Book picks similar to
Hip Hop Africa: New African Music in a Globalizing World by Eric Charry
africa
curious
extended-collection
hip-hop
Miles Beyond: The Electric Explorations of Miles Davis, 1967-1991
Paul Tingen - 2001
Readers will discover a new perspective on Miles's working methods, as well as in in-depth, chronological understanding and analysis of the music produced from 1967 to 1991 - a period that's been both neglected and misunderstood.
The Angel Riots
Ibi Kaslik - 2008
The band's story unfolds through the eyes of Jim, a small-town violin prodigy who struggles with her past as well as her present; and Rize, an emotionally charged trombone player who is stuck playing sidekick to his best friend, charismatic lead singer Jules. As the band's popularity mounts, the pressures of road-life and success begin to complicate relationships and The Angel Riots' chaotic world threatens to implode. Dark and dazzling, this novel will firmly establish Kaslik's reputation as a young literary talent.
Smouldering Charcoal
Paul Tiyambe Zeleza - 1992
The middle-class pair become victims of the same brutal violence that the poor and powerless suffer.
The First Rasta: Leonard Howell and the Rise of Rastafarianism
Helene Lee - 2000
In the 1920s Leonard Percival Howell and the First Rastas had a revelation concerning the divinity of Haile Selassie, king of Ethiopia, that established the vision for the most popular mystical movement of the 20th century, Rastafarianism. Although jailed, ridiculed, and treated as insane, Howell, also known as the Gong, established a Rasta community of 4,500 members, the first agro-industrial enterprise devoted to producing marijuana. In the late 1950s the community was dispersed, disseminating Rasta teachings throughout the ghettos of the island. A young singer named Bob Marley adopted Howell's message, and through Marley's visions, reggae made its explosion in the music world.
I Make My Own Rules
L.L. Cool J. - 1997
I'm an innovator." "Keeping it real ain't about carrying a gun or smoking blunts. It's about being true to yourself and those around you." "Not every child who's abused has to be a negative statistic. I write this book for anyone who thinks they can make it, to show them they can."LL Cool J.Read his story.Learn from his words.Make your own rules.
Tennis and the Masai
Nicholas Best - 1987
Drop him into a ghastly Kenya prep school in the middle of Rider Haggard country. A school where cricketing news comes by carrier pigeon, leopards are assaulted with a red-hot poker, and runaway boys are hunted down with spearmen and a pack of foxhounds... For Martin Riddle, the experience is unforgettable. For the riding mistress, Lady Bullivant, it is all part of the day's work. And for the headmaster, a disreputable ex-Guards officer, it is simply a means of staving off bankruptcy for a few more weeks. As for the Masai, tennis may be on the curriculum at Haggard Hall, but midnight meetings with naked warriors definitely are not! 'The funniest book I have read since David Lodge's Small World' - Sunday Times 'Wickedly funny' - Daily Mail 'Less savage than Evelyn Waugh, Best is every bit as sharp... an immensely enjoyable book' - Evening Standard 'Very good entertainment' - Sir Alec Guinness (Sunday Times book of the year) Nicholas Best's books have been translated into many languages. He was the Financial Times's fiction critic for ten years and was long-listed in 2010 for the Sunday Times-EFG Bank 30,000 award, the biggest short story prize in the world. For more details, see www.nicholasbest.co.uk
Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money, + God
Russell Simmons - 2001
When no one outside of inner-city New York had even heard of hip-hop, Simmons saw the seeds of a global force that would change the way people talk, dress, listen to music, and choose the heroes they hang on their walls. Today, he oversees a sprawling, multimillion-dollar empire of culture-defining businesses in everything from music to fashion, advertising to film, and media to visual art. At the same time he’s broadened his interests and influence and pushed hip-hop to new plateaus of power and relevance. Life and Def is a one-of-a-kind tale that interweaves the remarkable journey of Russell Simmons with the story of the culture he’s transformed and been transformed by. In his own brash, compelling voice, Simmons chronicles his numerous business successes and occasional failures. He tells the story of the founding of the legendary Def Jam Records, whose roster stretches from original rap icons like L.L. Cool J, Public Enemy, and the Beastie Boys to today’s top stars, including Jay-Z and DMX. He traces the launching of Def Comedy Jam, the long-running hit television series that introduced a new generation of black comedic stars to America, from Martin Lawrence and Bill Bellamy to Bernie Mac and Chris Rock. He spins hilarious tales of his adventures in Hollywood, where he’s produced hit movies like Eddie Murphy’s The Nutty Professor and worked with quirky geniuses like Abel Ferrara. He also tells the story of Phat Farm, the wildly successful pioneering urban clothing label whose origins lay in Russell’s longtime fascination with fashion (and fashion models).Simmons’s story is also one of personal transformation, from the driven man who in the heady days of early success indulged himself with drugs, sex, and world-class decadence to the husband and father he is today, a man who has found meaning in activism, philanthropy, and spiritual practice while never losing his passion for the social, political, artistic, and commercial potential of hip-hop.Through it all he relates telling anecdotes about the characters he’s dealt with: models and gangsters, street poets and gurus, and major players like Donald Trump, Sean Combs, Jon Peters, and Tupac Shakur. Full of advice, opinions, and behind-the-scenes scoop, Life and Def is the story of the quintessential hip-hop life.From the Hardcover edition.
Killer Child: Mary Bell: A Tragic True Story
Sylvia Perrini - 2015
Mary was found guilty of manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and was sentenced to 'detention' for life. What would induce a young child to murder two other young children? In this short book, Sylvia Perrini, looks at Mary’s tragic life, her years in prison and life since prison. This short book follows in the tradition of great true crime writers such as Ann Rule, M. William Phelps and R J Parker.
Back in the Days
Jamel Shabazz - 2001
Back in the days, gangs would battle not with guns, but by breakdancing. Back in the days, the streets-not corporate planning-set the standards for style. Back in the days, Jamel Shabazz was on the scene, photographing everyday people hangin' in Harlem, kickin' it in Queens, and cold chillin' in Brooklyn. Street styling with an attitude not seen in fashion for another twenty years to come, Shabazz's subjects strike poses that put supermodels to shame-showing off Kangol caps and Gazelle glasses, shell-top Adidas and suede Pumas with fat laces, shearling coats and leather jackets, gold rope chains, door-knocker earrings, name belts, boom boxes, and other designer finery. For anyone who wants to know what "keepin' it real" means, Back in the Days is the book of your dreams.
Murder in the Front Row: Shots From the Bay Area Thrash Metal Epicenter
Brian Lew - 2011
Featuring hundreds of unseen live and candid color and black-and-white photographs, "Murder in the Front Row" captures the wild-eyed zeal and drive that made Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth into legends, with over 100 million combined records sold.
Music: A Subversive History
Ted Gioia - 2019
In Music: A Subversive History, historian Ted Gioia reclaims the story of music for the riffraff, insurgents, and provocateurs.Gioia tells a four-thousand-year history of music as a global source of power, change, and upheaval. He shows how social outcasts have repeatedly become trailblazers of musical expression: slaves and their descendants, for instance, have repeatedly reinvented music, from ancient times all the way to the jazz, reggae, and hip-hop sounds of the current day.Music: A Subversive History is essential reading for anyone interested in the meaning of music, from Sappho to the Sex Pistols to Spotify.
Making Beats: The Art of Sample-Based Hip-Hop
Joseph G. Schloss - 2004
But hip-hop deejays and producers have collectively developed an artistic system that features a complex aesthetic, a detailed array of social protocols, a rigorous set of ethical expectations and a rich historical consciousness. Based on ten years of research among hip-hop producers, Making Beats is the first work of scholarship to explore the goals, methods and values of this surprisingly insular community. Focusing on a variety of subjects--from hip-hop artists' pedagogical methods to the Afro-diasporic roots of the sampling process to the social significance of "digging" for rare records--Joseph G. Schloss examines the way hip-hop artists have managed to create a form of expression that reflects their creative aspirations, moral beliefs, political values and cultural realities.
Blue Note Records: The Biography
Richard Cook - 2001
With record-collector zeal, Cook analyzes everything from Sidney Bechet's 78s to Norah Jones' recent chart-topper.
Mossad: The Stories You Haven’t Heard Of Israel’s Most Effective Secret Service
Peter Russo - 2017
(Previously Turkey had owned Palestine. It had never been owned or ruled by Palestinians). An argument that will continue until one of the countries is either destroyed or disarmed. Palestine, being an Arab nation, has many allies in the surrounding areas, giving them a geographical, numerical and financial advantage. Be that as it may, the drive of Mossad is able to keep Israel’s head above water and their interests intact.The agency has performed—or been a part of—some of the boldest and fearless operations ever executed. For example, after the Munich Massacre of their sportsmen by Palestinian terrorist organisation Black September, Israel wanted justice, or vengeance. To do so, the Mossad scoured the globe for those that were a part of the terrorist group Black September and is suspected of killing the murderers. The Jewish religion has been combating anti-Semitism since the Egypt in the old testament—the Mossad is the result. It is their persistence that makes them such an effective fighting force in Israel’s arsenal.
A Real One Captured My Heart
K. Renee - 2020
Throwing caution to the wind, Shanice decides to live her best life while on a girl’s trip to Mexico. Gia, Shanice’s best friend only concern is her daughter. Trying to care for her daughter while breaking ties from her controlling ex is harder than Gia ever imagined. This is one fight however that Gia refuses to lose. Hurt by love, Truth Baylor is all about his money. Along with his right hand, Gabe, Truth is the plug to the streets. Neither of them are worried about women until they stumble upon Shanice and Gia. What started out as a vacation fling quickly escalates when Shanice and Truth happen to run into each other back at home. Will they continue what was started in Mexico or will the trust issues they both have interfere with something magical? When drama and feelings start to get crazy, Shanice will be able to tell everyone what it’s like to be Falling for Real One, even if it’s not a good thing.