Hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash will chronicle his influential career and the genre’s origins in his upcoming memoir, Birth of a Culture, which is set for release in fall 2026 by HarperCollins’ Amistad imprint. Co-written with journalist Robert “Scoop” Jackson and personally narrated by Flash for the audiobook, the book offers a fresh perspective distinct from the DJ’s 2008 memoir, The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash: My Life, My Beats, by focusing on hip-hop’s cultural history and featuring interviews with key figures who shaped the movement. “This story has been on my mind for a very long time,” Flash said in a statement. “It depicts the early history and many subject matters that pertain to the culture called hip-hop. I talk about my come-up, I express my thoughts and opinions with others. I reminisced about what it was and what it has become. It entails joy, pain, real life, fun, drama, math, and science.” (Rolling Stone)
