From beat battles to Top Dawg Entertainment, from empty pockets to a six-figure business, The Prosperous Hip Hop Producer is the story of a dedicated artist who risked all he had-and succeeded. Practical, inspirational, and motivational, it does more than share the story of a successful artist-it sets you on the road to becoming one yourself.

"Now is the most exciting time in the history of music to be a music teacher. Band, choir, and orchestra are ubiquitous. Music education has much to be thankful for. However, we should not be comfortable with the successes of our past, we must look ahead to what is just over the hill on our collective horizon. The rise of digital audio work environments and the proliferation of computer-based composition tools has made it relatively easy to record, mix, and master professional quality music on very small and portable devices. What used to be relegated only to music professionals can now be mastered by all musicians and teachers of music. That opens the door to possibilities that have not yet been given full consideration by our profession. Over half of what music teachers should be doing from now on is helping students make their own music like art teachers help students paint their own paintings and sketch their own drawings. Music education could look and feel quite a lot more like art class than it ever has in the past. We could make the creation of new musical products the focal point of our efforts in school music-classrooms centered on musical creativities"--

This insightful analysis of the broad impact of hip-hop on popular culture examines the circulation of hip-hop through media, academia, business, law, and consumer culture to explain how hip-hop influences thought and action through our societal institutions. How has hip-hop influenced our culture beyond the most obvious ways (music and fashion)? Examples of the substantial power of hip-hop culture include influence on consumer buying habits—for example, Dr. Dre's Beats headphones; politics, seen in Barack Obama's election as the first "hip-hop president" and increased black political participation; and social movements such as various stop-the-violence movements and mobilization against police brutality and racism. In Communicating Hip-Hop: How Hip-Hop Culture Shapes Popular Culture, author Nick Sciullo considers hip-hop's role in shaping a number of different aspects of modern culture ranging from law to communication and from business to English studies. Each chapter takes the reader on a behind-the-scenes tour of hip-hop's importance in various areas of culture with references to leading literature and music. Intended for scholars and students of hip-hop, race, music, and communication as well as a general audience, this appealing, accessible book will enable readers to understand why hip-hop is so important and see why hip-hop has such far-reaching influence.

The Ruffhouse Records founder tells how he overcame poverty, abuse, and addiction to start a label that launched some of music's biggest stars: “Gripping.”—Philadelphia Magazine As a struggling musician trying to catch a break in 1980s Philadelphia, Chris Schwartz navigated the crime-infested, morally bankrupt music industry to found and build one of the most successful hip-hop record labels in the world. That label was Ruffhouse, which launched the careers of Nas, The Fugees, Cypress Hill, and others, dominating the charts and generating global revenues of over a billion dollars. Schwartz and his partner, Joe Nicolo, built Ruffhouse from one desk and a phone to one of hip-hop's most revered record companies while simultaneously struggling with drug addiction and alcoholism. A story of money, greed, envy, betrayal, violence, addiction, loss, and redemption, not to mention a whole lot of music, Ruffhouse reveals the inside story of the record companies, recording studios, tour buses, private jets, mansions, radio stations, and concert halls at the height of hip-hop's 1990s heyday while also uncovering the darker side of the business, from police stations to rehab clinics, courtrooms to prisons. Told in Schwartz's own candid, searing prose, Ruffhouse is a portrayal of hip-hop culture at its tipping point, as it transitioned from urban curiosity to global phenomenon. “[A] story of adversity and perseverance…Fans of these artists will love the insider information on the recording process and the trials and tribulations of getting this music out into the world.”―Library Journal “All respect to Chris Schwartz. He is a great visionary.”—Nas

This is Percy Master P' Miller's personal blueprint for a successful life. The notorious rapper explains how to acheive goals, manage money and live a properous and purposeful life. Inspired by Donald Trump's empowerment seminars, this is essential for anyone wishing to take control of their destiny.'

Hip Hop Africa explores a new generation of Africans who are not only consumers of global musical currents, but also active and creative participants. Eric Charry and an international group of contributors look carefully at youth culture and the explosion of hip hop in Africa, the embrace of other contemporary genres, including reggae, ragga, and gospel music, and the continued vitality of drumming. Covering Senegal, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa, this volume offers unique perspectives on the presence and development of hip hop and other music in Africa and their place in global music culture.

WINNER OF THE PEN/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY A NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER "This book is a must for everyone interested in illuminating the idea of unexplainable genius.” —QUESTLOVE Equal parts biography, musicology, and cultural history, Dilla Time chronicles the life and legacy of J Dilla, a musical genius who transformed the sound of popular music for the twenty-first century. He wasn’t known to mainstream audiences, even though he worked with renowned acts like D’Angelo and Erykah Badu and influenced the music of superstars like Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson. He died at the age of thirty-two, and in his lifetime he never had a pop hit. Yet since his death, J Dilla has become a demigod: revered by jazz musicians and rap icons from Robert Glasper to Kendrick Lamar; memorialized in symphonies and taught at universities. And at the core of this adulation is innovation: a new kind of musical time-feel that he created on a drum machine, but one that changed the way “traditional” musicians play. In Dilla Time, Dan Charnas chronicles the life of James DeWitt Yancey, from his gifted childhood in Detroit, to his rise as a Grammy-nominated hip-hop producer, to the rare blood disease that caused his premature death; and follows the people who kept him and his ideas alive. He also rewinds the histories of American rhythms: from the birth of soul in Dilla’s own “Motown,” to funk, techno, and disco. Here, music is a story of Black culture in America and of what happens when human and machine times are synthesized into something new. Dilla Time is a different kind of book about music, a visual experience with graphics that build those concepts step by step for fans and novices alike, teaching us to “see” and feel rhythm in a unique and enjoyable way. Dilla’s beats, startling some people with their seeming “sloppiness,” were actually the work of a perfectionist almost spiritually devoted to his music. This is the story of the man and his machines, his family, friends, partners, and celebrity collaborators. Culled from more than 150 interviews about one of the most important and influential musical figures of the past hundred years, Dilla Time is a book as delightfully detail-oriented and unique as J Dilla’s music itself.

9 short story 'covers' of Tragically Hip songs in beautiful hardcover, accompanied by evocative full-colour images of the band and Canadiana. The haunting, funny, touching and weird adaptations of Hip classics include Locked in the Trunk of a Car, Scared, and National Post eBook of the Week selection, Lionized & Little Bones.

Rapper 50 Cent has made it big in a very short space of time. Having been supported by Jam Master Jay, and produced by Dr Dre and Eminem, the rapper and poet has already experienced great success and critical acclaim for his anthemic single 'In Da Club' and bestselling debut album. While some rappers just talk the talk, though, 50 has walked the walk, and this brilliant insight into who he is and where he came from is a must for all fans. Growing up in Jamaica, Queens, he was born to a 15-year-old drug-dealing mother -- she was killed in mysterious circumstances -- and took over the family business at the age of twelve. Living hard, he has been stabbed, shot nine times (one bullet in his face) and has survived a number of assassination attempts. He is a survivor, a man from the streets who has made it big-time without forgetting his roots. This is the inside story of a rap icon.