Books > Hip Hop Stories

Prophets Of The Hood: Politics And Poetics In Hip Hop by Imani Perry (Paperback - December 1, 2004) Other Editions: Hardcover | Paperback ~ At once the most lucrative, popular, and culturally oppositional musical force in the United States, hip hop demands the kind of interpretation Imani Perry provides here—criticism engaged with this vibrant musical form on its own terms. A scholar and a fan, Perry considers the art, politics, and culture of hip hop through an analysis of song lyrics, the words of the Prophets Of The Hood. Recognizing prevailing characterizations of hip hop, or rap, as a transnational musical form, Perry advances a powerful argument that hip hop is first and foremost black American music. At the same time, she contends that many studies have shortchanged the aesthetic value of rap by attributing much of its form and content primarily to socioeconomic factors. Her innovative analysis revels in the artistry of hip hop, revealing it as an art of innovation, not deprivation.

The African American Book of Values by Steven Barboza (Author) (Hardcover - Sep 15, 1998) In this massive anthology, Steven Barboza reveals the story of the African American as largely a story of good triumphing over evil, in a myriad of forms. "This book," he writes, "can give children, families, teachers and friends glimpses of values in action and provide moral examples that any reader can recognize." Culled from many short-story and novel excerpts, poems, and essays, the collection is divided into three distinct headings. "The Book of Self-Mastery" examines self-discipline, courage, honesty, self-esteem, work, tenacity, creativity, and faith through texts such as Ralph Ellison's "Little Man at Chehaw Station," historian Charles Blockson's heroic "The Ballad of the Underground Railroad," and Alain Locke's philosophical battle cry of the Harlem Renaissance, "The New Negro." Charles Chesnutt's "The Wife of His Youth," James Weldon Johnson's stereotype-smashing look at Harlem in "Black Manhattan," and Martin Luther King's immortal "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" illuminate many of the themes in "The Book of Empathy," including family, community and responsibility.

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Excellence = Resistance |

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Excellence = Resistance |

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Patricia Hill Collins | Pearl Cleage | Phillip Thomas Duck

Velma Maia Thomas | Victor McGlothin ~~ Walter Dean Myers | Walter Mosley ~~ Yolanda Joe ~~ Zane | Zora Neale Hurston

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