Have you ever read a book that seems like it was tailor-made for you? This is that book for me. I'm in love. This had everything I'm looking for in a book; a gift for my music-obsessed heart and mind. I walked away with a greater appreciation for the rap group A Tribe Called Quest, who I already stanned. But that's not all it provided; this book was filled with hard-hitting and tell-it-like-is social commentary, told with stimulating and delicious prose. The author's previous essay collection 'T...

When this book arrived Monday I sent a pic of my daughter holding it to my sister that introduced me to Hanif’s writing. I said sometimes fans can’t wait until drop dates. Tuesday I was home sick and played Tribe’s whole discography for comfort. It’s Wednesday now and I just finished it. Shift your plans Friday and go get this.Abdurraqib released my favorite book of 2018. He may have just done it in 2019.

This book was everything I wanted from a music history and has really got me thinking about writing about music. I've been feeling dreamy all week thinking about this book, made a playlist for it on Google Play (Abdurraqib said he made a playlist on Spotify of songs sampled by Tribe, so you should definitely check that out), and wish now that Abdurraqib could write all history for me. This was great, too, because I think I may be a hair older than the author, but we're essentially the same age,

I got this book from an audible.com sale because listening to the provided snippet had a lot of fascinating things to say about music. Having not being a rap or hip hop fan at all, I gave it a try and discovered something richly imbued with jazz, story, growing up in the 70s and 80s and message. I've recently started listening to A Tribe Called Quests album "People's instinctive Travels" and have been really enjoying it. Weird for a middle aged white woman, but it you keep your mind open you can...

This book does so many things, and expands the frame of critical biography so crucially. Diving deep in to Tribe's history is only a part of what Hanif Abdurraqib does here -- where the book sings is all the context he adds to the story, about what it meant to love them, the spaces where their work illuminates and anchors his understanding of love, success, innovation, the inevitable, black enterprise. This work, much like his other books of critical essay and poetry invites the reader in. It's

Abdurraqib is a very gifted writer. With amazing elegance and verve, he weaves the story of the early rap group A Tribe Called Quest with observations on race and culture. The group was an important part of his childhood. There are aspects of memoir as well when he relates how the group’s music impacted him at pivotal points in his youth. I am not a music lover and certainly don’t listen to much rap, but the language and passion of the author kept me rapt. 4.5⭐️

If only every writer approached their subjects with the generosity, humility, respect, and honesty that Hanif does.

Hanif's new book is a solid fusion of cultural criticism (as he works his way through Tribe's discography, influence, and dissolution) and personal reflection (as he charts his own relationship to Tribe's music and what it's meant to him over the years, complete with moving letters where he addresses Q-Tip and Phife directly). It's perhaps a little stronger in the latter than the former, and Hanif's digressive tendencies occasionally lose me, but I can't wait for his fourth book.

not trying to be all "hanif is the premier music critic of our time" or anything but "hanif is the premier music critic of our time"

I love reading reviews on Goodreads because they're not professional reviews. That means they're entangled with memories, hopes, expectations, flaws. The personal lives of the reviewer often adds to my understanding of a book, of how a book could appeal to certain people. Often I will love a review of a book I have absolutely no intention of reading because I'm more intrigued by the review than the book.This book approaches music journalism in much the same way as my favorite reviews. Hanif Abdu...

On rhythm, brotherhood, and underdogs. It’s been a couple of weeks since I put this book down. And I’m still not sure if it’s a love letter or an elegy. Perhaps because it flows with chronology it’s both. But even then, the word « chronology » falls short. There’s too much aggregation, by which I mean lineage, inheritance—something we now refer to as « culture. »I am sure that it has some of the best opening pages I’ve read. And that there’s sweetness and soundtracks and solidarity. There are id...

A fascinating twining of the history of Tribe the history of rap and of Black music more broadly, the history of Abdurraqib and the history of America. The language here is spectacular, Abdurraqib's music knowledge is encyclopedic, and this man can write. This is a deeply personal book that ends up being an exploration of what it means, to be a Black man, of all the different forms that can take while still sharing so many commonalities. I thought it dragged in the middle a bit and never regaine...

3 books by Hanif and all 3 have made me cry

I'm not crying. I swear. I'm. Not. Crying... I..I.. just have something in my eye. Yo, Hanif Abdurraqib is a BRILLIANT writer. He really knows how to put you into his life. He fits you right in there with his schoolyard friends. He fits you right in there with him playing the trumpet in his bedroom as a young boy. He fits you right in there with the tape decks and the cd players. You really get into his head and his exploration of music, but he always leaves a little mystery. You get into his

There some writers who can make the mundane seem worthwhile, that have a preternatural gift of making the ordinary extraordinary. Elizabeth Strout and Richard Russo – two of my favorite writers – have made their careers off of such talent, developing rich, complex characters that on the surface would appear anything but. And then there are writers whose talent supersedes their subject matter; I’ll read them regardless of whether or not I have any interest or knowledge of their chosen topic(s). I...

It turns out this book wasn't for me, which I should have expected when I jumped on the bandwagon. I'm into Hanif Abdurraqib, and I love learning about pop culture history, but I also knew basically nothing about A Tribe Called Quest before reading this book. That said, if you're at all interested in the history of rap music, you'll get something out of it. Personally, I enjoyed Adurraqib's prose -- his poetic celebrations of hip hop and rap, especially in connection to protest and community-bui...

I finished the A Tribe Called Quest book on the bus going to work this morning. I cried a little bit.I walked past a bar on the way home from work today. A Tribe Called Quest was playing.I cried a little bit.ADDED:For every generation, there are usually only a handful of bands that can truly be described as the proverbial "the only band that matters." And, in the 90s, one of that handful was A Tribe Called Quest. And in his fantastic book GO AHEAD IN THE RAIN, poet Hanif Abdurraqib captures thos...

The tiny yet mighty "to" gives the book a great deal of its magic. The "to" is the difference between reading a wonderfully written biography of A Tribe Called Quest and reading this book. This book is an intimate conversation overheard, a love letter found, a confession, a confrontation, a monument, and an ode in addition to being a wonderfully written biography of A Tribe Called Quest. Hanif talks to ATCQ across time and through impassable thresholds in a manner as earnest as it is trenchant.H...

“We are nothing if not for our histories” It’s like reading someone’s personal journal. As the writing is so open full of love, hope and fear. While dissecting what the subject means to them. His prose like poetry.The book is exactly what the title promises. Notes and letters. How each facet has theory or defining moment. Even if just a casual fan of the group or itms songs and albums. This book spells out illustriously how important they are to the writer, hip-hop, culture and the community in

Can a reader get something out of this book even if they don't know much about A Tribe Called Quest? Sure thing -- I'm that reader and I could not put this book down. I had read Abdurraqib's previous nonfiction book (They Can't Kill Us Till They Kill Us) and was struck by his range of style, sharp insights, humor, and just great writing. Same thing applies here, and I learned all about A Tribe Called Quest. Can't complain! This books stands out in the genre of music criticism and cultural critic...