Music & Movies

What is the essence of black dance in America? To answer that question, Brenda Dixon Gottschild maps an unorthodox 'geography', the geography of the black dancing body, to show the central place black dance has in American culture. From the feet to the...

A groundbreaking look at the history of transgender representation in TV and film, by an of-the-moment and in-demand culture reporter. WE SEE EACH OTHER is a personal history of trans visibility since the beginning of moving images. A literary reckoning,...

* 2018 "12 best books to give this holiday season" --TODAY (Elizabeth Acevedo)* A "Best Book of 2017" --Rolling Stone (2018), NPR, Buzzfeed, Paste Magazine, Esquire, Chicago Tribune, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, CBC, Stereogum, National Post, Entropy, Heavy, Book...

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, and...

New York Times Book Review Editor's Pick: The untold story of 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Sister Rosetta Tharpe, America's first rock guitar diva Long before women in rock became a media catchphrase, African American guitar virtuoso Rosetta...

Casual listeners and die-hard purists, test your hip-hop knowledge in this 300-card trivia spinoff from the live game show, The Questions--just in time for hip-hop's 50th birthday! Which Judd Apatow film stars Eminem as himself? Which Broadway Musical...

(Piano Solo Songbook). A collection of the original sheet music for 39 classic standards, featuring the arrangements of 'Fats' Waller, Art Tatum, Duke Ellington, James P. Johnson, Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson, Count Basie, Clarence Williams, Jay McShann,...

For practitioners and fans, jazz expresses the deepest meanings of life. Its rich history and its distinctive elements like improvisation and syncopation unite to create an unrepeatable and inexpressible aesthetic experience. But for others, jazz is an...

The essential oral history of hip-hop, from its origins on the playgrounds of the Bronx to its reign as the most powerful force in pop culture The music that would come to be known as hip-hop was born at a party in the Bronx in the summer of 1973. Now,...

Their music changed pop history, but we've never known much about the people who made it...until now. Sly Stone shook the foundations of soul and turned it into a brand new sound that influenced and liberated musicians as varied as Miles Davis, Stevie...

In Boysie's Horn, social historian, radio host, producer, journalist, and novelist Steven Leech highlights the influence of one of America's greatest jazz educators, Boysie Lowrie, in making African American Wilmington, Delaware a launchpad for...

Hip-hop meets self-help, with advice on creativity, self-belief, productivity, and more from rap's most influential voices. Adopt a hip-hop mindset to take control of your own narrative and become the best version of yourself with 50 must-read lessons on...