Understanding How Hip Hop Literature Has Evolved

There was a time where a novel based on drug-dealing men and gun-totting street-walking women with elaborate hood-rich drama was unheard of. Then came the evolution of hip-hop literature. A more in-depth look into the ghettos and hardships of Urban America and the pursuit of the almighty dollar. We now know more about the struggles of the Black and Latino community then ever before. It is estimated that 65% of minorities live in poverty and over 70% of the men are incarcerated or well on their way. Such is proven by the bold manuscripts that have now taken over bookshelves everywhere. Hip hop lit also known as gangsta lit, ghetto fiction of even urban pulp fiction, not only tells a story but allows us to remember that problems are universal. It empowers us as a people to recognize what is going on right outside of windows and to devise a plan that will make it possible for the next generation to rise above these stats. As the largest growing and consistently growing genre it's obvious that these books are not going away anytime soon.

Titles such as the "The Coldest Winter Ever" by Sister Souljah (which sold over a million copies)and "Let that Be the Reason" by Vickie Stringer, (which has been quoted as the best street novel ever written)raised eye-brows but so did "Whoreson" by Donald Goines, written in 1972, and "Trick Baby" by Iceberg Slim, in 1973. Back in the 70's these blaxploitation novels were seen as unnecessary and were criticized for glorifying the lives of pimps, prostitutes , drug- dealers , etc. In the years since though the genre remained underground, run largely by self-published authors and street vendors and has become the popular phenom within our communities. Yet when major publishing houses such as Kensington Books saw the demand they too jumped on the wagon and have signed numerous authors with multi-million dollar book deals making these gangsta novels readily available for any and everyone.

Vickie Stringer, founder and owner of Triple Crown Publications published her first novel "Let that Be the Reason" a quasi-fiction novel, based on the author's real-life experiences and soon realized that a lot of other authors were telling their similar stories but they did not have the resources needed to pursue a book deal. She now has over 25 authors signed to Triple Crown. Borders and Waldenbooks bookstores announced an exclusive Triple Crown Publications bookshelf in July of 2007. Triple Crown Publications is the world's largest independent publisher of Hip-hop and Urban fiction, and is the first publishing house to have this offer extended upon them.

Q-Boro books another black-owned publishing house, based in Queens , NY and launched in 2004 has also joined the ranks as one of the fastest growing independent trade publishers of African American fiction. President, Mark Anthony, began selling copies of his first novel in 1998 out of the trunk of his car. While the writing was immaculate, he had no distribution and countless other mishaps were preventing him from getting the results he desired. Not one to give up he continued to pursue his dreams and contacted people he had met throughout his journey thus far and "...the rest is history..." states Mark Anthony. Q-Boro books now houses more than 30 authors.

Rapper 50 Cent is also getting in on the action by launching G-Unit Books which features a new line of novellas, or short books featuring his G-Unit cohorts through Pocket/MTV Books. The first book in the series will be written by Nikki Turner, best known for "The Glamorous Life" and "A Hustlers Wife". Pocket/MTV Books also published 50s' semi-autobiography, "From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens", the rappers version of growing up in Southside Queens, New York and dealing with the day -to -day bustle of it all. He will also be accepting submissions from un-signed authors who have the completed manuscripts and would like the opportunity to get published.

That's another plus side to all this. Many of the authors are self-publishing and establishing themselves in the same category as the much bigger publishing houses such as Random House. The market is so grand that with the right resources and money, of course, anyone can get their story out there. Taking the power of wealth into our own hands and becoming self-sufficient entrepreneurs and paving the way for up-coming writers. It is much like the rap game , where one artist blows up and then once the have all their ropes tightened they bring out fellow artists and help them as well. It's a long awaited revolution and I for one am excited.

While there is much concern within the community about the influence of gangsta lit on young adults the truth remains that reading scores have increased in part due to the fact that these books are keeping teens interested in literature. While these novels do tend to highlight street life, the reality is that a large percent of teens will read these stories, relate and learn from them what not to do. The characters go through everyday situations like everyone else. The difference is that these are not fairy tales and they do not live happily ever after. They end up dead , in jail or they turn their lives over to a higher power and get on the right track. They tell the stories of our mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles or even grandparents. We all have that family member who's life is book worthy or it may be our own. But to try and shut it out like it never exists would only make matters worse. I believe that hip hop lit, gansta fiction or whatever you want to call it will be around forever because regardless of age, skin, or demographics we can all learn something from reading these personal memoirs of our ghettos. Never give up and always follow your dreams.