Let Me Hear a Rhyme: A Powerful YA Novel About Three Teens Who Turn Their Murdered Friend into a Hip Hop Legend

If there was ever a book written that speaks directly to the soul of 14-year-old me, it is Let Me Hear a Rhyme. On its surface, it’s a touching story of a group of friends refusing to let their friend become another anonymous victim of street violence. But it really feels like a long-overdue homage to the New York hip-hop scene at one of its most pivotal periods. The story takes place on the heels of the Notorious BIG’s murder, and opens with the funeral of Steph, a 16-year-old aspring rapper. With that major spoiler out of the way, the book turns to his sister Jasmine and his two best friends, Jarrell and Quadir, as they reckon with his loss and attempt to secure his legacy as one of the best to put on for Brooklyn. During their quest, they discover that each of them knew less about Steph’s life than they could have imagined. Let Me Hear a Rhyme doesn’t leave out any of the memorable people, places, and sounds of the New York hip-hop scene in the late ‘90s. Anyone who was a hip-hop head at that time will appreciate how Jackson weaves her story through the streets of Brooklyn. What’s most impressive is how seamlessly Jackson name-drops the biggest stars, club-commanding hits, biggest venues, and seminal events of the time. I can’t recall a time when I’ve read about The Tunnel — outside of maybe The Source or XXL — that appropriately revered the legendary club for how critical it was in the careers of so many artists, producers, and DJs and what an integral part of the hip-hop scene it was for everyone else. Overall, Let Me Hear a Rhyme is written with a level of care and authenticity that’s not always found. It doesn’t sugar coat the reality of Steph’s environment, but it also gives an inside glimpse that humanizes a community that’s often given short shrift in mass media. Reading Let Me Hear a Rhyme was certainly a nostalgic experience for me. Although I wasn’t in New York, it was definitely in my heart. Jasmine was a particularly relatable protagonist; I’ve never known another girl to get as excited as me to rush home to listen to Brand Nubian’s Foundation album. She could be me. Perhaps that’s why it’s so easy to empathize with what are otherwise risky and rash decisions of all three lead characters. For all their seemingly foolish bravado, it’s also simple to empathize with how and why they’re willing to take on what seem like impossible endeavors to not only break Steph into the music industry but to also find his killer. One of Jackson’s signatures is her approach to storytelling that blends present and past with multiple character perspectives. This style is particularly apt for Let Me Hear a Rhyme, because it highlights the nuanced relationships Steph had with his friends and family and the secrets each held with him. While this works well to get inside the heads of each character, it can be confusing at times trying to figure out the overall timeline. For me, it meant a lot of jumping back to previous chapters. If you’ve read Jackson before, this will feel familiar yet not quite as complicated as in Monday’s Not Coming. Once again, Tiffany D. Jackson has presented a book that tells a layered story in a captivating way. It’s clearly meant for a young adult audience, but I can’t help but recommend this to anyone who’s on the cusp of being a Gen Xer & millennial. It is technically historical fiction, and it brilliantly captures what hip-hop felt like back then, for better or worse.

This book was meticulously crafted to resonate deeply with a generation that I experienced firsthand, presenting relatable situations and realistic solutions that accurately reflect the thoughts and emotions of adolescent minds. The hip-hop concept was seamlessly woven into a poignant storyline that could have been the reality of any individual I knew or grew up with. Her exceptional storytelling ability, which traverses multiple points of view and seamlessly transitions between the past and present, is truly awe-inspiring. The poetic storytelling of the Black community is particularly noteworthy.

Thought it was a good read like the plot twist

Let Me Hear a Rhyme is told in first person with 3 POVs and flashbacks to 1997. I upgraded my book with whispersync and listened to the audio. The audio included four different narrators with distinct voices. At no point did I get confused when the POV switched because of Jackson's talent for characterization. Brooklyn is one of the major characters, including hip-hop. Jackson gives the folks hip-hop 101 lessons and you if don't know...now you know. She tributes Biggie because his death sends a shock wave through the Brooklyn community in 1998. Jackson incorporates Biggieism within text and uses his music as a soundtrack for certain scenes. Jackson subverts the usual Black kid shot in the hood trope. Do not expect the expected. All of the characters are written with nuance even the secondary characters. And each character is flawed, but not irredeemable. They all learn valuable life lessons and teach their elders a thing or two, but sometimes adults forget how to dream. Quadir - possess the soul of a writer, is a peacemaker. Jarrell - has untapped business potential with a love of computers and comics. Jasmine - rocks natural hair and a African medallion. She is walking encyclopedia of African American historical facts. Jackson's gems of Black History reminded me of Beverly Jenkins. Her skill at dialogue created an atmosphere for full immersion. All the conversations felt authentic to the era and age of the kids. Jackson brings tension to the text with Stephs death adding a mystery element that unraveled organically and realistically. In addition, to tapping into issues of individual vs community, the commodification of the Black woman's body in hip-hop, othering, poverty, violence and power of knowledge. Oh, and this book is Black af. If you were born in the 80s and grow up in the 90s prepare yourself to get the feels. -3 disc-CD changer - Boomerang poster - Aaliyah 's signature hair style - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Will you read? ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.5 stars

If you love Tiffany D. Jackson, or if you've never read one of her books, this is one you MUST read. It is a feel good story of friends, New York and music. This book took me back to my teenage years, specifically the year after I graduated from high school and it felt so damn good. So familiar, heartfelt and real. While reading I thought, wow, this could've really happened and wait, did this happen? Let Me Hear a Rhyme is a story that chronicles the daily struggles of inner city friends, the good times, secrets all of the realities that come with a real friendship. It tells a sweet story of a love that blossoms when you least expect it. And last but not least, it is a story about the love of hip hop, a love so pure that people just want to the art to be heard even when the artist is no longer here. I could be biased, cause this is my era but Jackson captures the essence of the golden era of hip hop when the world was still hurting over the loss of a giant and yet looking for the one who was going to be brave enough to step in those shoes. While, fictional, the plot is so believable as the picture painted throughout the course of this books is so authentic that it could've gone down just like that. If this was your generation, a time in your life in which you look upon fondly, get this book. If you're a teen wondering what it was like back then, you want to know what all the hype is about, pick up this book and don't put it down until you reach-- the end.

This 👏🏼 book 👏🏼 is 👏🏼 AMAZING!!! 👏🏼 I am completely blown away by the story line, the characters, the mystery, the rawness, the music, the history...I feel like I could go on and on. My entire google history is now full of questions about Biggie Smalls and Brooklyn and wow did I learn a lot! Jarrell, Quadir, and Jazz were brought together by the unthinkable tragedy of their best friend and brother being murdered. Who would want to kill Steph though? Everyone is holding onto a secret of their own and no one can be trusted, or can they? These three have one goal - to get Steph’s (the Architect) music into everyone’s hand and they won’t stop until they succeed! This YA novel has a little mystery, a little romance, and a whole lot of culture. I HIGHLY recommend this one!

Words cannot describe how much I loved this book!! The characters, the friendships, the tragedies, the music, the nuances--I loved every moment of this book and couldn't put it down! Let Me Hear A Rhyme is a coming of age story very different from anything I experienced growing up. But Tiffany Jackson makes her story incredibly relatable for anyone who grew up with loyal friends that you'd do anything for.

After their best friend, Stephon or Steph suddenly dies, Quadir and Jarell team up with his sister, Jasmine, and pretend he is still alive after Steph becomes famous for his rap music. Pros +90s rapper references +Music is one of the central themes to the story. I like the character s' know their stuff and have conversations about music. +Written in AAVE. It adds to the character personalities +Parents are present. Sure some of them may dead or absent but we hear at least one half of the parents. A lot of YA books avoid involving the parents at all so it was nice to see parents in a few scenes for once. +Slow burn romance. +Small feminist discussion. There's one scene where a group about female rapper and what they rap about. +Black history. I liked that a little black history facts were said throughout the novel Cons -Steph tapes got popular waaayyy too quickly. I felt like anytime someone listened to them, they instantly fell in love with his music. It feel unrealistic for someone just starting with no press to be popstar status already. --Their whole plan seemed unrealistic. In real life, it would have fallen part early on. There no way studio would want to with a person they never see. --The three POV's. with all the flip-flopping it was kinda hard to keep track of who's POV I was in. -Jarell was so annoying at first but I became used to his POV as the book went on. Some the dialogue was still cringey tho. -The book was super long. It seems to drag at one point -Ending was kinda rushed. Suddenly one character was nice and the injuries of two characters seemed to be forgotten. All in all, despite the cons, I appreciate this book for letting into the world of the 90s, learn a little black history, and the importance of hip-hop in the nineties.

There is so much I loved about this book yet so much that frustrated me at the same time. The book is based back in '97/'98 and the storyline is about 85% about music. The problem with this is every time a song or artist was mentioned I just had to listen to them. Unfortunately this is a YA book and I think the Tupac, The Notorious B.I.G, Lauryn Hill, and Lil' Lim mentions may be lost on the younger generation. I even had to look up some of the music myself. This was the third book I've read by Jackson and regrettably I did not see an improvement in her writing since her last book. The language of the characters was most definitely better and it was Brooklyn all over but the book itself had many flaws that an editor should have picked up. The same phrase was used by different characters on almost every other page plus there were many grammatical errors. Although my review of the book hasn't been as good as Jackson's other novels, I have to give Tiffany thanks for renewing my love for '90s music and returning it to my current Spotify play list.