The neighborhoods of Fifth Ward, Fourth Ward, Third Ward, and the Southside of Houston, Texas, gave birth to Houston rap, a vibrant music scene that has produced globally recognized artists such as Geto Boys, DJ Screw, Pimp C and Bun B of UGK, Fat Pat, Big Moe, Z-Ro, Lil’ Troy, and Paul Wall. Lance Scott Walker and photographer Peter Beste spent a decade documenting Houston’s scene, interviewing and photographing the people—rappers, DJs, producers, promoters, record label owners—and places...

DJ Screw, a.k.a. Robert Earl Davis Jr., changed rap and hip-hop forever. In the 1990s, in a spare room of his Houston home, he developed a revolutionary mixing technique known as chopped and screwed. Spinning two copies of a record, Screw would “chop” in new rhythms, bring in local rappers to freestyle over the tracks, and slow the recording down on tape. Soon Houstonians were lining up to buy his cassettes—he could sell thousands in a single day. Fans drove around town blasting his music,...

"Forceful talent" (Essence Magazine) and R&B sensation Faith Evans gives us a first person account of life at ground zero of the most infamous part of hip-hop history.It's been over ten years since Big was killed. I grieved for him for a very long time. And then, as time passed, the icy wall of grief surrounding my heart began to thaw and I began to heal. I remarried, had more children, and continued to record and release more music. I continued to live my...

If you had to give America a voice, it’s been said more than once, that voice would be Willie Nelson’s. For more than fifty years, he’s taken the stuff of his life-the good and the bad-and made from it a body of work that has become a permanent part of our musical heritage and kept us company through the good and the bad of our own lives. Long before he became famous as a performer, Willie Nelson was known as a songwriter, keeping his young family afloat by writing songs-like “Crazy”-that ...

A laugh-out-loud humor book from one of the most celebrated comedians, Bernie Mac, the star of Fox's The Bernie Mac Show, winner of the prestigious Peabody Award.The Chicago-bred performer and royal king of the Original Kings of Comedy, Bernie Mac, has won over countless fans of cutting comedy and family humor with an edgy show that tells it like it is but never loses heart. No surprise, Mac has earned a reputation as perhaps the truest voice of modern hum...

Five decades in the music industry, 100 albums, 10 Grammys, the Kennedy Center Honors, and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Add high-profile activism for the legalisation of marijuana, the foundation of a ground-breaking philanthropic organisation, and a much-publicised personal life - Willie Nelson's is a story like no other.Born during the great depression in 1933 and raised by his grandparents, he began singing in dance halls and Honky Tonks at the age of 13, as an escape from wo...

A New York Times–bestselling, in-depth exploration of the most pivotal moments in rap music from 1979 to 2014.Here's what The Rap Year Book does: It takes readers from 1979, widely regarded as the moment rap became recognized as part of the cultural and musical landscape, and comes right up to the present, with Shea Serrano hilariously discussing, debating, and deconstructing the most important rap song year by year. Serrano also examines the most ...

In her hilarious book of essays , Parks and Recreation star Retta shares the stories that led to her success in Hollywood.In So Close to Being the Sh*t, Y'all Don't Even Know , Parks and Recreation star Retta takes us on her not-so-meteoric rise from roaches to riches (well, rich enough that she can buy $15,000 designer handbags yet scared enough to know she's always a heartbeat away from ramen with American cheese).Throwing her ha...

A memoir by Morris Day of The Time centering around his lifelong relationship and association with Prince"A vital, illuminating, and wildly entertaining autobiography." -Billboard"Great book! Great storytelling!" -LENNY KRAVITZ"Lean, slick, cooler than Santa Claus, and surprisingly tender, this book not only traces Day's history in Minneapolis funk, but doubles as an intimate recollection of his tim...

Bestselling author and six-time WWE champion Chris Jericho shares twenty of his most valuable lessons for achieving your goals and living the life you want, jam-packed with fantastic stories and the classic off-the-wall, laugh-out-loud Jericho references he's famous for.The result is a fun, entertaining, practical and inspiring book from the man with many scarves but only one drive: to be the best. After reading No Is a Four-Letter Word, you'll discover that you might have...

Best known for his 1980s hit songs “Super Freak,” “Give it to Me Baby,” and “Mary Jane,” the late singer and funk music pioneer Rick James collaborated with acclaimed music biographer David Ritz in this posthumously published, no-holds-barred memoir of a rock star’s life and soul.He was the nephew of Temptations singer Melvin Franklin; a boy who watched and listened, mesmerized from underneath cocktail tables at the shows of Etta James and Miles Davis. He was a vag...

2017 Eric Hoffer Book Award - Poetry Honorable Mention 2017 Eric Hoffer Book Award - Grand Prize Short List 2017 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Nominee The Crown Ain't Worth Much, Hanif Abdurraqib's first full-length collection, is a sharp and vulnerable portrayal of city life in the United States. A regular columnist for MTV.com, Abdurraqib brings his interest in pop culture to these poems, analyzing race, gender, family, and the love that finally holds us together even as it threatens to br...