Music & Movies

Tupac Shakur's most intimate and honest thoughts were uncovered only after his death with the instant classic The Rose That Grew from Concrete.   His talent was unbounded a raw force that commanded attention and respect. His death was tragic--a...

The British comedian of Nigerian heritage and co-executive producer and writer of the CBS hit series Bob Hearts Abishola chronicles her odyssey to get to America and break into Hollywood in this lively and humorous memoir. According to family...

How does one pay homage to A Tribe Called Quest? The seminal rap group brought jazz into the genre, resurrecting timeless rhythms to create masterpieces such as The Low End Theoryand Midnight Marauders. Seventeen years after their last album,...

A definitive account of Blaxploitation cinema--the freewheeling, often shameless, and wildly influential genre--from a distinctive voice in film history and criticism In 1971, two films grabbed the movie business, shook it up, and launched a genre that...

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...

The definitive biography of MF DOOM, charting the reclusive and revered hip-hop artist's life, career, and eventual immortality."Fernando provides a comprehensive look at DOOM's life and career, meticulously researched through interviews with the...

With iconic imagery and engrossing text, Black TV is the first book of its kind to celebrate the groundbreaking, influential, and often under-appreciated shows centered on Black people and their experiences from the last fifty years. Over the past...

Do you have a "ride or die chick" in your life? A "ride or die chick" is a Black woman who holds down her family and community. She's that friend or family member that you can call up in the middle of the night to bail you out of jail, if ever needed,...

From the author of Queen Sugar--now a critically acclaimed series on OWN directed by Ava Duvernay--comes a beautiful exploration and celebration of black farming in America. In this impressive anthology, Natalie Baszile brings together essays, poems,...

Co-authored by Hip-Hop legend LL COOL J, acclaimed journalist Vikki Tobak and Rock The Bells' editorial director Alec Banks, this momentous volume celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the influential culture, sound, and preeminent voices of American...

American pop music is arguably this country's greatest cultural contribution to the world, and its singular voice and virtuosity were created by a shining thread of Black women geniuses stretching back to the country's founding. This is their surprising,...