Music:

Decoded

Written by Jay-Z

Format: Trade Paperback, 352 pages
On Sale: November 1, 2011
Price: $25.00

Expanded paperback edition of the acclaimed New York Times bestseller features 16 pages of new material, including 3 new songs decoded.
 
Decoded is a book like no other: a collection of lyrics and their meanings that together tell the story of a culture, an art form, a moment in history... Read more >

Def Jam, Inc.
Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin, and the Extraordinary Story of the World's Most Inf
Written by Stacy Gueraseva
Introduction by Brett Ratner

Format: eBook
On Sale: March 30, 2011
Price: $12.99

In the early ‘80s, the music industry wrote off hip-hop as a passing fad. Few could or would have predicted that the improvised raps and raw beats busting out of New York City’s urban underclass would one day become a multimillion-dollar business and one of music’s most lucrative genres.

Among those few... Read more >

Decoded

Written by Jay-Z

Format: eBook
On Sale: December 7, 2010
Price: $14.99

Expanded edition of the acclaimed New York Times bestseller features 16 pages of new material, including 3 new songs decoded.
 
Decoded is a book like no other: a collection of lyrics and their meanings that together tell the story of a culture, an art form, a moment in history, and one of... Read more >

Whatever You Say I Am
The Life and Times of Eminem
Written by Anthony Bozza

Format: eBook, 288 pages
On Sale: August 4, 2010
Price: $9.99

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... Read more >

Enter the Babylon System
Unpacking Gun Culture from Samuel Colt to 50 Cent
Written by Rodrigo Bascunan and Christian Pearce

Format: eBook
On Sale: June 18, 2010
Price: $9.99

A docu-style investigation of our fascination with the gun, from the perspective of the hip-hop generation.

The 2003 shooting death of Toronto community-centre worker Kempton Howard put the spotlight on hip hop’s fixation with guns. Media and police soon blamed rap music and its tales of gang life on bullet-ridden US streets... Read more >

How to Wreck a Nice Beach
The Vocoder from World War II to Hip-Hop, The Machine Speaks
Written by Dave Tompkins

Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
On Sale: April 6, 2010
Price: $35.00

The history of the vocoder: how popular music hijacked the Pentagon's speech scrambling weapon

The vocoder, invented by Bell Labs in 1928, once guarded phones from eavesdroppers during World War II; by the Vietnam War, it was repurposed as a voice-altering tool for musicians, and is now the ubiquitous voice of popular... Read more >

The Gospel of Hip Hop
The First Instrument
Written by KRS-One

Format: Hardcover, 832 pages
On Sale: October 24, 2009
Price: $24.95

The Gospel of Hip Hop: First Instrument, the first book from the I Am Hip Hop, is the philosophical masterwork of KRS ONE. Set in the format of the Christian Bible, this 800-plus-page opus is a life-guide manual for members of Hip Hop Kulture that combines classic philosophy with faith and... Read more >

It's Just Begun
The Epic Journey of DJ Disco Wiz, Hip Hop's First Latino DJ
Written by Ivan Sanchez and Luis "DJ Disco Wiz" Cedeno

Format: Hardcover, 180 pages
On Sale: April 28, 2009
Price: $22.95

It’s Just Begun: The Epic Journey of DJ Disco Wiz, Hip Hop’s First Latino DJ is a gritty and gripping tale of one man’s struggles to not only survive, but to triumph over adversity and abuse that will make your blood run cold. By conquering unimaginable obstacles, Wiz offers inspiration to... Read more >

Check the Technique
Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies
Written by Brian Coleman
Introduction by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson

Format: eBook, 528 pages
On Sale: March 12, 2009
Price: $14.99

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... Read more >

Triksta
Life and Death and New Orleans Rap
Written by Nik Cohn

Format: eBook, 256 pages
On Sale: March 12, 2009
Price: $11.99

Acclaimed music writer Nik Cohn’s love of hip-hop goes back to its beginnings, and his love of New Orleans even further, to when he passed through the Big Easy on tour with The Who and discovered a place with a magic that never failed to seize him. On the surface he’s... Read more >

Living Proof

Text by Ruckus and Uptown
Photographed by David Allen Harvey

Format: Hardcover, 112 pages
On Sale: December 1, 2007
Price: $29.95

Hip hop, which first began on the streets of the South Bronx in the early 1970s, has traveled the globe, finding a home in every corner of the planet. Remade by local cultures in their own language and regional style, hip hop’s versatility speaks to its accessibility and universality. The lyrics... Read more >

Enter the Babylon System
Unpacking Gun Culture from Samuel Colt to 50 Cent
Written by Rodrigo Bascunan and Christian Pearce

Format: Trade Paperback, 368 pages
On Sale: November 20, 2007
Price: $19.00

A docu-style investigation of our fascination with the gun, from the perspective of the hip-hop generation.

The 2003 shooting death of Toronto community-centre worker Kempton Howard put the spotlight on hip hop’s fixation with guns. Media and police soon blamed rap music and its tales of gang life on bullet-ridden US streets... Read more >

The Breaks
Stylin' and Profilin' 1982-1990
Text by Bill Adler and Tom Terrell
Photographed by Janette Beckman

Format: Hardcover, 144 pages
On Sale: August 1, 2007
Price: $35.00

“These images, which span music, street culture, and hip hop icons from 1982 to 1990, feature entertainers at the breaking point of their careers. The pictures manifest the genius of underground scenes and highlight their influence on today's music scene.”
—Paper

In the fall of 1982, celebrated photographer of the... Read more >

Wild Style
The Sampler
Written by Charlie Ahearn

Format: Hardcover, 200 pages
On Sale: July 1, 2007
Price: $35.00

“I mean love is love. Recognize the Hip Hop culture, cause that’s what we are doing. We’re having fun with it. We spread love. There’s no animosity. There’s no prejudice in our culture. None of that. It’s red black green orange. We all in it. We come from Japan. You ever... Read more >

Check the Technique
Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies
Written by Brian Coleman
Introduction by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson

Format: Trade Paperback, 528 pages
On Sale: June 12, 2007
Price: $20.00

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... Read more >

Beats Rhymes & Life
What We Love and Hate About Hip-Hop
Written by Ytasha Womack
Edited by Kenji Jasper
Foreword by Michael Eric Dyson

Format: Trade Paperback, 320 pages
On Sale: May 15, 2007
Price: $19.00

Our generation made hip-hop. But hip-hop also made us. Why are suburban kids referring to their subdivision as “block”? Why has the pimp become a figure of male power? Why has dodging the feds become an act of honor long after one has made millions as a legitimate artist? What happens...

Read more >

Triksta
Life and Death and New Orleans Rap
Written by Nik Cohn

Format: Trade Paperback, 256 pages
On Sale: April 10, 2007
Price: $13.95

Acclaimed music writer Nik Cohn’s love of hip-hop goes back to its beginnings, and his love of New Orleans even further, to when he passed through the Big Easy on tour with The Who and discovered a place with a magic that never failed to seize him. On the surface he’s... Read more >

How Long Will They Mourn Me?
The Life and Legacy of Tupac Shakur
Written by Candace Sandy and Dawn Marie Daniels

Format: Paperback, 176 pages
On Sale: August 29, 2006
Price: $6.99

“Buried as a g while tha whole world remembers me”
–Tupac Shakur, from “Until the End of Time”

Tupac Shakur was larger than life. A gifted rapper, actor, and poet, he was fearless, prolific, and controversial–and often said that he never expected to live past the age of thirty. He was right... Read more >

A Time Before Crack

Text by Charlie Ahearn and Terence Jennings
Afterword by James "Koe" Rodriguez
Photographed by Jamel Shabazz
Introduction by Claude Grunitzky

Format: Hardcover, 152 pages
On Sale: June 1, 2005
Price: $35.00

“Deeply unpretentious and undistracted by the trendy new aesthetics or technologies, Mr. Shabazz is the best kind of photojournalist: one driven simply by curiosity about other human beings.”
—Ken Johnson, The New York Times

Once upon a time before crack, inner city communities were blighted by poverty and unemployment—but not... Read more >

Beastie Boys Anthology
The Sounds of Science
Written by Beastie Boys

Format: Hardcover, 88 pages
On Sale: November 1, 2004
Price: $45.00

From 1982’s Pollywog Stew to 1998’s Hello Nasty and 2004's To The 5 Boroughs, Beastie Boys have pushed, bent, and molded the boundaries of music and pop culture worldwide. Starting out as a punk band from New York City, they mutated into the first Hip Hop act to hit number one... Read more >

Whatever You Say I Am
The Life and Times of Eminem
Written by Anthony Bozza

Format: Trade Paperback, 288 pages
On Sale: September 28, 2004
Price: $13.95

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... Read more >

Whatever You Say I Am
The Life and Times of Eminem
Written by Anthony Bozza
Read by Josh Hamilton

Format: Abridged Audiobook Download
On Sale: October 21, 2003
Price: $9.99

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... Read more >