Ice-T

Spike

Douglas Century

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Arkansas

Life Stories

Award-winning actor, rapper, and producer Ice-T unveils a compelling and astonishing memoir of his early life robbing jewelry stores until he found fame and fortune--while a handful of bad choices sent his former crime partner down an incredibly different path.

Ice-T rose to fame in the late 1980s, earning acclaim for his music before going on to capture television audiences as Odafin "Fin" Tutuola in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit . But it could have gone much differently. In this gripping and candid memoir, Ice-T and Spike, his former crime partner--collaborating with New York Times bestselling author Douglas Century--relate the shocking stories of their shared pasts, and how just a handful of decisions led to their incredibly different lives.

Both grew up in violent, gang-controlled Los Angeles neighborhoods and worked together to orchestrate a series of jewelry heists in LA and across the US. But while Ice-T was discovered rapping in a club and got his first record deal, Spike was caught for a jewel robbery and did three years in prison. As his music career began to take off, Ice made the decision to leave the criminal life; Spike continued to plan increasingly ingenious and risky jewel heists. And in 1992, after one of Spike's robberies ended tragically, he was sentenced to thirty-five years to life. While he sat behind bars, he watched his former partner rise to fame in music, movies, and television.

Harrowing, timely, and thoughtful, two men with two very different lives reveal how their paths might have very well been reversed if they made different choices. All it took was a Split Decision.

Split Decision

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Library discard #diddy #drdre #jayz #hiphop #moguls #musicians #entrepreneurs #africanamericans #rapmusic 

New Jersey

Diddy, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, and Hip-Hop's Multibillion-Dollar Rise

Tracing the careers of hip-hop's three most dynamic stars, this deeply reported history brilliantly examines the entrepreneurial genius of the first musician tycoons: Diddy, Dr. Dre, and Jay-Z.

Being successful musicians was simply never enough for the three kings of hip-hop. Diddy, Dr. Dre, and Jay-Z lifted themselves from childhood adversity into tycoon territory, amassing levels of fame and wealth that not only outshone all other contemporary hip-hop artists, but with a combined net worth of well over $2 billion made them the three richest American musicians, period.

Yet their fortunes have little to do with selling their own albums: between Diddy's Ciroc vodka, Dre's $3 billion sale of his Beats headphones to Apple, and Jay-Z's Tidal streaming service and other assets, these artists have transcended pop music fame to become lifestyle icons and moguls.

Hip-hop is no longer just a musical genre; it's become a way of life that encompasses fashion, film, food, drink, sports, electronics and more -- one that has opened new paths to profit and to critical and commercial acclaim. Thanks in large part to the Three Kings -- who all started their own record labels and released classic albums before moving on to become multifaceted businessmen -- hip-hop has been transformed from a genre spawned in poverty into a truly global multibillion-dollar industry.

These men are the modern embodiment of the American Dream, but their stories as great thinkers and entrepreneurs have yet to be told in full. Based on a decade of reporting, and interviews with more than 100 sources including hip-hop pioneers Russell Simmons and Fab 5 Freddy; new-breed executives like former Def Jam chief Kevin Liles and venture capitalist Troy Carter; and stars from Swizz Beatz to Shaquille O'Neal, 3 Kings tells the fascinating story of the rise and rise of the three most influential musicians in America.

3 Kings

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William Buckholz

Rap songs are famous for their double entendres, clever turns of phrase, and general ingenuity, but that doesn't mean things always make sense the first time around. Enter Understand Rap, a very funny pop-cultural reference book based on the website of the same name, which precisely explains the confusing lyrics and terms used in rap songs using language that even the most un-hip person can understand. The juxtaposition of a dry, academic tone with hip-hop terminology results in a book that's as entertaining as it is informative.

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Texas

Explanations of Confusing Rap Lyrics That You and Your Grandma Can Understand

Although rap music is famous for its ingenuity, double entendres and clever turns of phrase, until now no one has attempted to collect rap lyrics into an organised compendium. Enter Understand Rap, a very funny pop-cultural reference book based on the website of the same name, which precisely explains all the confusing terms and lyrics used in rap songs in a language even the most un-hip person can understand. The result is a book with breakout potential that's both entertaining and highly informative. The juxtaposition of dry, academic manner with Hip Hop terminology in Understand Rap frequently lends itself to ironic comedy gold. For example: Lyric: 'Been servin' since you was doin' the runnin' man'. Explanation: My experience selling drugs began long ago, while you were still concerning yourself with immature things like doing goofy dances where you look like you're running in place. (From Song: Rubberband Man on Album: Trap Muzik by Artist: T.I.) Understand Rap features hip hop artists of all names, colours, and creeds and organise their lyrics into the following categories: Cars, Money, Drugs/Alcohol, People, Places, Fashion, Crime/Weapons, Insults, Skills/Pride and Sex/Relationships.

Understand Rap

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Rick Ross

Neil Martinez-Belkin

Ex-library. Catalog markers. Light shelf wear on jacket. Subtle. Pages in great shape. Crisp and clean. Sharp photography. No dog ears or scribbles. Please see photos for reference.

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Ohio

A Memoir

The highly anticipated memoir from hip-hop icon Ross chronicles his coming of age amid Miami's crack epidemic, his star-studded controversies, and his unstoppable rise to fame. Ross is an indomitable presence in the music industry, but few people know his full story.

Hurricanes

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#paperback #tupac #biography #tupacshakur #hiphop #rap #poet #music #nonfiction

New York

This series tells the stories of the leading figures of hip-hop, packed full of unrivalled information and full-colour photos.

Tupac

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Tiffany D. Jackson

Massachusetts

In this striking new novel by the critically acclaimed author of Allegedly and Monday’s Not Coming, Tiffany D. Jackson tells the story of three Brooklyn teens who plot to turn their murdered friend into a major rap star by pretending he's still alive. Brooklyn, 1998. Biggie Smalls was right: Things done changed. But that doesn’t mean that Quadir and Jarrell are cool letting their best friend Steph’s music lie forgotten under his bed after he’s murdered—not when his rhymes could turn any Bed Stuy corner into a party. With the help of Steph’s younger sister Jasmine, they come up with a plan to promote Steph’s music under a new rap name: the Architect. Soon, everyone wants a piece of him. When his demo catches the attention of a hotheaded music label rep, the trio must prove Steph’s talent from beyond the grave. As the pressure of keeping their secret grows, Quadir, Jarrell, and Jasmine are forced to confront the truth about what happened to Steph. Only, each has something to hide. And with everything riding on Steph’s fame, they need to decide what they stand for or lose all that they’ve worked so hard to hold on to—including each other.

Let Me Hear a Rhyme

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Charlamagne Tha God

Maryland

Anxiety Playing Tricks on Me

Charlamagne Tha God, New York Times bestselling author of Black Privilege and always provocative cohost of Power 105.1's The Breakfast Club, reveals his blueprint for breaking free from your fears and anxieties.

Being "shook" is more than a rap lyric for Charlamagne, it's his mission to overcome. While it may seem like he's ahead of the game, he is actually plagued by anxieties, such as the fear of losing his roots, the fear of being a bad dad, and the fear of being a terrible husband. In the national bestseller Shook One, Charlamagne chronicles his journey to beat those fears and shows a path that you too can take to overcome the anxieties that may be holding you back.

Ironically, Charlamagne's fear of failure--of falling into the life of stagnation or crime that caught up so many of his friends and family in his hometown of Moncks Corner--has been the fuel that has propelled him to success. However, even after achieving national prominence as a radio personality, Charlamagne still found himself paralyzed by anxiety and distrust. Here, in Shook One, he is working through these problems--many of which he traces back to cultural PTSD--with help from mentors, friends, and therapy. Being anxious doesn't serve the same purpose anymore. Through therapy, he's figuring out how to get over the irrational fears that won't take him anywhere positive.

Charlamange hopes Shook One can be a call to action: Getting help is your right. His second book "cements the radio personality's stance in making sure he's on the right side of history when it comes to society's growing focus on mental health, while helping remove the negative stigma" (Billboard).

Shook One

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#paperback #50cent #rap #hiphop #Blackauthor #Blackcharacter

Softcover

A hard-hitting and inspirational novel about the redemption of a bully from international icon 50 Cent

Thirteen-year-old Butterball takes readers on a journey through the moments that made him into the playground bully he is today. Loosely inspired by 50 Cent's own adolescence and written with his teenage son in mind, Playground received wide critical praise--and is now poised to become a perennial classic.

Playground

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Dalton Higgins

Jane Springer

#paperback #hiphop #rap #groundworkguide #poetry a little squished on front cover (pic)

A Groundwork Guide by Dalton Higgins

Hip Hop World

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Clover Hope

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

New Hampshire

100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop

An illustrated highlight reel of more than 100 women in rap who have helped shape the genre and eschewed gender norms in the process The Motherlode highlights more than 100 women who have shaped the power, scope, and reach of rap music, including pioneers like Roxanne Shanté, game changers like Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliott, and current reigning queens like Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, and Lizzo--as well as everyone who came before, after, and in between. Some of these women were respected but not widely celebrated. Some are impossible not to know. Some of these women have stood on their own; others were forced into templates, compelled to stand beside men in big rap crews. Some have been trapped in a strange critical space between respected MC and object. They are characters, caricatures, lyricists, at times both feminine and explicit. This book profiles each of these women, their musical and career breakthroughs, and the ways in which they each helped change the culture of rap.

The Motherlode

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Ebony LaDelle

Hitch meets The Sun Is Also a Star in this witty and romantic teen novel about a self-professed teen love doctor with a popular radio segment who believes he can get a girl who hates all things romance to fall in love with him in only three dates.

Prince Jones is the guy with all the answers--or so it seems. After all, at seventeen, he has his own segment on Detroit's popular hip-hop show, Love Radio, where he dishes out advice to the brokenhearted.

Prince has always dreamed of becoming a DJ and falling in love. But being the main caretaker for his mother, who has multiple sclerosis, and his little brother means his dreams will stay just that and the only romances in his life are the ones he hears about from his listeners.

Until he meets Dani Ford.

Dani isn't checking for anybody. She's focused on her plan: ace senior year, score a scholarship, and move to New York City to become a famous author. But her college essay keeps tripping her up and acknowledging what's blocking her means dealing with what happened at that party a few months ago.

And that's one thing Dani can't do.

When the romantic DJ meets the ambitious writer, sparks fly. Prince is smitten, but Dani's not looking to get derailed. She gives Prince just three dates to convince her that he's worth falling for.

Three dates for the love expert to take his own advice, and just maybe change two lives forever.

Love Radio

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Lola Willow

Mississippi

A B to Jay-Z

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Shea Serrano

HIP-HOP (AND OTHER THINGS), which was an instant New York Times bestseller upon its publication, is the third and final book in the (AND OTHER THINGS) series. It's 32 chapters long. And every chapter is a different rap question that needs to be answered. You should buy it.

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

HIP-HOP (AND OTHER THINGS) is the third book in the (And Other Things) series. The first two--Basketball (And Other Things) and Movies (And Other Things)--were both #1 New York Times bestsellers.

Hip-Hop (and Other Things) - First Edition

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Steve Stoute

California

How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy

A former record executive and highly sought brand consultant traces the rise of hip-hop culture from a niche genre to the mainstream, revealing how hip-hop has contributed to a new generation of multi-ethnic consumers who share experiences and values that can be tapped for effective marketing campaigns. 40,000 first printing.

The Tanning of America

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#paperback #hiphop #music #rap #nonfiction #history

A Short History

Tells the story of how a movement that began in the neighborhoods of the Bronx, New York, grew to become a major musical, cultural, political, and philanthropic force over the world. This book helps readers learn how slavery and the civil rights movement helped lead to the birth of hip-hop.

Hip Hop

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Nelson George

Florida

Examine the society-altering collision between black youth culture and mass media into big business. A finalist for the National Book Critics Award in Criticism.

Hip Hop America

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never read! signed and personalized to rita.

Let Me Hear a Rhyme (signed)

STREET DANCE: THE BEST MOVES is the perfect introduction to major street dance styles with easy-to-follow step-by-step photography. As well as learning the various types of street dance, including B-boy, Popping, Locking, Hip Hop and House - and the basic moves of each of these - you'll get tips on the best tracks to dance to, what clothes to wear to look the part, and be given expert advice from top dancers across the globe. .

Throughout the book there are also embedded videos, showing the step-by-steps put into practice so you can check you're doing it right!


The Best Moves

Street Dance

Has a mark at the bottom of the book. A small dent on the front cover. #ya #youngadultfiction #fiction #bipoc #juvenilefiction #hiphop #intense #hardcover #angiethomas

On The Come Up

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Gobi

Afeni Shakur

Thoughts on Tupac Amaru Shakur in Pictures and Words

Nine years after his death, Tupac Shakur's allure is stronger than ever. With more than a quarter of a million copies of his poetry book sold to date; countless Internet sites; the Tupac Amaru Centre in Georgia, USA; university courses dedicated to his poetry and new hit recordings, it's clear that interest in this complex and fascinating artist is still growing. THRU MY EYES is a collection of fifty photographs of Tupac, many never seen before by the public. Gathered from the last year of Tupac's life (1995-1996), these are revealing and poignant images that show him pulling away from the dark forces that influenced his life and developing into a mature artist. With text written by Gobi, Tupac's former music video director/producer, business partner and friend, THRU MY EYES provides an in-depth look at a frequently misunderstood performer and also reveals the lighter more playful side of Tupac. There are photographs presenting him as a lover of life and sex symbol; photographs of Tupac in frivolous mood, dressed as Rick James; photographs of him playing joyfully with his kids. And of course there are images depicting Tupac working at his crafts - acting and rapping - imbuing every task with the dedication and determination that defined his life.

Thru My Eyes

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Justin Tinsley

Virginia

Biggie and the World That Made Him

From a talented young journalist on the rise, a deeply reported, timely new biography of the Notorious B.I.G., publishing for what would have been his 50th birthday The Notorious B.I.G. was one of the most charismatic and talented artists of the 1990s. Born Christopher Wallace and raised in Clinton Hill/Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, Biggie lived an almost archetypal rap life: young trouble, drug dealing, guns, prison, a giant hit record, the wealth and international superstardom that came with it, then an early violent death. Biggie released his first record, Ready to Die, in 1994, when he was only 22. Less than three years later, he was killed just days before the planned release of his second record Life After Death. Journalist Justin Tinsley's It Was All a Dream is a fresh, insightful telling of the life beyond the legend. It is based on extensive interviews with those who knew and loved Biggie, including neighbors, friends, DJs, party promoters, and journalists. And it places Biggie's life in context, both within the history of rap but also the wider cultural and political forces that shaped him, including Caribbean immigration, the Reagan era disinvestment in public education, street life, the war on drugs, mass incarceration, and the booming, creative, and influential 1990s music industry. This is the story of where Biggie came from, the forces that shaped him, and the legacy he has left behind.

It Was All a Dream

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Derrick Parker

Matt Diehl

The Inside Story of the Tupac, Biggie, and Jam Master Jay Investigations from NYPD's First Hip-Hop Cop

As head of the first special force unit devoted exclusively to the investigation of hip-hop crime, first-grade detective Derrick Parker worked on some of the biggest criminal cases in rap history. From the shooting at Club New York to the murder of Tupac Shakur, Derrick was on the inside of hip-hop's most notorious crimes. Always straddling the fence between "po-po" and NYPD outsider, Derrick threatened police tradition to try and get the cases solved. He was the first New York detective on the Biggie Smalls' murder and discovered shocking and never-before-revealed information from an unlikely informant. He protected one of the only surviving eyewitnesses to the Jam Master Jay murder and knows the identity of the killers as well as the motivation behind the shooting. Notorious C.O.P. reveals hip-hop crimes that never made the paper--like the robbing of Foxy Brown and the first Hot 97 shooting--and answers some lingering questions about murders that have remained unsolved. The book that both the NYPD and the hip-hop community don't want you to read, Notorious C.O.P. is the first insider look at the real links between crime and hip-hop and the inefficiencies that have left some of the most widely publicized murders in entertainment history unsolved.

Notorious C. O. P.

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Action Bronson

South Carolina

A True Story

An entirely original and empowering memoir meets self-help guide from the bestselling author, rapper, artist, and chef Action Bronson From the New York Times bestselling author, chef-turned-rapper, and host of Viceland's F*ck, That's Delicious and The Untitled Action Bronson Show, F*ck It, I'll Start Tomorrow is a brutally honest memoir about struggles with weight, food addiction, and the journey to self-acceptance. In his signature voice, Action Bronson shares all that he's learned in the past decade to help you help yourself. This isn't a road map to attaining a so-called perfect body. Instead, Bronson will share his journey to find confidence, keep the negative vibes at bay, stay sane, chill out, and not look in the mirror hoping to see anyone but yourself. F*ck It, I'll Start Tomorrow is not about losing weight--it's about being and feeling excellent regardless of your size or shape. It's about living f*cking healthy, period.

F*ck It, I'll Start Tomorrow

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#paperback #hiphop #ya #youngadult #fiction 

Theresa Anderson is every kind of smart but, with the example of super-achieving older brother towering over her, she hasn't even been trying. With her parents and teachers always on her case and her best friend pregnant and dropped out of school, Theresa turns to hip-hop for comfort. Theresa meets Devon, whose tough-guy reputation conceals ablazing ambition for academic success. They help each other face up to their talent and ambition, but then Devon gets shot in a street fight, leaving Theresa with two unfinished college applcations and time is running out...

Browse by categories

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Ice-T; Spike; Douglas Century

Split Decision

Zack O'Malley Greenburg

3 Kings

William Buckholz

Understand Rap

Rick Ross; Neil Martinez-Belkin

Hurricanes

Hal Marcovitz

Tupac

Tiffany D. Jackson

Let Me Hear a Rhyme

Charlamagne Tha God

Shook One

50 50 Cent; Lizzi Akana (Illustrator)

Playground

Dalton Higgins

Hip Hop World

Clover Hope

The Motherlode

Ebony LaDelle

Love Radio

Lola Willow

A B to Jay-Z

Shea Serrano

Hip-Hop (and Other Things) - First Edition

Steve Stoute

The Tanning of America

Rosa Waters

Hip Hop

Nelson George

Hip Hop America

Tiffany D. Jackson

Let Me Hear a Rhyme (signed)

DJ Hooch

Street Dance

Angie Thomas

On The Come Up

Gobi; Afeni Shakur

Thru My Eyes

Justin Tinsley

It Was All a Dream

Derrick Parker; Matt Diehl

Notorious C. O. P.

Action Bronson

F*ck It, I'll Start Tomorrow

Alan Lawrence Sitomer

Hip-Hop High School