Music & Movies

Decoded is a book like no other: a collection of lyrics and their meanings that together tell the story of a culture, an art form, a moment in history, and one of the most provocative and successful artists of our time.Praise for Decoded "Compelling . . ...

Dubbed "the Hip-Hop Intellectual" by critics and fans for his pioneering explorations of rap music in the academy and beyond, Dyson probes the most compelling and controversial dimensions of hip-hop culture. Whether along race, class or generational...

A history of the distinctive, U.S. Capital sound that fuses hip-hop, funk, and soul

This lively study unpacks the intersecting racial, sexual, and gender politics underlying the representations of racialized bodies, masculinities, and femininities in early 1970s black action films, with particular focus on the representation of black...

"An invaluable life of a pioneering artist, only now beginning to be fully understood."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review) The first full-length biography of Alice Coltrane, the jazz musician and spiritual leader whose forward-thinking music was...

Discover the powerful story of Bob Marley, the legendary reggae musician and cultural icon, in this 22-page comic book biography from TidalWave Comics. Follow Marley's journey from his childhood in Jamaica to his rise as a global music phenomenon. With...

The remarkable life story of Ella Jenkins, "The First Lady of Children's Music." Ella Jenkins was one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century. Her songs "You'll Sing a Song and I'll Sing a Song" and "Who Fed the Chickens?" are...

Alice Randall, award-winning professor, songwriter, and author with a "lively, engaging, and often wise" (The New York Times Book Review) voice, offers a lyrical, introspective, and unforgettable account of her past and her search for the first family of...

From Donald Bogle, the award-winning author of Hollywood Black and leading authority on Black cinema history, this is a first-of-its-kind comprehensive and lavish biography of Hollywood's first African American movie goddess. Lena Horne's life and...

Since its inception in the mid-twentieth century, American music theory has been framed and taught almost exclusively by white men. As a result, whiteness and maleness are woven into the fabric of the field, and BIPOC music theorists face enormous...

The drama of In Cold Blood meets the stylings of a Coen brothers film in this long-lost manuscript from musicologist Robert "Mack" McCormick, whose research on blues icon Robert Johnson's mysterious life and death became as much of a myth as the musician...

The stories behind the iconic celebrities, brands, and images that defined hip-hop style.   On a hot summer night in August of 1973 DJ Kool Herc and his sister, Cindy, put on a "back to school jam" in the recreation room of their apartment block...