It's scorched-earth, all-or-nothing war for Memphis' most merciless ride-or-die women, and even their survival skills are no guarantee. Once alliances splinter and explosive revelations rip apart their empire, one diva's revenge will become the ultimate deadly reign. Between total gang exterminations and brutal collateral damage, the stakes have never been higher for the women of the Dirty South.
From the eponymous star of one of the most popular reality shows in Fuse’s history, this no-holds-barred memoir and “snappily dictated story of inverted cultural norms in the wards of New Orleans” (East Bay Express) reveals the fascinating truth about a gay, self-proclaimed mama’s boy who exploded onto the formerly underground Bounce music scene and found acceptance, healing, self-expression, and stardom. As the “undisputed ambassador” of the energetic, New Orleans-based Bounce movement, Big Freedia isn’t afraid to twerk, wiggle, and shake her way to self-confidence, and is encouraging her fans to do the same. In her engrossing memoir, Big Freedia tells the inside story of her path to fame, the peaks and valleys of her personal life, and the liberation that Bounce music brings to herself and every one of her fans who is searching for freedom. Big Freedia immediately pulls us into the relationship between her personal life and her career as an artist; being a “twerking sissy” is not just a job, she says, but a salvation. A place to find solace and escape from the battles she faced growing up in the worst neighborhood in New Orleans. To deal with losing loved ones to the violence on the streets, drug overdoses, and jail. To survive hurricane Katrina by living on her roof for two days with three adults and a child. To grapple with the difficulties and celebrate the joys of living. In this eye-opening memoir that bursts with energy, you’ll learn the history of the Bounce movement and meet all the colorful characters that pepper its music scene. “Whether detailing the highs or the lows, Freedia’s tales pop as much as the booty that made her famous” (Out Magazine).
Hollywood Divas, Indie Queens, and TV Heroines offers an entertaining and critical look at the representation of women in recent movies. Written in a refreshingly accessible style, the book analyzes over thirty box-office hits. The authors explore the screen personae of top stars such as Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, Meg Ryan, and Renée Zellweger, as well as independent movie queens like Parker Posey and TV heroines like Sarah Michelle Gellar of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A must-read book for all film buffs who are tired of the mixed gender messages of mainstream culture.
Bianca is a self-made diva perceived to have everything. beauty, body, bank, and brains. She utilizes every God-given asset to gain perks belonging to the elite. Bianca routinely attends the African-American high-class events while fulfilling her role as trophy girlfriend. But, there's a problem: Bianca's life is a sham. She conceals her humble beginnings and impoverished bloodline for fear of judgment and rejection. While her contemporaries live their lives of entitlement, Bianca works doubly hard just to maintain. Will her past be the demise of her superficial life? Running out of options, Bianca is forced to take drastic measures. The unconditional support from a coworker is her last vestige of hope as she conquers her toughest obstacle yet - a woman's self-discovery.
Locating Queerness in the Media: A New Look examines how media images of the LGBTQ community create a universal consciousness about the existence of queer people, ranging from tragic and villainous to upbeat and courageous. In this book, contributors explore how our media world invites a tension that marginalizes the LGBTQ community. It examines what a queer sensibility means and how the queer community is creating new ways to study itself. Throughout the book, contributors explore specific media images that resonate throughout the media, casting the community in a particular manner. Ultimately, its goal is to promote an understanding of the LGBTQ community.
In the first book of a fierce new series, meet Memphis's hardest ride-or-die chicks as they fight along with their infamous men to lock down the Dirty South. Memphis is the crime capital of America, and no one knows that better than the women born and raised on its mean streets. It's put sisters Ta'Shara and LeShelle on opposite sides of the street game, where blood means nothing and loyalty doesn't last long. It's also got Yolanda, an ambitious drug mule, and Melanie, a police detective, caught up with the same man--the notorious hustler Python. These four women think they've got the game figured out, but the one man they have in common will have them living double lives and wondering who will come out on top. Forget what you heard about East Coast/West Coast, 'cause real vendettas are born in the Dirty South. "Diamond's ear for street talk comes across loud and clear. . .a violent and profane tale, which launches a gritty new series. The divas here are realistic characters, and the pacing zooms. . .one of the best constructed street lit stories of 2010." --Library Journal "A nonstop, hard-hitting page-turner." --Tu-Shonda L. Whitaker
CMJ New Music Report is the primary source for exclusive charts of non-commercial and college radio airplay and independent and trend-forward retail sales. CMJ's trade publication, compiles playlists for college and non-commercial stations; often a prelude to larger success.
Puerto Rico is often depicted as a "racial democracy" in which a history of race mixture has produced a racially harmonious society. In Remixing Reggaetón, Petra R. Rivera-Rideau shows how reggaetón musicians critique racial democracy's privileging of whiteness and concealment of racism by expressing identities that center blackness and African diasporic belonging. Stars such as Tego Calderón criticize the Puerto Rican mainstream's tendency to praise black culture but neglecting and marginalizing the island's black population, while Ivy Queen, the genre's most visible woman, disrupts the associations between whiteness and respectability that support official discourses of racial democracy. From censorship campaigns on the island that sought to devalue reggaetón, to its subsequent mass marketing to U.S. Latino listeners, Rivera-Rideau traces reggaetón's origins and its transformation from the music of San Juan's slums into a global pop phenomenon. Reggaetón, she demonstrates, provides a language to speak about the black presence in Puerto Rico and a way to build links between the island and the African diaspora.
In D.C.’s cutthroat political arena, revenge is the ultimate nuclear option . . . Framed for a high-profile murder, Abrianna Parker finds herself hurtling down a conspiracy rabbit hole in a desperate attempt to clear her name. Her only way out is to go after the most powerful man in the country. But the powers that be play dirty—and expose her billionaire adoptive father, Cargill Parker, and his criminal activity. With charges of collusion swirling on Capitol Hill, police and Federal agencies force Abrianna off the grid. But she’s not alone. By her side is ex-con turned private investigator Kadir Kahlifa, a man as seductive as he is dangerous. While battling a fiery passion, they team up with their band of street rebels and digital revolutionaries to burn through deception and spin to uncover the truth before it costs more innocent lives—mainly their own.
Within D.C.'s ruthless halls of power, the conspiracies are killer--and the endgame is anything but fake news . . . With her name finally cleared of a murder charge, Abrianna Parker can at last marry her partner and ex-felon, Kadir Kahlifa. But disturbing dark-web information and gut feelings warn her that Kadir's twin brother, Bassim, is not who he pretends to be. As Adrianna snoops behind her future brother-in-law, she confronts questions with no answers--and lies as dangerous as the unexpected attraction igniting between her and her formidable suspect . . . With a brutal Presidential election roiling Capitol Hill and Kadir on the trail of a powerful private security firm, Abrianna puts the insider Washington game board in play. But a shattering event sends the country reeling--and sets a target on her back. Now she and Kadir must unite with shadowy federal agencies and their group of street rebels and digital revolutionaries to expose the truth. But the clock is ticking fast towards an even greater disaster--one that will spare no one. Praise for Collusion "Diamond writes a novel full of despair, violence, dirty politics and illegal human experimentation. This first story in the Parker Crime series believably takes readers from seedy streets to strip clubs and all the way to the White House with aplomb. Excitement abounds for the next book in the series " --RT Book Reviews
