13 books like God Save the Queens

The most famous chapter of the renowned book on New York history, Robert Caro’s The Power Broker, outlines how the Cross-Bronx Expressway gutted once thriving Bronx neighborhoods. Can’t Stop Won’t Stop shows how the global cultural phenomenon of hip-hop arose in the same borough two decades later.

Chang takes readers through public housing recreation rooms, South Bronx streets, and elevated subway lines where a group of musicians, visual artists, and dancers changed world culture. I especially love how the book illuminates how a specific place and time period made possible the development of this now ubiquitous artistic genre.

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.

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.

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.”

I cannot resist a man who loves poetry, much less Pablo Neruda's poetry. Grip, a songwriter/musician, and Bristol his manager, have room-melting-attraction. I agonized over the unrequited love story and the push-pull of a destined-to-be-together love that stands the test of time, as well as social commentary, thoughts, and feelings that cannot be avoided when love crosses different cultures.

Did I say this novel is chock full of sugar and spice? I haven’t even discussed all the things trying to pull them apart as they cling together for dear life. This story gives tension, release, and satisfaction until the very last lyric.

I used a lot of songs to learn English when I was young, and it worked!

This book consists of several songs from Spain and Latin America, with a wide range of styles rock, pop, hip hop, ska, flamenco, romantic, classic, modern… It also contains nice exercises of reading and listening comprehension. In my opinion, this method is a perfect way to memorize, improve and practice vocabulary, grammar and even pronunciation (and fluency).

If you are a music lover, or a folk soul, this is your method!

This book makes the top of my list simply for the very practical reason that it gathers the majority of available images spanning Basquiat’s entire body of work.

Its small size makes it accessible and affordable, however for that same reason, the images are not reproduced as largely as in other art books. At a chunky 512 pages, this stylish art book is the definitive volume for seeing high-quality reproductions of all of Basquiat’s documented work organized in one volume. It also includes some decent text content.

As a scholar or collector this is a very useful book but it’s also fun for anyone who wants to see comprehensive, or key, specific Basquiat works for an affordable price.

I really love books about artists, women who are able to get angry, queer flourishing, and difficult family dynamics, and this book is about all of this. Angelina has recently graduated college when a car accident causes her to lose work and need to move back in with her parents. She and her father have always had a difficult relationship and being under his roof now is harder than ever, especially as she knows he doesn’t appreciate her desire to have a career as an artist. When Angelina meets Janet, a young queer artist, the two begin a friendship that blossoms soon into something more, inspiring Angelina’s own work. The writing is so mesmerizing, and Bogart’s description of the artwork Angelina makes is beautiful. Also – there’s a dog in this book, a very good dog, and she lives. 

This is the most fun you’ll ever have reading about music history, guaranteed. Gioia focuses on outsiders, renegades, and people at the margins of society who launched musical innovations that were later adopted – and legitimized – by leaders of mainstream culture.

“So don’t be surprised,” he warns early on, “if a woman’s erotic love song gets turned into a scriptural utterance by a king. That’s how the history of music unfolds, especially for anything innovative or transgressive.”

I especially appreciated how, in examining music’s 4,000-year history, Gioia never fails to highlight contributions by women, which sets his book apart. 

Just Like Me is the most joyful celebration of girlhood. This outstanding compilation of poetry and art is written and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton.

She uses mixed media and collage to create colorful and charming portraits of warriors, dreamers, friends, and explorers that are bursting off the pages. Every kid can find a poem in this book that will feel like it was written just for them.