Rap Capital: An Atlanta Story Joe Coscarelli, Simon & Schuster. 2022. 448 pp. $29.99 hardcover.

Rap Capital  is the newest in a growing set of books focused on rap music scenes in major U.S. cities. The book adds to the studies of other major U.S. rap scenes, which have previously focused on New Orleans, Houston, Seattle, and Oakland, and also it adds to the studies of Atlanta popular culture, music, and history.

Rap Capital  is the one of the most comprehensive books written about the Atlanta rap scene to date, and builds on conversations started by other journalists and scholars about the scene. While  Rap Capital  does not profess to offer a comprehensive or developmental timeline, it provides a very focused “zoomed-in” approach, and scholars should find its ethnographic depth and topics appealing. Part 1 focuses on the history, setting, and rise of music during the 2013–2020 era of Atlanta's rap music culture. Part 2 shows the changes on the scene during the era and the responses made by the participants on and behind the scenes. Part 3 offers some contextualization beyond two different elements—beyond the local scene and beyond rap music—and into popular culture at regional, domestic, and international levels.