Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

The stunning national bestseller now features an illuminating discussion with Sister Souljah -- her secret thoughts on creating the story that has sold more than one million copies worldwide and introduced readers everywhere to the real ghetto experience. Here are answers to the questions fans everywhere have been asking; the meanings and inspirations behind such memorable characters as Winter, Midnight, and... (more)

Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation

Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation

by Jeff Chang

Forged in the fires of the Bronx and Kingston, Jamaica, hip-hop has been a generation-defining global movement. In a post–civil rights era rapidly transformed by deindustrialization and globalization, hip-hop gave voiceless youths a chance to address these seismic changes, and became a job-making engine and the Esperanto of youth rebellion. Hip-hop crystallized a multiracial generation's worldview, and forever... (more)

The Dead Emcee Scrolls: The Lost Teachings of Hip-Hop

The Dead Emcee Scrolls: The Lost Teachings of Hip-Hop

by Saul Williams

In the underground labyrinths of New York City's subway system, beneath the third rail of a long forgotten line, Saul Williams discovered scrolls of aged yellowish-brown paper rolled tightly into a can of spray paint. His quest to decipher this mystical ancient text resulted in a primal understanding of the power hip-hop has to teach us about ourselves and the universe around us. Now, for the first time, Saul... (more)

From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens

From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens

by 50 Cent

This violent and introspective memoir reveals not only 50 Cent's story but also the story of a generation of youth faced with hard choices and very few options. It is a tale of sacrifice, transformation, and redemption, but also one of hope, determination, and the power of self. Told in 50's unique voice, the narrative drips with the raw insight, street wisdom, and his struggle to survive at all costs -- and... (more)

Hip-Hop High School

by Alan Lawrence Sitomer

Theresa Anderson is every kind of smart: too smart-mouthed for her own good, street smart enough to deal with a neighborhood that gets more dangerous every day, and more book smart than anyone knows. But with the example of her super-achieving older brother towering above her, Theresa hasn’t even been trying. How can a girl compete against the family favorite, especially when he’s a certified local hero? With her... (more)

Confessions of a Video Vixen

by Karrine Steffans

An instant bestseller upon publication, Confessions of a Video Vixen is the page-turning memoir of Karrine Steffans: dancer, actress, and companion to many a celebrity. But more than a glimpse at what happens in the boardrooms and bedrooms of hip hop's A list, Confessions of a Video Vixen is also the first true account of how women are treated in the music industry, and its honest, direct revelations... (more)

Homeboyz

by Alan Lawrence Sitomer

When Teddy Anderson's little sister Tina is gunned down randomly in a drive-by shooting, the gangstas who rule the streets in the Anderson family's rapidly deteriorating neighborhood dismiss the incident as just another case of RP, RT-wrong place, wrong time. According to gangsta logic, Tina doesn't even count as a statistic. Teddy's family is devastated. Mrs. Anderson sinks into deep depression while Pops... (more)

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

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

by Kim Osorio

Kim Osorio had a front-row seat for the biggest beefs, battles, and blow-ups in hip-hop. As the first female editor-in-chief of The Source , she had come up. From her corner office, Kim got the goods on hip-hop's hottest names: Jay-Z, Nas, 50 Cent, Lil' Kim. She developed close -- sometimes intimate -- relationships with the artists she exposed to the public. But The Source couldn't hide its own dirty laundry... (more)

Dare

by Abiola Abrams

Meet Maya Hope. Double-dipped in cocoa with brick-house curves, she's a lover of jazz, a political poet, and a sociologist with a broken heart. Her best friend and roommate Athena Wagner is her opposite in every way- a petite ex-cheerleader who's always blaring rap, grinding out rhymes, and ready to take the next man home. When Maya is forced to fill in at one of Athena's auditions, she finds herself on an... (more)

Ashley and Tiana

by Jessica R. Dreistadt

Ashley and Tiana is the story of two unlikely friends, Ashley Glazier and Tiana Thompson, who meet at summer camp in Pennsylvania during the summer of 1982. Tiana, who lives in the Bronx, is into Hip Hop and Ashley, who lives in Greenwich Village, is into punk rock. After an awkward meeting, they become best friends and learn that they, and their music, have a lot more in common than they first realized. ... (more)

Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar

Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar

by Karen Hunter, Donda West

The mother of rapper and music producer Kanye West tells her story in this hardcover book, including never before seen photos. Donda will talk about her life as a single mother and the difficulties she faced in raising a son in the African-American community. She not only worked full time as a teacher and attending night school, later achieved her doctorate. She and Kanye did a few years abroad when she was a... (more)

No More Prisons

by William Upski Wimsatt

Winner of the 2000 Firecracker Alternative Book Award for Best Book, Politics.

Yes Yes Y'All: The Experience Music Project Oral History of Hip-Hop's First Decade

Yes Yes Y'All: The Experience Music Project Oral History of Hip-Hop's First Decade

by Jim Fricke

The first and only account of hip-hop's birth, told in the never-before-published words of its founders and stars, and highlighted by almost 200 photos and flyers. "I always knew that, for those that never heard this music, that if they had a chance to hear it, they would have no choice but to love it." --Grandmaster Flash Hip-hop today is ubiquitous, dominating not only the music industry but also popular... (more)

Wu Tang Manual: Enter the 36 Chambers, Volume One

Wu Tang Manual: Enter the 36 Chambers, Volume One

by Chris Norris, RZA

Long awaited and much anticipated, The Wu-Tang Manual is The RZA's first written introduction to the philosophy and history of Hip-Hop's original Dynasty, the Wu-Tang Clan. Since the release of the revolutionary Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) - over the course of four seminal group albums and a multitude of ambitious side projects - the Wu-Tang Clan has constantly redefined what hip-hop can do and where... (more)

Bling Bling: Hip Hop's Crown Jewels

by Minya Oh

When it comes to the world of hip-hop, nothing shines brighter than glorious bling. A fascinating look in words and pictures at the stars of hip-hop and their fabulous jewelry. elcome to the rarified world of hip-hop royalty, where mega-stars from Jay-Z to J. Lo flash brilliant rocks to signify status and express personal style. In Bling Bling, writer and radio show host Minya Oh takes readers deep inside this... (more)

Sweet Sensation (Indigo: Sensuous Love Stories)

Sweet Sensation (Indigo: Sensuous Love Stories)

by Gwyneth Bolton

Whatever You Say I Am: The Life and Times of Eminem

Whatever You Say I Am: The Life and Times of Eminem

by Anthony Bozza

does eminem matter? On assignment for his first cover story for Rolling Stone, the very first national cover story on Eminem, Anthony Bozza met a young blond kid, a rapper who would soon take the country by storm. But back in 1999, Eminem was just beginning to make waves among suburban white teenagers as his first single, “My Name Is,” went into heavy rotation on MTV. Who could have predicted that in a mere... (more)

Classic Material: The Hip-Hop Album Guide

Classic Material: The Hip-Hop Album Guide

This rich, diverse, and intelligent collection of hip-hop and rap album reviews includes pieces from some of the country's most talented critics on hip-hop music, drawing on a range of expertise from writers at such magazines as Spin, Rolling Stone, The Source, and Vibe. With over 40 entries covering more than 60 classic albums, it disproves the idea that there is a dearth of intelligent commentary and criticism... (more)

Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies

Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies

by Brian Coleman

A Tribe Called Quest • Beastie Boys • De La Soul • Eric B. & Rakim • The Fugees • KRS-One • Pete Rock & CL Smooth • Public Enemy • The Roots • Run-DMC • Wu-Tang Clan • and twenty-five more hip-hop immortals It’s a sad fact: hip-hop album liners have always been reduced to a list of producer and sample credits, a publicity photo or two, and some hastily composed shout-outs. That’s a damn shame, because few... (more)

This is Uncool: The 500 Greatest Singles Since Punk and Disco

This is Uncool: The 500 Greatest Singles Since Punk and Disco

by Garry Mulholland

In 1977, the Sex Pistols burst on the scene with “Anarchy in the UK” and transformed pop music forever. Along with that song, every one of these singles helped reshape the culture’s style, language, and performance. This is the story of how music and the world change, how bands reach a peak and dominate the scene briefly before fading away, and about the undeniable power of certain songs (Nirvana’s “Smells Like... (more)

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: hip hop

by Souljah

by Jeff Chang

by Saul Williams

by 50 Cent

by Alan Lawrence Sitomer

by Karrine Steffans

by Alan Lawrence Sitomer

by Kim Osorio

by Abiola Abrams

by Jessica R. Dreistadt

by Karen Hunter, Donda West

by William Upski Wimsatt

by Jim Fricke

by Chris Norris, RZA

by Minya Oh

by Gwyneth Bolton

by Anthony Bozza

by Brian Coleman

by Garry Mulholland