When the crack era jumped off in the 1980s, many street legends were born in a hail of gunfire. Business minded and ruthless dudes seized the opportunities afforded them, and certain individuals out of the city's five boroughs became synonymous with the definition of the new era black gangster. Drugs, murder, kidnappings, shootings, more drugs, and more murder were the rule of the day. They called it "The Game," but it was a vicious attempt to come up by any means necessary. In the late 19...

From one of the greatest rappers of all time, the memoir of a life cut short, a revealing look at the dark side of hip hop’s Golden Era...In this often violent but always introspective memoir, Mobb Deep’s Prodigy tells his much anticipated story of struggle, survival, and hope down the mean streets of New York City. For the first time, he gives an intimate look at his family background, his battles with drugs, his life of crime, his relentless suffering with sickle...

One of Rolling Stone's Best Music Books of 2015. "As complete a self-portrait of the intensely private MC that we're ever likely to get." — Houston PressFrom Geto Boys legend and renowned storyteller Scarface, comes a passionate memoir about how hip-hop changed the life of a kid from the south side of Houston, and how he rose to the top—and ushered in a new generation of rap dominance. Scarface is the celebrated rapper whose hits i...

From the hip-hop icon, Hollywood star, and “a true artist and writer of deep talent” (James McBride, author of The Color of Water)—a candid, New York Times bestselling memoir ranging from his childhood on Chicago’s South Side and his emergence as one of rap’s biggest names.Common has earned a reputation in the hip-hop world as a conscious artist by embracing themes of love and struggle in his songs. His journey toward understanding is rooted in hi...

MEET CATIn Jamaica . . . he learned the art of the “jux”: robbing people by studying their everyday movements. By the age of eight, Cat was shoplifting and purse-snatching. By ten, he had his first gun. At fifteen, he committed his first murder.MAKE THE GANGIn New York City . . . he created The Order: a secret society of thieves who played by Cat’s rules. He taught his crew how to pull off the perfect jux. Made them swear on a bible and a bullet. Robbed dealers, pus...

My life’s been a great story / In the ultimate war / Should I ill or do right? / Make peace or go raw?—Ice-T, “Exodus”He’s a hip-hop icon credited with single-handedly creating gangsta rap in the 1980s. Television viewers know him as Detective Odafin “Fin” Tutuola on the top-rated TV drama Law & Order: SVU. But where the hype and the headlines end, the real story of Ice-T—the one few of his millions of fans have ever heard—truly begins.Ice...

In the New York Times bestseller From Pieces to Weight, rap mogul 50 Cent, a.k.a. Curtis Jackson, lifts the veil on his complicated life, from the murder of his mother when he was twelve, to hustling on the streets; from the assassination attempt that nearly finished him to his meteoric rise to the top of hip hop royalty.This violent and introspective memoir reveals not only 50 Cent's story but also the story of a generation of youth faced with ha...

From the founder of the Wu-Tang Clan, an inspirational book for the hip-hop fan.The RZA, founder of the Wu-Tang Clan, imparts the lessons he’s learned on his journey from the Staten Island projects to international superstardom. A devout student of knowledge in every form in which he’s found it, he distills here the wisdom he’s acquired into seven “pillars,” each based on a formative event in his life—from the moment he first heard the call of hip-hop to the death ...

An “exhilarating trip through Italian American Mafia history” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) this is Sal Polisi’s riveting and darkly hilarious chronicle of the inner workings and larger-than-life characters inside the New York Mob.The Mob was the biggest, richest business in America…until it was destroyed from within by drugs, greed, and the decline of its traditional crime Family values.And by guys like Sal Polisi.As a member of New ...

The Quebec-chartered “Nomad” chapter of the Hells Angels had two specific goals: to monopolize the Quebec drug trade; and to expand that trade across other parts of Canada. Their war against rival dealer gangs escalated to a boiling point, taking the lives of dozens of gangsters and innocent people as it played itself out openly on Montreal’s streets.Little did the Nomads know that at the height of achieving their goals, they would also be months away from a lengthy police investig...

Be sure to see Kill the Irishman—the major motion picture based on Rick Porrello’s true-crime masterpiece!A modern warrior known as GreeneWas very quick and smart, and mean.He scrambled hard and fought like hell,And led a charmed existence.They shot him down and blew him upWith most regular persistence.—From The Ballad of Danny Greene Clevelan d, the 1970s:A fearle...

IN AMERICAN GANGSTER, THE FEDS TOOK DOWN INFAMOUS HEROIN DEALER FRANK LUCAS. BUT THE KINGPIN BEHIND LUCAS’S CRIMINAL REIGN, LEROY “NICKY” BARNES, REMAINED “MR. UNTOUCHABLE.” UNTIL ONE UNDERCOVER AGENT PROVED TOUGH ENOUGH—OR CRAZY ENOUGH—TO INFILTRATE HIS DOMAIN AND NAIL THE MOST DANGEROUS DRUG CZAR IN AMERICAN HISTORY.Growing up in Red Hook, Brooklyn, where physical violence was a daily reality at home, at school, and on the streets, Louis Diaz had what it took to survive—...