Showing results for "Urban Life" in African American

One empire. Three men. The throne is at stake, and the Valentine brothers are presented with an opportunity of a lifetime. Their father, Domino, has decided to retire, leaving them with the chance to take over. One issue looms over their heads: which man is qualified to run the empire? Once a certain set of rules has been put in place, the Valentine brothers find themselves in a competition that produces a series of dangerous events. Deceit corrupts the family in a manner that they didn't see coming, and secrets are unveiled, leaving the brothers in a war against each other.

In the tradition of Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim comes A Pimp’s Life, the story of the rise and fall of Mack Jones. He’s at the top of his pimp game in Queens, New York, until he breaks one of the cardinal rules of Pimping 101 and falls in love with one of his girls. Destiny was once an innocent young girl tricked into selling her body, but now she’s as tough as the most seasoned professionals on the street. Then a tragic turn of events causes her to open her heart once again.

A former inmate, who is now an assistant stock broker and a part-time gang counselor, details his life on the inner city streets of Atlanta as a notorious drug dealer, vividly recreating the his struggle to break the cycle and walk the straight and narrow.

Coming of age in the Badlands of north Philadelphia - one of the toughest and poorest communities in the country - Tonya Morris has had to make some desperate and, at times, ruthless moves in her bid to survive. When she stepped into the unforgiving business of stripping, she found herself caught up in a world of sex-filled nights, dirty money, backstabbing cohorts, and murder. She left that world behind to become a hairstylist. However, after she is blacklisted from salons across Philadelphia, Tonya finds herself back in the stripping business.

Talented author Dakota Bibbs has deemed herself unlucky in love. She only dreams of experiencing a connection with a man similar to the ones she writes about in her novels. After ending a tumultuous five-year relationship, Dakota has decided to focus on herself and her blossoming business for the time being. Love will just have to wait. Other than dealing with her worrisome ex, things are going well for her. Then on cue, Giannis Williams enters her life.

She was the pretty girl from the South whose life had been planned out for her since the age of fourteen, when she had her first boyfriend. She never anticipated that one decision would turn her world upside down. He was a smart kid from the slums who was known for his handsome looks, tantalizing eyes, and smile. He grew up in a dangerous environment, to most, and instead of turning away from danger, he embraced it, using it to his advantage to get where he wanted in life, which was out of the hood.

Damballah, Hiding Place, and Sent for You Yesterday provide a stunning introduction to the uncompromising work of John Edgar Wideman, whose literary achievements have inspired The New York Times to name him “one of America’s premier writers of fiction”. Damballah’s narratives examine the vexed history of Homewood, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, neighborhood whose origins are rooted in a time when slavery was still legal in the United States of America.

Cornelius Washington is brimming with ambition and talent before his life is torn apart by a crack addiction. Taking the form of a diary and written in an arresting stream-of-consciousness style, Iced ponders the gritty realities of Cornelius's present and past upheavals that have led him here.

“Iced is a powerhouse. . . . Ray Shell writes beautifully. The story is heartbreaking. I kept putting it down and picking it up again—it won’t let me go.”—Maya Angelou A timeless tale of one man’s decline into the depths of addiction that is at both a shocking study of the addict’s...

As soon as he graduated high school, Wink jumped head first into the drug game. He hardened his heart and did whatever he had to in order to rise through the ranks. In The Good Life Part 2, Wink takes things to the next level. His father plugs him in with a cocaine pipeline from prison. Soon, Wink is at the top of his game, handling enough cocaine to supply the entire Midwest. But he will learn, just as hustlers before him have, that every run has its end. 

Milly Grove, home of Kenneth 'Uno' Mills, has been run by his family for over a century. Commissioner by day and gangsta by night, he's the man in his city. Although he may hold a position in office, don't be fooled by the tailored suits. Disrespecting him will cost you your life. When the current mayor is exposed for misconduct, Uno steps in to make sure the position continues to be held by the Mills bloodline. His decision to run for Mayor leaves the family at odds. Once he receives the keys to the city, blood ties will be severed, lives will be lost, and new bonds will be forged.

After serving a 10-year bid in prison, Taye "City" Savage was finally freed. However, once he was released, there was no time to chill and enjoy the riches that his brothers had acquired at his left and right hand at the king’s throne of the Savage empire. No sooner than City was released, complete mayhem ensued. His brother, Shon, and his greed causes the Savage empire to be in debt with the Columbian cartel of over a million dollars.

Glorette Picard is dead. Her body was found in the alley behind a taqueria, half-hidden by wild tobacco trees, but no one—not Sidney, who knew she worked that alley, not her son Victor who memorizes SAT words to avoid the guys selling rock out of dryers in the Launderland, not her uncle Enrique, who everyone knows will be the one to hunt down her killer—saw her die.

At 72, Johnny Ribkins shouldn't have such problems: he's got one week to come up with the money he stole from his mobster boss or it's curtains. What may or may not be useful to Johnny as he flees is that he comes from an African American family that has been gifted with superpowers that are a bit, well, odd. Okay, very odd. For example, Johnny's father could see colors no one else could see. His brother could scale perfectly flat walls. His cousin belches fire. And Johnny himself can make precise maps of any space you name, whether he's been there or not.

The Johnson Sisters is the riveting story of a close-knit bunch struggling to keep the family legacy going in spite of their differences.

In the hood, a snitch is the worst thing a person can possibly be. Rolling over on your best friend, who has been with you through thick and thin, hungry and full, freedom and state bids - that’s “the cruelest lie told in silence”. While Jovan experiences the fruits of the hustle during his partner’s first stint, Bilal humbly does his time like a true soldier, taking a manslaughter charge for his one true friend. When these two are finally reunited on the streets, a chain of events lands them both behind bars facing multiple charges.

The era is 1988, Detroit is the scene, and crack is the movement. It's a time when young black men can become self-made millionaires seemingly overnight by selling dope. The crack era has become to blacks what Prohibition was to the Italians - a time to get over! It's a time that inspires generations of street dreams.... Fresh out of high school, young Wink has but one thing on his mind - rollin' fresh. Infatuated by all the trappings of the game, Wink and his B-boy crew jump headfirst into the ills of the drug trade, determined to taste the good life.

For the past ten years, Alexis Fox had been living a double life. She is a successful real estate agent and investor by day and a drug queenpin known as Diamond by night. But everything changes after the murder of her right-hand man, Hedrick, causing her two worlds to collide. As a result, she is forced to assume a more hands-on role in her illicit side business, and for the first time, the drug life is beginning to creep into her real life.

In the middle of a water crisis, Money, a popular young boy throughout his neighborhood, has gotten himself into a deadly game of cat and mouse as he struggles to survive through the night when the city’s most notorious crime lord orders a hit on him. This story follows Money as he is on the run for his life desperately trying to find help in a lawless town.

The reigning Queen of Hip-Hop Lit, Nikki Turner returns with a fresh and fierce tale sure to satisfy longtime fans and create new ones. Desember Day is beautiful, confident, and smart. She has more game in the streets than a basketball player does on the court, and her boyfriend, Fame, loves...