In Breaks in the Air John Klaess tells the story of rap’s emergence on New York City’s airwaves by examining how artists and broadcasters adapted hip hop’s performance culture to radio. Initially, artists and DJs brought their live practice to radio by buying time on low-bandwidth community stations and building new communities around their shows. Later, stations owned by New York’s African American elite, such as WBLS, reluctantly began airing rap even as they pursued a sound rooted in respectability, urban sophistication, and polish. At the same time, large commercial stations like WRKS programmed rap once it became clear that the music attracted a demographic that was valuable to advertisers. Moving between intimate portraits of single radio shows and broader examinations of the legal, financial, cultural, and political forces that indelibly shaped the sound of rap radio, Klaess shows how early rap radio provides a lens through which to better understand the development of rap music as well as the intertwined histories of sounds, institutions, communities, and legal formations that converged in the post-Civil Rights era.

"Not to be missed, musicologist Klaess has written a fascinating chronicle of hip-hop radio stations. . . . Klaess’s book is a must-read for all those interested in tracing hip-hop’s sociopolitical/racial chord back to its airwaves origins." - Library Journal

"This is a book about radio as a medium, not the music that flows through it, and it deserves praise for shining a light on the people behind the tapes who have been underappreciated by more conventional histories." - The Wire

"A book that tells the story of rap on New York City’s airwaves, Breaks in the Air is mandatory reading for anyone with an interest in hip hop history and elements of that history that aren’t readily considered, including figures responsible for its early dissemination. As well as providing a meticulous account of the first stations to air rap music, Klaess’ book offers a unique insight into the sociopolitical power of broadcast media and how alongside the growing popularity of hip hop, radio provided a valuable new avenue for Black expression." - The Quietus

"Breaks in the Air has a lot to offer anyone interested in hip-hop’s rise, as well as anyone fascinated with the larger stories of Black music and American radio." - Beat Connection

"“Among the plethora of books, articles, podcasts, exhibits, and events that came out around the 50th anniversary of Hip-hop culture, Breaks in the Air stands out as a uniquely valuable work.”" - Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television