Build: The Power of Hip Hop Diplomacy in a Divided World explores the inescapable tensions and ambiguities in the relationship between art and the state, revealing the ethical complexities that lurk behind what might seem mere goodwill diplomatic tours. Author Mark Katz makes the case that hip hop can be a valuable, positive, and effective means to promote meaningful and productive international relations between people and nations.
An extended study of the writings of Lil' Kim, the multi-platinum selling Hip Hop artist. Examines Lil' Kim's anti-sexist, gender-defiant and ultra-erotic verse alongside issues of race and the politics of imprisonment. This is the first study to apply the tools of literary criticism to Hip Hop's lyrical writings.
Heather Maria Ramirez is making a unique mark with her pen for the world of readers. She is an inspirational speaker for women in struggle across the world. People from all lifestyles attend to hear her poetic flow of motivational and inspirational speaking in such places as teen pregnancy centers, high schools, battered women shelters, and correctional facilities for women, and her book signing events. This writer has touched the hearts of readers all over the world with her GODMOTHER QUOTE'S and advice about life lessons, of how to keep your head up when trying to rise up out of negative atmospheres. Godmother Quote's of Gangsta-ology 101 the Poetic Confessions of a Goddess was a true classic in the making. The Godmother takes her readers to school with this book. The poetic flow and short stories in this book are breathtaking, eye opening, and uplifting tales about human experience. The Godmother believes all good women learn from the examples set by other good women. Being a teacher is not an easy job, but the Godmother gives nada but the best learning experience to her students. Are you a reader who is ready to pass this course of Gangsta-ology 101? Well, there is only one way to find out. The bell has rung students, so have a seat, pay attention, and open the book, because class is in session! Just what kind of Gangstress are you . . . Are you a survivor . . . Oh, yeah, then prove it, because the Godmother is calling ya bluff . . . Heather Maria Ramirez is an internationally known and an award-winning writer. This book is remarkable and unforgettable. It is a different kind of gangsta with a classy and unique kind of flow. She is known as the flyest writer! The flyest of them all . . .
A strong...tale of operatic moral corrosion.-Kirkus Reviews on Gods & Gangsters Faith Newkirk has it all-a loving husband, beautiful daughter, and a thriving luxury shoe boutique in Washington D.C. Yet a part of her feels as though she's a stranger in her own life and that she's living a lie. When Faith gets kidnapped by a group of goons while walking to her car, she is forced, brutally to remember who she is-and it’s not the suburban wife and mother she’s been pretending to be, but Achilleía, the daughter of one of the most ruthless killers and drug dealers in New York City, who went missing and was presumed dead years prior. As the memories begin to flood back in, she remembers why she ran from her past and why, if she wants to stay alive, she has to keep running from the men she thought loved her who want her dead...
Can Jaxon Hampton love the Moon Queen enough to save Earth? If Zeth, the servant of her enemies the Shadow Giants, defeats Jaxon in battle, the Shadow Giants unleash chaos on Earth and destroy humanity. Every night Jaxon experiences vivid recurring dreams in which, 10,000 years ago, he escorts a beautiful woman through many dangers to the top of a cliff overlooking the Nile River. How come his boss's daughter dreams the same story? And why does a strange man hypnotize Jaxon to take the young woman to a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River during the next full moon? Jaxon works as head trader for a small money management business. His boss tells him she came up with a sure-fire trading system, the Chaos Formula. Her test account verifies a terrifyingly high number of winning trades. Jaxon can't believe. Stock market results form a random, bell-shaped curve. Perhaps not a strictly normal distribution, but unpredictable. Yet this ability of his boss to foretell stock market results constitutes just one sign of reality going haywire. What compels Jaxon to spend his evenings staring up at the moon, even to the point he forces his girlfriend to leave him? Every night, he dreams he wields a bronze sword ten thousand years in the past, at the mouth of the Nile River, long before the pyramids. He fights as a soldier for the king of a growing empire. The other soldiers call him Blood Reaper. One night the king assigns him to take a young woman far upriver, for a sacrifice. A strangely beautiful woman, despite her white skin, blue eyes, and gold hair. She must travel to where bluffs overlook the Nile River, protected only by Jaxon -- against roving animals, wild people, and superstitious dirt farmers. Jaxon does not understand why the sacrifice takes place so far from the temples, but he must obey his king. He figures a wealthy merchant wishes to sacrifice an ex-mistress to gain merit with the gods instead of just selling her to a brothel. When she reveals her true identity as the Moon Queen herself, he does not believe . . . until he meets her ancient enemies the Shadow Giants. How and why does his boss's daughter, Laura Ewing, dream the same story, only as the woman? And how can he and Laura use her mother's Chaos Formula to win over five hundred dollars at a Mini-Bac table at the Lumiere Place Casino? Why does Mr. bin Hasad, the small, dapper foreigner keep visiting Jaxon on his job even though he doesn't open up a trading account? And Jaxon can't remember what they discuss? How did Jaxon's brother Keith buy the most evil book in the world from Ken, the Romani and Bosnian refugee who runs the largest occult bookstore in the New World, when Keith claims he stops dealing drugs? Why does someone calling himself Zeth kill young women and drain their blood into a crystal bowl to scry messages to and from the Shadow Giants? Blood Reaper's story comes to a conclusion on top of the cliff overlooking the Nile River. Jaxon's story reaches its conclusion on top of a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. Who lives? Who dies? Do the Shadow Giants overwhelm life on Earth with chaos and destruction? To find out, scroll up and download the dark fantasy adventure The Chaos Formula now. This paranormal fantasy adventure combines stories from ten thousand years ago -- a nitty gritty historical dark fantasy -- with a contemporary dark fantasy in the modern world. A form of urban fantasy as well.
This book is the story of the reality of New York street gang in the late 90s to present. It is about the violence, the passion, the despair, the pain, the loyalty, and the disloyalty. It is the true story of the destruction of families caused by violence, incarceration and racism. It is about murder, rape, betrayal, and the injustice of the justice system. This is a society that fails to protect, defend, educate, rehabilitate, and inspire young people to succeed and families to grow and flourish. It’s the Bronx and rawness of the ghetto. It’s the true life story of actual individuals with their identities masked to protect them from further harm. Blacks, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Latin Americans, Muslims, Israelites, and the police are all engaged in a battle to dominate and to survive. The backdrop is the Bronx, the inner city and one of poorest congressional districts in the United States. It is about a failing school system, the question of race, the history of conflict, and the brainwashing of a society to ignore the truth and keep living a lie. The games they play out in the street pit females against females, and the cost is not being able to trust anyone or anything. Ask yourself the question, Could you survive this world? Can anyone survive this world? This is the world that some people live in, some people fear, and some people have never heard of. It is also the world that those in power don’t want you to know about so that they can continue to profit off the misery and suffering of people fighting, trying, and doing their best to keep each other down. They’re down lower than you can ever imagine or believe someone can go.
Ranisha Barlow and Pierre "P" Jones thought they’d left the streets behind, but in the gritty underbelly of the city, the past never stays buried. Ranisha, a fierce and determined woman, and Pierre, a hardened hustler with a heart of gold, are ready to escape the life of crime that’s haunted them. But the streets don’t let go easy. Just as they begin to build a new life, old enemies resurface, and new threats emerge. Ranisha’s brother, Jamal, is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, pulling them back into a world of deceit and danger. With the cops breathing down their necks and rival gangs gunning for them, Ranisha and Pierre must navigate treacherous waters to protect their future. Every corner they turn, danger lurks. Trust is a luxury they can’t afford, and betrayal is a constant companion. From the blood-stained streets to the hidden safe houses, Ranisha and Pierre’s love and loyalty are tested to the limit. They’ll fight with everything they’ve got, but will it be enough to break free from the shadows of their past? With gritty, ghetto urban dialogue and a raw, unflinching look at the underside of city living, A Gangsta’s Heart is a dark, drama-filled tale of love, betrayal, and survival. As Ranisha and Pierre face impossible odds, the stakes are higher than ever, leading to an explosive and heart-pounding climax. In this world, every decision could be their last. Can they truly leave the life behind, or will the streets claim them once and for all? A Gangsta’s Heart is a gripping, emotional rollercoaster that will keep you on the edge of your seat, hungry for more, and wondering who will make it out alive.
Manifestations of Masculine Magnificence: Divinity in Africana Life, Lyrics, and Literature is a remarkable study and the first of its kind. Teresa N. Washington eschews popular culture’s pimp myths and thug sagas and traces the Africana man’s power, creativity, and consciousness to his inherent divinity. Manifestations of Masculine Magnificence takes the reader to the source of power with an analysis of African Divinities and divine technologies. Washington explores the permanence and proliferation of African Gods from oppressive plantations to the empowering proclamations of such leaders as W. D. Fard, Marcus Garvey, Father Divine, and Allah, the Father. Washington analyzes the summonses to and from the Gods that resonate in the music of such artists as Erykah Badu, The RZA, Sun Ra, X Clan, and Rakim. Using literary analysis as a prism to display the diversity of Africana divinity, Washington reveals the literature of such writers as August Wilson, Walter Mosley, Toni Morrison, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, and Ishmael Reed to be three-way mirrors that eternally reflect and project the Gods, their myriad powers, and their weighty responsibilities. Manifestations of Masculine Magnificence will prove indispensable to independent scholars as well as scholars of Comparative Literature, Hip Hop Studies, Gender Studies, Africana Studies, Literary Criticism, and Religious Studies.