Best of
Hip-Hop

2016

My Voice


Angie Martinez - 2016
    In her twenty years behind the mic at New York City's two biggest hip-hop stations--Hot 97 and Power 105.1--Angie Martinez has become an entertainment legend. From one-time presidential hopeful Barack Obama to Jay-Z and Beyonce to post-prison Tupac, her intimate and candid interviews with the leading names in the music business, hip-hop culture, and beyond have grabbed headlines and changed the conversation. In the same no-holds-barred style of her radio show, Angie shares stories from behind-the-scenes of her most controversial interviews and reflects on her climb to the top of the radio business. And for the first time, Angie opens up about her personal life, exploring how her experiences have shaped her into the strong and outspoken woman that she is today. The Power of a Voice brings together New York City's one-of-a-kind urban radio culture, the changing faces of hip-hop music, and Angie Martinez's rise to become the Voice of New York"--

Hip Hop Raised Me


D.J. Semtex - 2016
    It’s packed with contact sheets, outtakes, and glory shots of artists, collectives, and fans from iconic photographers including Martha Cooper, Henry Chalfant, Eddie Otchere, Normski, Janette Beckman, Chi Modu, Nabil Elderkin, and Mark Humphrey, as well as photographs of hip-hop ephemera and vinyl courtesy of specialist collectors.With the help of his definitive catalogue of interviews with hip-hop artists from the 1990s to today, conducted at key moments in their careers and including Jay-Z, Kanye West, Eminem, Macklemore Ryan Lewis, Drake, Nicki Minaj, J Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, and the Wu-Tang Clan, DJ Semtex examines the crucial role of hip hop in society. He reflects on the huge influence it has had on his own life and the lives of many others, providing inspiration to generation after generation of young people. Taking a thematic approach, Semtex traces the characteristics and influence of hip hop from its origins in the early 1970s with DJ Kool Herc’s block parties in the South Bronx, through its breakthrough to the mainstream and advent of gangsta rap in the late 1980s, with artists such as Run DMC, Public Enemy, and Ice T, to the impact of contemporary artists and the global industry that is hip hop today.

Bloggers Can't Be Trusted


Starrene Rocque - 2016
    With pseudo writers and social media stars continuing to water down the art of real reporting and her boss at Spark magazine micromanaging her every move, Nyela is desperately in need of a change. The idea of chasing a new dream of becoming a screenwriter reignites Nyela’s fire, but her world gets turned upside down when she starts a romance with Olu Major, the hottest actor-turned-rapper in the game. Overnight, she goes from being the one telling the story to being the story, as her name becomes the source of gossip blog fodder. Supported by her talented, zany friends and quirky family, Nyela is determined to figure out the identity of anonymous blogger Chatty Abernathy, who seems hell-bent on destroying her reputation and budding relationship.

Marvel: The Hip-Hop Covers Vol. 1


Ta-Nehisi Coates - 2016
    Experience page after page of incredible artwork featuring the heroes of the All-New, All-Different Marvel Universe — from A-Force to the X-Men — by an unbelievable roster of talent including Adam Hughes, Brian Stelfreeze, Jim Cheung, Mike Del Mundo, Sanford Greene, Jenny Frison, Phil Noto, Mahmud Asrar, Damion Scott, Tim Bradstreet, Keron Grant and Ed Piskor. Their finished covers sit side-by-side with behind-the-scenes sketches, showing the process of rendering some of the most famous images in hip-hop, Marvel style.