“As a social history of Black radio in New York City, Breaks in the Air foregrounds a larger conversation about the sounds of Blackness on commercial radio in the period. Brilliant in its detail, it makes an important contribution to the studies of hip hop culture, race and broadcast media, and the cultural history of New York City in the 1980s.” - Mark Anthony Neal, author of Black Ephemera: The Crisis and Challenge of the Musical Archive
"In The Big Payback, I endeavored to show how hip-hop reshaped radio. In em>Breaks in the Air, John Klaess meticulously flips the script, showing how radio in fact reshaped hip-hop in the 1980s, engendering a novel way of composing and consuming music.” - Dan Charnas, author of Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm
"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." - Alessandro Cimino, 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." - Peter Shapiro, 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." - Arusa Qureshi, 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." - Michaelangelo Matos, 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.” - Simon-Olivier Gagnon, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television
"In Breaks in the Air, Klaess communicates his sense of responsibility through vivid storytelling, rich historical research, and through careful listening to a unique sonic archive. . . . Klaess’s work is at its best in its articulation of the DJ contribution and listener collaboration mentioned above. The second half of the book is especially rich, as it includes interviews with several key players in the ten-year history Breaks in the Air covers."
- Jonathan W. Stone, Journal of African American History
"Breaks in the Air is an engaging book that at once offers more and less than one would expect. The book contextualizes the arrival of rap radio and succeeds in initiating and/or furthering several generative lines of thinking. Through personal interviews with notable DJs or culled information from other sources, Klaess provides an illuminating accounting of this period." - Anthony Kwame Harrison, Journal of Popular Music Studies
