) and translated and published in Korean by Hans Media, also in 2011.{{cite web|url=http://hiphopplaya.com/magazine/article/view.html?category=news&category2=&mode=&page=1&sort=&num=7470&keyfield=&key=|title=국내 최초 랩 입문서 '하우 투 랩' 출간|publisher=Hiphopplaya.com|access-date=29 September 2014}}

Artists interviewed

The book is compiled from interviews with rappers; the interviews comprise the majority of the book's content. The following artists were interviewed by the author:

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It also includes information on other artists, who are commented on by the interviewed artists, including:

Reception

The book was positively received by critics and press outlets.{{cite web |url=http://www.howtorapbook.com/reviews.html |title=Reviews |publisher=Howtorapbook.com |access-date=2010-09-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120828003127/http://howtorapbook.com/reviews.html |archive-date=2012-08-28 }} Library Journal says it is, “filled with real tools and overflowing with inspiration… a good read even for nonartists interested in learning more about hip-hop creativity, personalities, and history, this offers insights into music and poetry. Highly recommended,” Hip Hop Connection called it “a complete guide to the art and craft of the MC, anyone who's serious about becoming a rapper should read this first… a vital and vibrant expose of a much misunderstood art form,” and Campus Circle give it a “Grade: A+”.{{cite web|url=http://www.campuscircle.com/review.cfm?r=10013 |title=How to Rap: The Art and Science of the Hip-Hop MC |publisher=Campus Circle |access-date=2010-09-10}}

XXL magazine said "over 100 rappers have offered their insight on the artform for aspiring wordsmiths",{{cite web|url=http://www.xxlmag.com/news/latest-headlines/2010/02/clipse-mobb-deep-pharoahe-monch-teach-fans-%E2%80%9Chow-to-rap%E2%80%9D-in-new-book/|title=Clipse, Mobb Deep & Pharoahe Monch Teach Fans "How to Rap" in New Book|publisher=Xxlmag.com|access-date=29 September 2014}} while Yale University Press's Anthology of Rap referred to How to Rap's "rich array of interviews with old school and new school artists,"Adam Bradley, 2011, The Anthology of Rap, Yale University Press, Introduction, p.xlvii. and Oxford University Press's How to Fix Copyright recommended How to Rap for a good "general" overview.William Patry, 2012,

How to Fix Copyright, Oxford University Press, p.283.

Dana Gioia, poet and former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts wrote, “How To Rap marks a cultural coming-of-age for Hip-Hop… [it] is the first comprehensive poetics of this new literary form. …Edwards has made his bid to become the Aristotle of Hip-Hop poetics”.

It also received positive comments from hip-hop journalists and authors such as Kembrew McLeod, Dan LeRoy, Alex Ogg, Mickey Hess, Russell Potter, and Pancho McFarland, and from artists such as Georgia Anne Muldrow, Egon of Stones Throw Records, Badru Umi, and Speech of Arrested Development.

In a review of the Kanye West album Yeezus, news outlet The Daily Beast praised the book, saying: "In Paul Edwards’s comprehensive tome How to Rap, the author surveyed a plethora of rap emcees—104, to be exact—in order to demystify the rap process."{{cite news|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/15/praise-yeezus-kanye-west-s-latest-album-is-an-eclectic-tour-de-force.html|title=Praise 'Yeezus': Kanye West's New Album is an Eclectic Tour de Force|work=The Daily Beast|date=15 June 2013 |access-date=29 September 2014 |last1=Stern |first1=Marlow }}

Notes

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References

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  • Edwards, Paul (2009). How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC. Chicago Review Press, {{ISBN|1-55652-816-7}}.

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External links

  • {{official website|http://www.howtorapbook.com/}}

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Category:Hip-hop books

Category:2009 non-fiction books

Category:Chicago Review Press books