THE MESSAGE: 100 LIFE LESSONS FROM HIP-HOP'S GREATEST SONGS by Felicia Pride
October 2007, Thunder's Mouth Press, 1-56858-335-4, HC, $15.99, 256 pages
"This is a book that we've needed for a while. The timing, however,
could not be better." ~ Donnell Alexander, author of Ghetto Celebrity
and coauthor of the forthcoming Rollin' with Dre
(New York, NY) - Who would have thought that you could get deep life
lessons from hip-hop? Learn to deal with regrets by jamming to Jay-Z?
Foster self-esteem listening to Mos Def? Exert your self-worth based
on cues from a Queen Latifah song? Get career advice from an Ice-T
rhyme? Reflect on spirituality through a Kanye West tune?
In her new book THE MESSAGE: 100 LIFE LESSONS ROM HIP-HOP'S GREATEST
SONGS (Thunder's Mouth Press/October 2007/$15.95), Felicia Pride
extracts empowering lessons embedded within the genre's most popular
songs. Growing up with hip-hop, she has come to realize the way it
shaped how she thinks, writes, and reacts, making her the person she
is today. In THE MESSAGE, she uses short essays, aptly titled after a
hip-hop song, and written in the language of the culture, to explore
the themes of spirituality, success, business, and love. Incorporating
her own experiences and reflections with the rapper's message, Pride
goes on to share the wisdom she has learned from hip-hop and focuses
on the positive influence the music has on its audience.
THE MESSAGE turns the often negative perceptions of hip-hop completely
around, offers a fresh perspective on why the culture is loved
worldwide, and simultaneously provides motivational material for the
hip-hop generation culled from its own unique artistic expression. In
the introduction she writes, "This book is about searching for the
power within and using motivational aspects of hiphop music to help us
successfully maneuver our worlds."
THE MESSAGE unleashes the power in the music and leaves readers with a
compendium of wisdom to incorporate in their own lives, proving in
Pride's words that, "We can learn from hip-hop."
Felicia Pride is a writer, literacy advocate, and hip-hop baby. Her
most recent book is THE MESSAGE: 100 Life Lessons From Hip-Hop's
Greatest Songs. She's also the author of two chapter books based on
the award-winning television show Everybody Hates Chris and coauthor
of Hallway Diaries, a young adult anthology. She's written about
hip-hop, books, publishing and pop culture for various publications
including VIBE, Publishers Weekly, PopMatters and the Baltimore City
Paper. She's the book blogger for AOL Black Voices' More than Words
and the managing editor of Mosaic Literary Magazine. She is the
founder of BackList (www.thebacklist.net), an organization dedicated
to keeping books in style. As a literacy advocate, Felicia has been an
invited speaker at various events and
panels and serves on the board for the Literary Freedom Project. She
has a M.A. in writing and publishing from Emerson College and
currently lives in Maryland. Visit her website at www.feliciapride.com
or at www.myspace.com/thebookchick.
Felicia Pride is available for interviews. Excerpts of THE MESSAGE are
available for reprint.
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