What do you think?
Rate this book
The Boombox Project: The Machines, the Music, and the Urban Underground
On the heels of the graffiti renaissance comes a vibrant look at an old-school icon that figured prominently in the hip-hop, rock & roll, and punk movements of the 1970s and 80s. The Boombox Project features contemporary fine art portraits of an array of vintage boomboxes, as well as scores of documentary photographs of the people who brought the boombox movement to life back in the day.
The book is more than just a collection of images, though; it’s also an oral history of the early days of hip-hop, featuring memories from Fab 5 Freddy, Bob Gruen, Rosie Perez, Kool Moe Dee, LL Cool J, Lisa Lisa, DJ Spooky, and Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, among others, on the role this once ubiquitous machine played.
Part pop cultural history and part “gadget porn,” this lively and highly stylish volume is one of the cool books of the season.
Praise for The Boombox Project :
"Photographer Lyle Owerko tells the whole story with crisp still lifes and an oral history of an era when graffiti and antigentrification ruled." -- Playboy , October 2010
The book is more than just a collection of images, though; it’s also an oral history of the early days of hip-hop, featuring memories from Fab 5 Freddy, Bob Gruen, Rosie Perez, Kool Moe Dee, LL Cool J, Lisa Lisa, DJ Spooky, and Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, among others, on the role this once ubiquitous machine played.
Part pop cultural history and part “gadget porn,” this lively and highly stylish volume is one of the cool books of the season.
Praise for The Boombox Project :
"Photographer Lyle Owerko tells the whole story with crisp still lifes and an oral history of an era when graffiti and antigentrification ruled." -- Playboy , October 2010
- GenresMusicNonfictionHip Hop
160 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2010
1 person is currently reading
74 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 18, 2025
Not only a catalog of boombox brands and models, it recontextualizes cassette culture and the role of the boombox in hip-hop’s growth while noting how certain models changed the way music was consumed, made or spread to others. Pics of people with their boombox are nostalgically amusing and make the book pop history and a good coffee table book. It is a must have for anyone who ever walked around carrying a boombox.
July 6, 2022
Great! A lot of fantastic photos of vintage boom boxes. A lot of heavy hitters of the era represented in photos, quotes, and general history. If you are a Hip-Hop head or a vintage fan like me, you will dig this.
March 26, 2012
an historic icon of my childhood, the boombox was more than a status symbol. it was more than a means to an ends. it was a statement. I didn't grow up in the inner city - the closest city to my hometown was an hour away - but even in my small, rural, farming crossroads of a town, the boom box was a symbol of power - and like every kid, i wanted one.
my first one was a cheap one, a KOSS brand, i think. dual cassette. cheap plastic. but it brought me so much joy. i can vividly remember making my first mix tapes - waiting by the radio - hoping they'd play the songs i'd want to record. later on i'd stay up late on Saturday nights to listen to and record Power 108's commercial free jam of the greatest hip hop of 1988.
As i got older, i'd blare cassette-singles from that boom box, mostly rap and hip hop - the music designed to be played loud. Public Enemy. EPMD. LL Cool J. 3rd Bass. BDP. and of course RUN DMC. played loud and proud.
The Boombox Project by Lyle Owerko brought back all of those memories, and more. It's a little more than a coffee table book, in that it evokes emotions long forgotten. the creativity of the project and the ability of Owerko to find something beautiful and intricate out of something so ordinary and forgotten, i.e. the Boombox. it makes me realize how often we 'miss' things. as someone who aspires to create, my eyes don't 'see' enough... to often i think i allow myself to gloss over the artistic sides of life.
the Boombox was an artistic side of our culture that should be remembered.
my first one was a cheap one, a KOSS brand, i think. dual cassette. cheap plastic. but it brought me so much joy. i can vividly remember making my first mix tapes - waiting by the radio - hoping they'd play the songs i'd want to record. later on i'd stay up late on Saturday nights to listen to and record Power 108's commercial free jam of the greatest hip hop of 1988.
As i got older, i'd blare cassette-singles from that boom box, mostly rap and hip hop - the music designed to be played loud. Public Enemy. EPMD. LL Cool J. 3rd Bass. BDP. and of course RUN DMC. played loud and proud.
The Boombox Project by Lyle Owerko brought back all of those memories, and more. It's a little more than a coffee table book, in that it evokes emotions long forgotten. the creativity of the project and the ability of Owerko to find something beautiful and intricate out of something so ordinary and forgotten, i.e. the Boombox. it makes me realize how often we 'miss' things. as someone who aspires to create, my eyes don't 'see' enough... to often i think i allow myself to gloss over the artistic sides of life.
the Boombox was an artistic side of our culture that should be remembered.
May 2, 2016
The Conduit for Early Hip Hop Music
Great read! I learned so much about early Hip Hop culture. I also gained a better understanding of the early Punk rock culture and how both cultures clashed and merged in the early late 70s early 80s.
Great read! I learned so much about early Hip Hop culture. I also gained a better understanding of the early Punk rock culture and how both cultures clashed and merged in the early late 70s early 80s.
December 16, 2010
Fun and historical, hip and backwards compatible. For true 80's-heads only, not for hipsters.
November 21, 2010
Nice, "coffee table" type of book on boomboxes from the golden era of hip hop. Doesn't scratch too deep, but could make a fun gift.
July 19, 2016
This book is like porn to a rap nerd like me. Just lots of photos of really cool boomboxes. REALLY wish I had them all!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews