If asked to list the greatest innovators of modern American poetry, few of us would think to include Jay-Z or Eminem in their number. And yet hip hop is the source of some of the most exciting developments in verse today. The media uproar in response to its controversial lyrical content has obscured hip hop’s revo...

The Gospel of Hip Hop: The First Instrument
Author: KRS-One for the Temple of Hip Hop
ISBN: 1576874974
Recommended Retail Price: $24.95
The Gospel of Hip Hop: The First Instrument, the first book from the I Am Hip Hop imprint set for launch in Spring 2009, is the philosophical masterwork of KRS-One. Set in the format of the Christian Bible, this 600-plus-page opus is a life-guide manual for members of Hip Hop Kulture that combines classic philos...

Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies
Author: Brian Coleman
ISBN: 0812977750
Recommended Retail Price: $18.00
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...