Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve loved hip-hop since, as Biggie Smalls would say, “the public school era.” For over 10 years, I’ve been a journalist and on-air host covering all facets of hip-hop from breaking emerging acts to interviewing superstars. Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion is my first book and the culmination of my expertise in fashion and pop culture. These books served as the bedrock for me—as inspiration, research, and motivation—and one day, I hope that my book will do the same for the next writer.


I wrote

Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion

By Sowmya Krishnamurthy,

Book cover of Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion

What is my book about?

A cinematic narrative of glamour, grit, luxury, and luck, Fashion Killa is the first anthology on hip-hop fashion and draws…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation

Sowmya Krishnamurthy Why did I love this book?

If you need an introduction to hip-hop, this book is it.

Can’t Stop Won’t Stop chronicles the birthplace of hip-hop—from Kool Herc’s famous party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue on August 11, 1973—and follows the dynamic history and commercial evolution of the culture that would one day dominate the world. This book was a great starting point in my own research process for my book.

By Jeff Chang,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Can't Stop Won't Stop as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A history of hip-hop cites its origins in the post-civil rights Bronx and Jamaica, drawing on interviews with performers, activists, gang members, DJs, and others to document how the movement has influenced politics and culture.


Book cover of God Save the Queens: The Essential History of Women in Hip-Hop

Sowmya Krishnamurthy Why did I love this book?

There wouldn’t be hip-hop without the ladies. As a female hip-hop journalist, I love that the definitive book on female rappers exists. 

God Save the Queens is a hip-hop anthology that meticulously chronicles the important (and often unsung) contributions of female rappers. Whether you’re a fan of the old school (MC Lyte) or the new (Megan Thee Stallion), you’ll learn about the notoriously competitive and patriarchal industry and how these women fought adversity, doubt, and the odds to garner respect—and their crowns—in hip-hop.

By Kathy Iandoli,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked God Save the Queens as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An NPR Best Book of the Year

"Without God Save the Queens, it is possible that the contributions of dozens of important female hip-hop artists who have sold tens of millions of albums, starred in monumental films, and influenced the direction of the culture would continue to go unrecognized." -AllHipHop.com

Can't Stop Won't Stop meets Girls to the Front in this essential and long overdue history of hip-hop's female pioneers and its enduring stars.

Every history of hip-hop previously published, from Jeff Chang's Can't Stop Won't Stop to Shea Serrano's The Rap Yearbook, focuses primarily on men, glaringly omitting a…


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Book cover of The Deviant Prison: Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary and the Origins of America's Modern Penal System, 1829-1913

The Deviant Prison By Ashley Rubin,

What were America's first prisons like? How did penal reformers, prison administrators, and politicians deal with the challenges of confining human beings in long-term captivity as punishment--what they saw as a humane intervention?

The Deviant Prison centers on one early prison: Eastern State Penitentiary. Built in Philadelphia, one of the…

Book cover of The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop

Sowmya Krishnamurthy Why did I love this book?

For most of us, we’re fans of hip-hop but there’s something special hearing the story of hip-hop from the people who were actually there.

I grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan but The Come Up takes me straight to the streets of New York City, Los Angeles, and beyond. The book draws on more than 300 interviews over three years including some of the originators of hip-hop including Grandmaster Caz, Run-D.M.C., Kool Moe Dee, and Ice Cube.

The vivid voices trace hip-hop’s history and offer insider access—whether you were there or just wish you were—to what really went on behind the scenes.

By Jonathan Abrams,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Come Up as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

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 colour 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…


Book cover of Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop

Sowmya Krishnamurthy Why did I love this book?

There’s a saying in hip-hop to always “trust the shooter”, a nod to the importance of photographers in capturing the moment.

Contact High goes behind the lens and celebrates the photographers who contributed to the visual evolution of hip-hop. This is one of the best coffee table hip-hop books and goes beyond just pretty pictures. By using contact sheets, readers get a rare insider view of the creative process and a deep appreciation for the power of photography.

By Vikki Tobak,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Contact High as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

ONE OF AMAZON'S BEST ART & PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS 0F 2018
AN NPR AND PITCHFORK BEST MUSIC BOOK OF 2018 PICK
ONE OF TIME'S 25 BEST PHOTOBOOKS OF 2018
NEW YORK TIMES, ASSOCIATED PRESS, WALLSTREET JOURNAL, ROLLING STONE, AND CHICAGO SUN HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE PICK

The perfect gift for music and photography fans, an inside look at the work of hip-hop photographers told through their most intimate diaries—their contact sheets.

Featuring rare outtakes from over 100 photoshoots alongside interviews and essays from industry legends, Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop takes readers on a chronological journey from old-school to alternative…


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Book cover of A Last Serenade for Billy Bonney

A Last Serenade for Billy Bonney By Mark Warren,

In this deeply researched novel of America's most celebrated outlaw, Mark Warren sheds light on the human side of Billy the Kid and reveals the intimate stories of the lesser-known players in his legendary life of crime. Warren's fictional composer and Santa Fe journalist, John Blessing, is assigned to report…

Book cover of The Vibe History of Hip Hop

Sowmya Krishnamurthy Why did I love this book?

Vibe has been the preeminent publication for hip-hop culture since its inception in 1993. I remember running to the grocery store to pick up each month’s issue and flipping through it’s glossy pages.

The Vibe History of Hip-Hop chronicles the rise of hip-hop from some of the magazine’s sharpest and most esteemed journalists, editors, and photographers. You know the bylines: Danyel Smith, Greg Tate, Anthony deCurtis, dream hampton, Neil Strauss, and Bönz Malone. As Smith writes in the preface: “A history? No. A story, really. A tale from the dark side.”

By Vibe Magazine, Alan Light (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Vibe History of Hip Hop as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Music, fashion, dance, graffiti, movies, videos, and business: it's all in this brilliant tale of a cultural revolution that spans race and gender, language and nationality. The definitive history of an underdocumented music genre, The VIBE History of Hip Hop tells the full story of this grassroots cultural movement, from its origins on the streets of the Bronx to its explosion as an international phenomenon. Illustrated with almost 200 photos, and accompanied by comprehensive discographies, this book is a vivid review of the hip hop world through the eyes and ears of more than 50 of the finest music writers…


Explore my book 😀

Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion

By Sowmya Krishnamurthy,

Book cover of Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion

What is my book about?

A cinematic narrative of glamour, grit, luxury, and luck, Fashion Killa is the first anthology on hip-hop fashion and draws on interviews with the leaders of the fashion world to tell the story of the hip-hop artists, designers, stylists, and rebels who fought the power and reinvented style around the world.

Book cover of Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation
Book cover of God Save the Queens: The Essential History of Women in Hip-Hop
Book cover of The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop

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