The Come Up Audiobook By Jonathan Abrams cover art

The Come Up

An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Come Up

By: Jonathan Abrams
Narrated by: Dion Graham, Diontae Black, Torian Brackett, Langston Darby, James Fouhey, Kevin R. Free, Dominic Hoffman, JD Jackson, Terrence Kidd, January LaVoy, Adam Lazarre-White, Leon Nixon, Reynaldo Piniella, Malik Rashad
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.75

Buy for $24.75

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

The essential oral history of hip-hop, from its origins on the playgrounds of the Bronx to its reign as the most powerful force in pop culture—from the award-winning journalist behind All the Pieces Matter, the New York Times bestselling oral history of The Wire

The Come Up is Abrams at his sharpest, at his most observant, at his most insightful.”—Shea Serrano, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hip-Hop (And Other Things)

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Boston Globe, The Guardian, Spin

The music that would come to be known as hip-hop was born at a party in the Bronx in the summer of 1973. Now, fifty years later, it’s the most popular music genre in America. Just as jazz did in the first half of the twentieth century, hip-hop and its groundbreaking DJs and artists—nearly all of them people of color from some of America’s most overlooked communities—pushed the boundaries of music to new frontiers, while transfixing the country’s youth and reshaping fashion, art, and even language.

And yet, the stories of many hip-hop pioneers and their individual contributions in the pre-Internet days of mixtapes and word of mouth are rarely heard—and some are at risk of being lost forever. Now, in The Come Up, the New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Abrams offers the most comprehensive account so far of hip-hop’s rise, a multi-decade chronicle told in the voices of the people who made it happen.

In more than three hundred interviews conducted over three years, Abrams has captured the stories of the DJs, executives, producers, and artists who both witnessed and themselves forged the history of hip-hop. Masterfully combining these voices into a seamless symphonic narrative, Abrams traces how the genre grew out of the resourcefulness of a neglected population in the South Bronx, and from there how it flowed into New York City’s other boroughs, and beyond—from electrifying live gatherings, then on to radio and vinyl, below to the Mason-Dixon Line, west to Los Angeles through gangster rap and G-funk, and then across generations.

Abrams has on record Grandmaster Caz detailing hip-hop’s infancy, Edward “Duke Bootee” Fletcher describing the origins of “The Message,” DMC narrating his role in introducing hip-hop to the mainstream, Ice Cube recounting N.W.A’s breakthrough and breakup, Kool Moe Dee recalling his Grammys boycott, and countless more key players. Throughout, Abrams conveys with singular vividness the drive, the stakes, and the relentless creativity that ignited one of the greatest revolutions in modern music.

The Come Up is an exhilarating behind-the-scenes account of how hip-hop came to rule the world—and an essential contribution to music history.

©2022 Jonathan Abrams (P)2022 Random House Audio
History & Criticism Popular Culture
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

“A masterpiece in book form. After conducting over 300 interviews over the course of three years, [Jonathan] Abrams has accomplished the incredible feat of detailing the rise of hip-hop straight from the creators of the genre themselves.”—Spin

“Abrams’s beautifully edited book concentrates on hip-hop’s rise, perfectly capturing the excitement of its gathering momentum and regional spread, taking the time to dig deeper than the big names.”The Guardian

“It’s an extraordinary tale, the story of how a grassroots culture created itself from the streets and became an international force. To his credit, Abrams doesn’t just talk to the architects. He also gets input from the stonemasons, the contractors and the other heavy lifters. It’s the oral history hip-hop deserves as its beat goes on.”—Los Angeles Times

What listeners say about The Come Up

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    38
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    31
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    35
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great listen!

Exactly what I hoped for. Wish it included a Spotify playlist of all the songs, but easy enough to track them down online as you go.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

quite possibly the greatest history of hip-hop

what an absolutely amazing book. from start to finish it is enthralling, it takes you from the roots of the genre all the way until today as it leaves a complex story that you cannot stop listening to. the voice actors do a wonderful job, and the narrator is supreme.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible historical work on the evolution of Hip Hop

I’m not usually interested in musical history, but this was absolutely amazing! I’d highly recommend it, even if you’re not a huge Hip Hop fan.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Informative and entertaining

An exceptional summary of hip-hop history in the words of many who lived it. For anyone who's followed hip hop or is curious about its history this is a good listen. Well done.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hip-Hop Hooray!

Very well researched and written, the vocal performances were all great and it made me go back and listen to a bunch of music with a new perspective. Definitely a must listen for fans of the genre, it was the fastest 18 hours of my life!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Masterpiece

If you don’t anything about hip hop, read this. Jonathon Abrams has done the impossible - creating a history in the words of the actual performers. Bravo!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great but….

Love the book and the history . The main narrator is great and most of the others are good but there are a few where their voice makes me want to shove my head through a window . Other than that 100 percent recommend this if you are in love with the culture like i am .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Woefully inadequate

For a book this long that covers the start of many careers, there is only a passing reference to the Beastie Boys, Pharcyde, De La Soul and TCQ. No mention of J5 at all. You can’t talk about Rick Rubin or Russell Simmons without giving credit to the white boys who transitioned from trash punk to one of the best known rap groups around the world. I kept skipping ahead but all in vain. Extremely disappointed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!