5 comments about Red Hot Chili Peppers: Give It Away: The Stories Behind Every Song.

1. The book should be "commentary about every song" rather than "stories behind every song". The only thing worse than the "stories" behind the songs is the fact that most of the pictures have the wrong attribution (they keep referring to Cliff Martinez as Jack Irons, and one picture says "Founders - Kiedis, Flea, Slovak, Irons" yet clearly has Chad Smith and Frusciante). The only thing good about this book are the handful of great pictures.



2. Give it away is a perfect book for any fan looking to learn another detail about the chili peppers. I bought it for a gift for a true chili peppers fan and they loved it. It gives short blogs about each song and is really interesting. I suggest buying it since it not really expensive.



3. Well when I first bought the book, I expected to find out the reasons WHY the songs were written rather than the "intense bass lines".. The title is very misleading and was not was I was anticipating...
   
   P.S.- I did enjoy the pictures even though some of the captions were wrong



4. When I first got this book I was so excited to finally learn the meanings behind those amazing RHCP songs.But the book doesn't really say much about the songs that fans don't already know. So if you are looking into buying this book, I'd say you should go for it. The pictures are definitely worth it, even if the words aren't. (And yes whoever edited this book did a terrible job, because they did mis-label some of the pictures.) But other than that, any RHCP fan would enjoy this book.



5. Ever since I read this book I was wondering is there a place where I can write exactly the same what Adam wrote. There are so many shameful mistakes! I was very disappointed. I can't believe that someone can publish something like that. I like RHCP music very, very much but I am not that kind of fan who is interested in knowing everything about the group and if there are mistakes which I've noticed at once... that is so, so wrong.

5 comments about Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G..

1. I am so glad that I read this book. This book glorified Biggie as a everyday fella not a superstar. How good of a person he was and what he did for others including the ones that hated on him, which were many.

   This book gave a first account on how he went for "ashy to classy" and how hard he tried to keep it once he found out that he really had talent for music rather than talent for selling crack.

   What I didn't know, but really didn't surprise me was how much of a playa Biggie was. He had his wife Faith, Lil' Kim and Charlie Baltimore and I am going to say that it was more than that. It bugged me out him and Faith never even spoke to each other when the saw each other on the night he died. I guess it is true that you never know that last time you may see someone for good.

   I love the loyalty of his true friends from St. James, mainly Lil' Cease. This book also showed you how grimey Lil' Kim really is. What devastated me that most was how his relationship between him and Tupac just crumbled over bullsh--, straight bullsh--. If you ask me my opinion and this is just my opinion, I think Tupac what just in the wrong place at the wrong place, just like the rest of his situations. Now, don't get me wrong that's my boy too, he just makes bad judgements, just like Biggie staying out in Cali, like everything was cool.

   Overall, this book was the best biography I ever read. It was straight up real, it made you feel as if Biggie was telling you the story of his life himself.

   Later!!!




2. A must read for anyone interested in the history of hip hop. Before I read it, I had only heard of the Notorious B.I.G. Now I feel as though I know him - personally.

   During the 90's, when gansta rap and the East coast vs. West coast fight broke out, I was too busy working on my Bachelor's and Master's degrees to pay much attention to anything else.
   I had also heard of Suge Knight and Sean Combs, but only from newspaper reports. Reading this book really filled in a lot of the details for me. Suge Knight is portrayed in a postive light as really caring for his artists and seeing to it that they were treated right. He became violent only when he thought that those artists were being taken advantage of, and that they (as well as he) were losing part of the money they were entitled to. I had always wondered what had prompted this violent streak of his. I remember the newspapers would only report the latest incidents, never try to explain them. The book also explains what it is, in fact, that Sean Combs does. I had always wondered: Is he a rapper? A producer? An executive? And, how did he amass so much money? Combs had always been a mystery to me. To some extent, he still is, but the book goes a long way toward solving this riddle too.

   This book explores many interesting puzzles like these and shows how intricate relationships within the hip hop community had become, even by the 90's. Biggie Smalls is portrayed as a flawed yet sympathetic character. At first, he's a child attending Catholic school in uniform, who feels different from all the others hanging out on the corner. His mother is a teacher, he's fatherless, and while not rich, he's by no means poor. His mother gets all the latest gear for him so he doesn't go out and get in trouble. As he grows older, however, the lure of quick profits grows stronger, so that by the time he's 16, he's dropped out of school and become a full-time crack dealer. The book wants us to believe this is so he can buy even more of the latest gear, and that he's never statisfied with what he's got. I'm not sure that that's the whole story, but surely his life was never as bleak as what he depicted later in some of his songs. One gets the feeling that somewhere along the line, something just isn't right - either with the world, or with Biggie. Then, once Biggie becomes a rap star, he says in the book that he never expected to, that rapping was just a hobby and that the profession he had actually chosen was that of the crack dealer. So, we're expected to believe that this rap star thing just happened as a fluke, and came just as much as a surprise to him as to the rest of the world. Maybe all this is so, but if it isn't, the book makes no alternative explanations, nor even attempts to. All we're left with, instead, is an incomplete portrayal of the man who would later become known as the Notorious BIG. All in all, despite the inadequacies in the portrayal, one is still able to admire and respect the genius and charisma of this man. This is both a tribute to the man and to the author. It makes us aware that even legends have character pitfalls, yet we're still able to remember and love them for who they were.




3. This book is Big as biggie smallz, i always respected Biggie smallz and i always wanted to know who really was Christopher wallace and when you read it you just fell pain for his mother, cause christopher was the son every mother want to have, this nigga could have done everything to see the people around him happy, when you read this you see how Biggie would never done nothing whrong to 2pac ,every hip hop fan have to buy this cause we all know many things about 2pac life but finally we don't know nothing about Biggie smalls , before reading this i was taking Big as the best flow hip hop will never had, after reading this book i thing that this fella was the realest hip hop will never have , i want to tell all the 2pac fan who take Biggie as the so called greatest to never forgot that 2pac has 6 lps before his death and Biggie got 2 only, this nigga was at the begining of his career and he was on his way to be the mike anyone jordan , jackson of hip hop!at the reading of this book you see that the 2 dearly legend of hip hop was two friend with nothing in common but with everything complementary, so enjoy cause this may not be the best biography i've read it's arleady one of the best ... it's 25 years full of love, pain, drugs,sex, guns , talent,women and many more!



4. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Book Review: The Life, Death, And Afterlife of Notorious Of Big
   
   By: Cheo Hodon Coker
   
   
   
   
   
   
   The Notorious B.I.G. aka "Biggie" has left the rap game in body, but his music lives
   
   on. Unbelievable; The life, death, and afterlife of The Notorious Big which was written
   
   By: Cheo Hodon Coker. I gave it a five star rating; because it gave a better
   
   understanding of Biggie problems and emotion that he faced on the streets of Brooklyn,
   
   New York to the Hills of Hollywood, California. Coker makes it clear that Biggie
   
   conquered the music industry with his street rhythms to win number of awards. Never
   
   the less he come short to explain why when Biggie saw his wife Faith they did not talk to
   
   each other for the last time.
   
   
   The book was a good Biography of Notorious Big. It rest; fill with a lot of street
   
   talking just as know Biggie to talk on a day to day bases. The book makes it seem as if
   
   McPherson 2
   
   
   
   
   Biggie was the person telling the story that how good the book is. It also explores a lot
   
   of interesting issues that not many people are willing to talk about. Biggie had attended
   
   Catholic School and getting a lot of things from his mother, who was a teacher, young
   
   Biggie did not have much to do.
   
   
   By the age of 16 he had dropped out of High School and had become a crack dealer.
   
   Coker often said in the book that biggie just wanted more. Sean Combs, a Music
   
   Producer, who pay Biggie money to stop selling crack. Biggie would not stop
   
   because he had just had a baby and the music was not giving him the money he wanted
   
   Combs one time had to went down south to get Biggie, because Biggie was down there
   
   selling crack. Biggie often says that he did not think that he could make it in the rap
   
   game.
   
   Then come the war "East Coast" VS "West Coast", which the Media put a lot of
   
   paper to the Fire and made it bigger. It ended up with the death of Tupac death, and then
   
   soon it would be Biggie turn.
   
   Over the entire book was a success I would recommend that people take out of there
   
   busy life and read this book, most of all the rappers in the music busy now. It would also
   
   help to stop the "Beefing" of rappers.



5. Coker has written a readable, entertaining, and comprehensive biography of the man who became, rather improbably, the greatest rapper of all time. Focusing on his life, his titanic talent, his character, and the intrinsic grace of his storytelling, this book does not dwell on the petty rivalries that engrossed the media and dominated most discussions about Biggie Smalls. This book is overwhelmingly positive; in fact, the author seems somewhat infatuated with the subject, and this is the only reason I do not give the book 5 stars. For instance, Coker does not dwell on how Biggie exaggerated the poverty and depravation of his childhood to a great degree. But overall it is a great book that gives a solid feel of the life and times of the King of N-Y, although it is a bit of a puff piece.

5 comments about Lobotomy: Surviving the Ramones.

1. This was the first book that i finish in my life, i hated reading. It takes you through dee dee's lifestyle and mentality, the lows and highs, and ofcourse his relationships with the ramones. Now if you love this style of punk, not that mohawk stuff, then this book is a must read. Dee dee is punk rock, he wrote most of the ramones songs except for joey's love songs so, the geniuse behind the voice is this man.
   
   anyways blah blah blah get this book if you're a real ramones fan and not just a pop fan "Gabba Gabba Hey !"



2. Most people seem to miss the point of this book. Dee Dee is joking around... he's being authentic... being Dee Dee... a PUNK and a drug addict. Everything is exagerrated and shot through Dee Dee's Special Black Humor Lens. Every page has priceless moments where Dee Dee takes the piss out of someone... like the Idiots who buy this book and actually expect Dee Dee to be some sort of self-important Rock Historian. He invents endless bizarre stuff like Marc Bell doing the "Chicken Beek Boy Dance" and references it every 5 pages to really rub it in. Brilliant.
   
   But where the book really shines is Dee Dee's brutally honest portrayal of the life-long battle addicts wage with there addictions. Usually a losing battle. His humanity is bared for all. And we are all one and the same. In contrast to Phony Rock Stars and Celebrities who carefully cultivated air-brushed images that absolutely no one believes anyway. After reading this book... I just love this guy. I would have cried the day he died.



3. There are only a few good books out there about the Ramones. This is one of them.



4. This book was surprisingly good. Dee Dee's sincerity and honesty really showed through this confessional autobiography. The book is filled with Dee Dee's insight about his journey from a highly dysfunctional family to being a successful song writer and punk star. It made me realize how much he contributed to the band and even during the times he was out of the band he was still writing songs for the Ramones on a freelance basis. What impresses me about Dee Dee is that his main goal was happiness and he was well aware of his struggle, his own ghosts and faults. This book also is simply enjoyable to read. Dee Dee is a great writer with tight chapters that wrap up nicely. I really love this book and will definitely reread it a couple more times.



5. For those who are complaing that this book is not a comprehensive history of The Ramones, you are missing the point. This is the story of one Dee Dee Ramone, a man who lived part of his life as bassist for the band, and lived his whole life as a drug addict. Ego? Of course. As addicts, we are insecure egomaniacs and if we don't have our sobriety, we have no chance of building a better life from this chaos.
   Dee Dee never found what he needed. The only irony is that the word "Surviving" is in the title. Like thousands before and after him who are still suffering, Dee Dee did not survive.

1 comments about Straight from the Source: An Expose from the Former Editor in Chief of the Hip-Hop Bible.

1. This is a great read for anyone who loves hip hop, thrives off drama and wants to know what really goes on behind the scenes in the music industry. But more importantly, it is an Erin Brokovich type story of a woman who fought against the injustices of a corrupt organization and won.

5 comments about U2: Into the Heart: The Stories Behind Every Song.

1. I recommend this book to any U2 fan. It is very interesting to hear this author's point of view on U2's songs.



2. This book gives great back story and insight into every song of every album by U2, including B-sides and the Passenger's album. It's interesting to see the inspirations behind some of their biggest hits. This book is not for the casual fan. Would also recommend "U2 At the End of the World" by Bill Flanagan.



3. The book is a detailed account of all the songs sung by U2. I originally bought the book for a friend as a birthday present, but was so impressed that I had to buy one for myself.



4. Not what I expected. I like the concept and was really looking forward to reading some insight from the guys on their inspirations for the songs, what motivated them at the time...where they were in their lives...Instead we get dribs and drabs about their producers fiddling with the songs....personally, I don't care about that.
   
   You can get better insight into songs/albums by going thru U2 interviews on YouTube. At least it's from "the horses' mouth" instead of thru irresponsible writers who use quotes out of context (as in the case of this author). Note: read the excerpt on "All Because of You" - just plain stupid. There is a lot more to that song than what the author "chose" to include in his book, which resembles a badly written term paper, along with unwitty photo captions.
   
   U2 is much more profound than this book leads you to believe. The author also completely leaves out the spiritual aspects of the band and their songs - obviously he has no understanding of the topic, and almost mocks it.



5. alaround great coverage of all U2 songs done in thier career every song has a story to it the write up on all of there b side songs is also great too!!!!

1 comments about Wax Poetics Anthology.

1. Un libro que responde al espiritu de la revista, impulsando esa visión de la música que no se termina en el marketing, sino comprendiendola como un fenomeno sociologico complejo.

3 comments about Nuthin' but a "G" Thang: The Culture and Commerce of Gangsta Rap (Popular Cultures, Everyday Lives).

1. The author explores the genesis and maturation of Los Angeles-based gangsta music and culture during the post-Civil Rights era. She ties the genesis of gangsta to the time when the U.S. manufacturing economy shifted to a service based economy, urban areas were neglected and the neoconservative policies of the Reagan/Bush era redistributed the nation's wealth to a small group at the top. Theoretically this wealth would then "trickle down" and I suppose it did, though in the form of low paying, dead end service jobs for those who used to be skilled and semiskilled laborers. Her study ends in 1996, where the centrist policies of the Clinton administration did little to ameliorate the problems of which gangstas rap, and classic gangsta artists are mellowing. (And not coincidentally, the year Tupac Shakur, a child of Black Power parents, died in a drive-by shooting.)
   
   The generation of young black men coming of age in places like Compton during this time saw only social immobility in the Land of Opportunity, so they created their own opportunities on their own terms. The irony, as she points out, is that gangsta is both a commentary on and child of the rampant free-market 1980's and `90s: ruthless, exploitative, unabashedly commercial, individualistic, hustling. (So is it really any surprise that here in the 21st century, Lee Iacocca gets jiggy with Snoop Dog for Chrysler commercials?)
   
   This is an interesting interdisciplinary study of gangsta's texts and contexts, its academic commentators and its diverse opponents. While neither defending nor dismissing gangsta as the latest incarnation of the minstrel show stereotypes (like Stanley Crouch and others ) she demonstrates that it is rife with black archetypes which participate in some very old expressive repertoires. And she looks forward beyond 1996 by mentioning "Barbershop" in which Ice Cube's character has learned the value of community and non-materialism.
   
   Those unfamiliar with the jargon of cultural studies might find themselves confused on occasion (I admit I did) but will also find that things clarify themselves with further reading. I recommend this for anyone interested in African American music and cultural studies.



2. After perusing this book at the local library, with its sympathetic eye to the prolifetation and glorification of hip-hop as a viable "culture", I can't help but think of something Hermann Goering once said: "Whenever I hear the word 'culture', I reach for my revolver". Decadent, apologetic propoganda in its worst form, disguised as credible academics, truly pathetic.



3. This encyclopaedic examination of "gangsta rap" culture states that the "movement" is a viable culture not only in the nation but within black society. I've been mistaken - I was convinced that the dumb spelling, childish slogans, ridiculous speech and obsession with obscenities was simply a marketing device. I now know that talking, writing and acting like semi-literate folks "normal". The author takes it further: It is to be admired and praised as simply another expression of black/street culture.
   
   This "culture" reinforces every stereotype - uneducated, violent, obscene, criminal, lazy, irresponsible. The author asserts that gangsta rap genuinely describes the contemporary black experience for large numbers of folks. If so, the future is bleak indeed. We've all seen white & Latino kids trying to identify - rapping the words, dressing childishly, talking in that unintelligible shortcut speech accompanied by hilariously absurd hand gestures. Yet one knows it's an act. No one, especially black Americans, take them seriously. At any time they can re-enter modern society - lose the attitude, change to adult clothes adn speak normally. Those in the "gangsta" world may not have this option and that is sad. (The author would probably disagree.)
   
   We get a tremendous amount of data supporting his thesis. Sadly, he may be correct. Gangsta rap dumbs down culture, offering a childish simplicity without complexity. Musicians cannot read, play or compose, entertainment is mindless, language is replaced with childish babble. "Western" values of education, thrift, hard work, morality, family and planning have been replaced by "street knowledge", living for the moment, criminal "heroes", gangs and an incredible ignorance of the modern world - from science to history to politics. It is a devestating indictment that is punctuated by the success of immigrants who adoped "Western" values and have flourished despite the many obstacles.
   
   The question is not who can rap the baddest, has more street cred, sells more CDs, has better drugs or wears more bling. No, the question should be: Who will teach the children, heal the sick, fix the lights, repair the roads, deliver the mail, run the internet or produce BET? These basic societal functions are, of course, the ones that require so-called "Western" values. If we all lived the way the "heroes" do, where would we be then? No one in their right mind would choose this lifestyle for their child or family - it's a cultural death wish. This is an uneasy book, one that disturbs and leaves one depressed for the future.

5 comments about Check It While I Wreck It: Black Womanhood, Hip-Hop Culture, and the Public Sphere.

1. Throughout the history of Hip-Hop, its relationship with women (particularly Black women) and feminism has been strained. Though there have been a few success stories regarding women on the scene and behind the scenes of the Hip-Hop movement, women's place in it have been, for the most part, invisible, degrading, and kept to a minimum. In Gwendolyn's Pough's exciting new book, Check It While I Wreck It, the assistant professor of women's studies at the University of Minnesota examines the dysfunctional relationship between Black women, feminism, and Hip Hop.
   
   The book commences with a history of Black women in the public sphere who have contributed to the betterment of African-Americans such as Angela Davis, the historical Black clubwomen, and women who were trailblazers in the blues music industry. Pough reveals how Black women laid the foundation for future successes for the entire race. Pough writes "Black women were major players through Reconstruction, the civil rights movement, and the Black Power movement." In fact, because of their exclusion, the author even suggests a re-writing of history.
   
   Later the author gives us a more recent history of women's contributions to the arts and Hop, including Sylvia Robinson, the label owner of Sugar Hill Records, break dancer Baby Love, and female rapper Roxanne Shante. The book gives major props to Grammy-winner Queen Latifah, Sista Soulja, MC Lyte, and poet Jessica Care Moore.
   
   Pough also critiques the products of popular culture such as movies like Boyz N The Hood and Just Another Girl on the IRT, books such as Sista Soulja's The Coldest Winter Ever and Omar Tyree's Flyy Girl, and of course rap records such as L.L. Cool J's I Need Love, and Latifah's U.N.I.T.Y.
   
   The book is best when examining the problems that exist between women and Hip-Hop, from the objectification of women in music videos to the acts of hyper-sexual rappers such as Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown. Pough writes "Today, in addition to the old images of the sexually promiscuous Black women...we have the bitches, hos, stunts, hoochies, pigeons, chickenheads, and baby mamas put forth by Black men rappers. The need to struggle against stereotyped images is still present." Let's hope this book will keep the discussion that invokes change alive.
   
   "Check It While I Wreck" is a thoroughly researched, erudite, and culturally relevant work that is virtually impossible to put down. Reminiscent of the writings of bell hooks, this scholarly work in feminist theory and Hip-Hop culture is destined to be an instant classic taught in college lecture halls across the country.



2. When hip hop made its debut onto the urban scene in the 1970s, most saw it as a fad that would eventually fade into oblivion. Some thirty years later this culture, essentially born from urban decay, with its eclectic mix of rap music, poetry, dance, dress and attitude, has become universal.
   
   In her new book CHECK IT WHILE I WRECK IT, Gwendolyn Pough, assistant Professor of Women's Studies at the University of Minnesota, highlights some of the contributions of noted female rappers to hip hop and explores their impact on the evolution of the genre.
   
   Dr. Pough explains the phenomena of "bringing wreck" a catch phrase often used in hip hop circles, as a form of praise, to describe "skill and greatness." The author uses this terminology to ascribe to the ways in which various female rappers; from the lyrically raunchy Foxy Brown and Lil Kim to the socially conscious Queen Latifah and Lauren Hill have brought "wreck" to the world of hip hop by causing "disruptions which somehow shifted the way black people were viewed in the society at large." The author further expounds on the theory that the hip hop culture has the power to "affect change and bring wreck in a meaningful way" and exhorts female rappers to recognize the tremendous possibilities of hip hop and use it as a force for good.
   
   CHECK IT WHILE I WRECK IT is a thought-provoking, enlightening read which affords all readers a window into the world of an often misunderstood, yet extremely popular culture. At the core of this book is the author's call for female rappers to continue to "bring wreck" to the hip hop world, as they strive to carve their own niche in this essentially male dominated culture.
   
   Reviewed by Autumn
   of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers



3. "Wave ya hands in the air and shake`em like you just don't care." These are words often used to hype the crowd for hip-hop concerts around the country. I found myself singing the same tune as I read this remarkable tribute to African American culture, hip-hop and feminism. Pough does an exceptional job of researching the roots of black women in the hip-hop phenomena, which has swept the world and become embedded in its very foundation. The hip-hop culture is broken down and explained through the lens of black women detailing how it has changed and how women are viewed. She traces the rhetoric of women in all hip-hop genres: urban literature, rap & soul music, development of the spoken word, and black film. The essence of the title, Pough explains is how black women bring "wreck" which is a form of praise to describe the "skill and greatness" of the lyrics.
   
   Do you know the great women of hip-hop? You should take the time to sit down with this account of rap legends - Roxanne Shante, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Yo Yo, Salt-N-Pepa and many more. You will learn about Sylvia Robinson, the owner of Sugar Hill Records, break-dancer Baby Love, and poet lyricist Jessica Care Moore and Sista Soulja. Pough uses the work and dedication of these women to help readers understand how women are portrayed in hip-hop. She reaches back to Sojourner Truth preaching black power and equal rights use then leaps forward to Queen Latifah performing socially conscious rap and Salt-N-Pepa exuding sexuality in their breakout lyrics. From the stereotypical roles of "mammy" to the present day images of "chickenhead", black women have used rap music to outline their life, reconfigure their identities, and breakdown the historical stereotypes and negative images that male rappers have constructed.
   
   Pough has provided the world with a well-researched, provocative account of hip-hop culture and the women who have added to its success. Readers can relive the development of hip-hop and sing the songs, remember the films, dances and slang made popular starting from the early 1970's to the present. This is a must-have book for every hip-hop lover, feminist, or African American studies student/department. The issues discussed in this book will provide hours of discussion for anyone who reads it. Pough has brought "wreck" to the area of academia.
   Reviewed by M. Bruner for Loose Leaves Book Review



4. Unfortunately I must disagree with the other reviewers in that Pough's book is a history of women in hip hop. It is actually much more than that. Check It While I Wreck It is mainly a discussion of black women in the public sphere and questions how black women are portrayed not only in hip hop culture but in black culture. The author asks the reader to review some of the things we as women love so much about hip hop and ask how much these things have influenced today's young women. She gives her own reasons of why women have a hard time breaking into the hip hop culture and engages in the age-old question: can black women uplift themselves and embrace their own culture without the emmasculation of black men. With that said, if you are looking for a history of women in hip hop, this may not be your best source. However, if you looking for a study of black womanhood as a culture and its evolution, this would be a great choice.



5. Gwendolyn Pough has done something that many would have never thought could be done she wrote a delicate yet interesting academic book on an era that many seem to think will faze out hip hop has been with us for three decades or more hip hop has continue to thrive even when things that had nothing to do with it where use it against it but Ms. Pough takes it even farther she takes it to a point where most will tell you don't exist she breaks it down and tell you how woman yes I said it woman not just any woman but black woman step in and made their selves known in hip hop even though other hip hop scholars deny that ever being.
   
   Gwendolyn takes you back to the days when working the turntables was a way to perform, rapping was a way to be heard, graffiti was a way to be seen because the state didn't want to have a performing arts curriculum so the black youth found away to allow their culture to thrive without the help of those who were educated to teach them these things they didn't need anyone to tell them what was the correct note or the proper way to do a dance the generation of that time was determine to make something of their selves and to say that this culture as Ms. Pough considers Hip Hop continues to grow so does other aspects of it from Rap to the Urban gear we see not only is it baggy jeans anymore we now see our young black brothers sharply dress in a three piece suite courtesy of Sean "P Diddy" Combs, brothers are wearing GRILLZ in their mouth because of Nelly, and last but surely not least women artist aren't afraid to take the stage because they have seen Missy, McLyte, Mary J Blidge, Queen Latifah, TLC, Salt N Pepper those ladies before them do it and they are determine to do it their selves I mean if you look at it Missy Elliott she is doing big things from producing to running her very own company. You can't tell me that hip hop has not arrived and that the black woman didn't help it arrive I mean woman are playing important roles in hip hop movies I know you all saw Brown Sugar where Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan are representatives of hip hop she is a part of it just as much as he is but no man will ever tell you hip hop is represent like it is black and white / man and female but Gwendolyn Pough has no problem telling you the truth behind the culture we know as Hip Hop.
   
   After reading the book I sat back for a moment and really thought of what Ms. Pough said and her book now for me it was easy to accept as a young black woman working in the hip hop industry as a radio personality I see it all the time some black female artist trying to go up against whatever fella that's on the corner rapping its nothing to see a sister battling it out to maintain her place in the game they will get raunchy with their words and say something that you wouldn't expect but they will do what it takes to stand with the fellas because they know what its like to be in the male world of hip hop. So I stand give Ms Pough a applause for her dedication and hard work to make today's world understand that woman have a place in every culture even hip hop.

5 comments about Queens Reigns Supreme: Fat Cat, 50 Cent, and the Rise of the Hip Hop Hustler.

1. If your from Queens, or you have listened to 90's rap, then this is a good book for you. It explains the litany of characters(criminals) mentioned in so much gangster rap. It is also gives excellent accounts of the "crack" years of NYC in Queens. There were so many locations in Queens, that I was stunned to find out the history of. Well worth the cheap purchase price!



2. I read this book in its entirety today. It bought back a lot of memories and pain. As a 38YO husband, father of 3 beautiful children, with a wonderful wife and 18 year IT career, I grew up during the 80's crack epidemic. I sold drugs. I was a crack addict. I watched childhood friends involved in the drug game die. I saw beautiful women become crack addicts. Even then, as a teenager, I wondered why something so small could cause so much destruction. This book reveals a lot. How drugs almost destroyed Urban America, in particular NYC. This book should serve as a history lesson to young people who view rappers as gangsters. "Real gangsters move in silence". This book should also serve as a reminder to people who survived the devastating decade that was the 80's. "Never forget where you come from".
   
   It's easy for privileged people to dismiss the urban population; however when you have people that are disenfranchised, suffer abject poverty, and lack educational, creative, and/or financial opportunities; the majority will do whatever necessary to create opportunities for themselves, even if it means hurting their own. It's unfortunate that the crack epidemic was largely ignored until children of White America started dying.
   
   Although the author highlights the exploits of particular South Queens drug gangs, I think the overall context of the book should be reviewed in a larger perspective: From the Civil Rights inequality, to government disenfranchisement, as a result of Vietnam, subsequent escapism via drug abuse, to opportunities via drug sales, to capitalism/exploitation via urban music.
   
   This book should serve as a guide for kids that want to get involved in hip-hop/rap music (STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF. STOP BEING SOMEONE ELSE).
   
   It should serve as a wakeup call to those (Music companies/Law Enforcement/Religious organizations) that want to exploit kids in the music game (STOP EXPLOITING OUR CHILDREN).
   
   It should serve as a warning sign to all Black youth that murder each other for nonsense (STOP KILLING EACH OTHER. THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT US TO DO).
   
   As long as there's a mongoose, there'll be a snake. As long as there's an audience, there'll be a minstrel. It's sad how life chooses you....



3. Excellent Book, I read the entire book in less than 5 days, and I don't read many books. I lived in the south Jamaica Queens in the 80's, so I can relate to the story of the hustlers and gangsters that were roaming around during that time. The book gives you a peep at a underworld few people actually lived to tell. It blends the drug hustlers of that era with what is going on in Hip Hop these days. The book brillantly captures the rise and fall of the drug lords running Queens in the 80's. This book is hard to put down. Hopefully a lesson will be learned for whom ever reads this book.



4. Great book and great body of work documenting the origins of much of what commercial hip hop currently reflects. A must have for any rap music aficionado. Although rap was created in the Bronx the successful blueprint for the business of rap was drafted in Queens. While Bronx artists like Afrika Bambaata and The Furious Five were inspired by Funk and Soul acts of the time such as Parliment Funkadelic the rappers in Queens were heavily influenced by some of NY's most notorious hustlers and gangsters. Men like Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichols and Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff who also hail from Queens. Essentially, the legendary criminal figures of Queens influenced an entire generation worldwide through the pop icons who emulated them and also called Queens home. From Fat Cat to 50 Cent... Queens Reigns Supreme!
   
   [...]



5. The book Queens Reigns Supreme: Fat Cat, 50 Cent, and the Rise of the Hip Hop Hustler really depicts the inner circle of the 80's drug culture in South Side Queens. Growing up in Bedstuy,Brooklyn and hanging out in Jamaica, Queens gave me a whole new prospective of the "suburbs". I thought growing up in the projects in Bedstuy was bad enough and it was a condition you could not help. From murders, robberies to stick up kids, you name it, we had it. So when I went to high school in Queens I never thought that kids that grew up in houses, parents with the high paying city jobs could be be so dubious, cut throat and down right murderous all in the name of the almighty dollar from drugs sales. This book slices the cake straight down the middle and lets you taste the filling inside!

5 comments about Behind the Beat: Hip Hop Home Studios.

1. If your like me and love vinyl, read liner notes front to back, spend hours in dusty un-nameable places looking for that perfect record (preferably in the dollar bin) and produce your own music then this book is a worthy addition to your stuido. Even if you don't have a studio it's still worth pickin up if you are a fan of "underground" hip hop. Raph takes you to many of the most prestigous producers "bedroom" studio's (not all of them are bedrooms) showing you their working enviroment and their gear. I can sit and flip through this book for hours on end disecting each picture finding the key elements to the studio's (and trying to pick up some new titles to go diggin for). If you are at all interested in how the sonic landscapes were crafted for some of the greatest albums in the last 10-20 years pick this up! Not to mention the fact that the DJ Ransom's Mix CD is worth the price alone as it includes rare and classic tracks!



2. I saw this book at Urban Outfitters but it was like $30. I loved the images and since I'm a bedroom producer, I loved the content. I hopped onto Amazon later and found it for almost half that price! The only downside is that it doesn't go in-depth enough about each producer's studios. I would've liked to learn more about their gear and environment.



3. knocking off one star on this book for the way they packaged the CD
   it's in a little paper sleeve attached the back inside cover of the book
   
   Now, I like my things to stay as fresh and clean as possible and this book was a highly anticipated gift to myself. That's where my troubles started...
   I found it a bit difficult to get the CD out without practically ripping the paper sleeve open. Ever see a record sleeve that hasn't been cut to the right size, seams all busted out and split open. Not nice. Finally found that you gotta wiggle the disk back and forth (wikki-wikki-wikki-scratch-scratch with that fragile digital disc) to get the thing out.
   Just when you think you've got it, the little white gummy strips of industrial strength rubber tape that are supposed to keep the flap closed smear their sticky gummed up gummy gum crap all over the disk. Yum.
   Ruined the CD. Won't play at all now. Would like another one please thank you.
   
   Warning - remove and destroy tape as soon as you buy this book before it destroys you.
   
   I've got a number of books that have CDs packaged in them and this is the first one I've ever come across that was designed this poorly. You don't put the gas can next to the fireplace - don't put sticky snot like tape on a CD flap.



4. this book is awesome, would recommend this book to anyone who is into music, a dj. real nice book



5. I bought this for my boyfriend as a gift a couple years ago (he is a hip hop head) and it is seriously his favorite book. He loves going through the different studios and it seriously inspires him. A lot of the producers in there are not mainstream and he loves that.