Best of
Musicians

2007

Keep Your Eyes Open: The Fugazi Photographs of Glen E. Friedman


Glen E. Friedman - 2007
    The first edition of Keep Your Eyes Open: The Fugazi Photographs of Glen E. Friedman was released by Burning Flags Press exactly twenty years later. This revised edition features brand-new photos and an interview with Friedman and Fugazi singer/guitarist Ian MacKaye.Keep Your Eyes Open presents the best of Friedman’s unparalleled photographic documentation of Fugazi’s members in almost 200 color and black-and-white images captured by Friedman onstage and off between 1986 and Fugazi’s last US concert in 2002.Fugazi evolved from Washington, DC’s, hardcore punk scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. While it would be impossible to fully capture Fugazi in any one medium, Friedman’s book effectively complements the band’s Dischord Records catalog, which includes seven studio albums, one soundtrack, three EPs, and hundreds of live concert CDs produced from Fugazi’s own soundboard recordings.Fugazi—a band dedicated to democratic self-management, highlighted by complete artistic and financial control—booked its own tours worldwide, and was often the first band to perform in unconventional venues around the world in order to maintain ticket prices that averaged just five dollars, a practice that opened many new venue doors to other touring artists. In addition, Fugazi has never marketed or licensed its name or likeness for posters, T-shirts, pins, or other ancillary merchandise. Fugazi’s unwavering respect for its audience is one of the band’s most indelible marks on modern music. The band went on indefinite hiatus in late 2002.

Eminem (Hip Hop Stars)


Dennis Abrams - 2007
    This biography examines the remarkable life of a controversial yet talented artist who pushed creative envelopes and broke racial boundaries to become one of hip-hop's greatest stars.

Tupac Shakur


Clifford W. Mills - 2007
    A pensive, artistic youth, Tupac burst onto the hip-hop scene in the 1990s and became one of rap music's most popular and volatile figures. This book examines the life, legacy, and impact of this best-selling rapper.

The Notorious B.I.G.: A Biography


Holly Lang - 2007
    Raised in Brooklyn during the crack-cocaine boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s, Smalls (born Christopher Wallace) worked as a drug dealer before ultimately deciding to become a rapper. With Sean Puffy Combs and Bad Boy Entertainment, Biggie rocketed to fame as one of hip hop's most popular artists. But with the success came controversy: the friendship-turned-feud between Biggie and Tupac fueled the rivalry between East Coast and West Coast hip hop, a gangsta-rap battle that many believe led to the murder of both rappers. While still unsolved, the murder of Biggie in 1997 sparked numerous investigations, litigation, and the dismantling of a Los Angeles Police Department task force in what is considered the largest scandal in LAPD history. Ten years later, Biggie is celebrated as the King of East Coast hip hop. In this biography author Holly Lang recounts the life, music, and legacy of Biggie and investigates the events surrounding his murder.