While browsing Amazon this week, a children’s book called Hip-Hop Alphabet popped up as a suggested purchase. I clicked, wondering what a kid’s hip-hop book could look like, and found that author Howie Abrams had teamed up with Darryl "DMC" McDaniels (of RUN DMC) and Brooklyn graffiti legend Mr. Kaves. DMC brings his pen game to the foreword, while Kaves handles all of the book’s illustrations.
Abrams is an esteemed writer in his own right, author of an oral history of H.R. from Bad Brains and host of a weekly radio show on East Village Radio called Merciless. He tells us he's been talking about writing this book with Kaves (a fellow hip-hop loving father) for years, and explains, “When you have young children, it's so much more fun to help them learn by introducing them to something you love and can relate to.”
The Hip-Hop Alphabet breaks down the musical pioneers and current icons of rap and goes into particular detail about the equipment used to make those early breaks. Rhyming all the way through—even down to the author bios—the book hopes to introduce the youngest of hip-hop fans to the genre.
Catch an early look at one of Abrams’ favorite pages above and continue for our interview with Kaves. Preorders for the book are available here ahead of its October 10 release date.
Where did the idea for a hip-hop alphabet book come from?
Kaves and I have been talking about doing this book for probably seven years. We're both fathers, and grew up during the greatest period of hip-hop music and culture (in our humble opinions), so it made sense to put this together. When you have young children, it's so much more fun to help them learn by introducing them to something you love and can relate to. Thankfully, we each had that type of experience with a few books when our kids were learning to read, so passing that opportunity along to other parents and kids was something we really wanted to do.
Why the pivot to a children’s book?
Whenever there was a truly great children's book to read to my daughter, the whole experience of reading to them became better, especially when it entertained me as the parent, too. It was a no-brainer to try to pass that along.
Why did you choose Kaves to work on the illustrations?
Kaves has been a close friend since the 90s, and we've done lots of different kinds of work together over the years. He's an incredible artist, whom I respect tremendously, and he "got" the scope of this project thoroughly when I first approached him. I wouldn't have wanted to do it with anyone else.
How did you connect with DMC for the foreword?
For me and Kaves, RUN DMC is the be-all, end-all when it comes to hip-hop! What they've achieved since the early 80s paved the way for everything we all know as hip-hop. All of it! They were the first real deal hip-hop rock stars, and appealed to everyone, regardless of who you were or where you came from. Plus, Kaves has worked with D a few times, most recently on Lordz of Brooklyn's punk/rap collaboration, "Welcome to the Eastside." He was the first and only person we asked to write a foreword for the book, and we're super grateful he came on board.
Which letter is your favorite letter in the book?
That's a tough one. For obvious reasons, I love the RUN DMC page, but personally, I love Kaves' Biggie and Tupac illustrations. Fab 5 Freddy, OutKast, Public Enemy, and the graffiti drawing, too. So, tough to pick only one.
Is it written in rhyme all the way through?
It rhymes all the way through, even the author bios toward the end of the book. I gained an even greater respect for my favorite emcees, realizing how hard it actually is.
