The life that 50 Cent was born into was anything but easy. From growing up without a father, to drug dealing, to being shot nine times and nearly losing his life, 50 Cent had to overcome a lot of struggles in his life, but this hip-hop biography will not only cover those struggles, but also his rise to becoming one of the biggest and wealthiest names in the hip-hop world.

Did you know that rap music was first made using a turntable and records? Some people use computers to help make rap music today. Find out more in Rap, one of the titles in the My Favorite Music series.

Learn what inspired hip-hop's earliest rappers to start rhyming over beats, as well as the stories behind hip-hop legends such as Run-D.M.C., 2Pac, Lauryn Hill, and Jay-Z. Follow the creativity and the rivalries that have fueled everything from party raps to songs about social struggles.

John Legend (John Roger Stephens) works as a musician, an actor, entrepreneur, model, and philanthropist. Homeschooled until the age of 12, Legend graduated from Springfield North High School at age 16, then matriculated to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor's degree in English with an emphasis on African American literature. Legend worked as a music minister for nine years while building his early music career. Legend's hip-hop...

Examining the dynamics of hip-hop from every region and in every form mainstream and underground, current, and classic this compelling how-to discusses everything from content and flow to rhythm and delivery in relation to the art and craft of rap. Compiled from the most extensive research on rapping to date, this first-of-its-kind guide delivers countless candid and exclusive insights from more than 100 of the most critically acclaimed artists in...

Andre "Mac Dre" Hicks always found a way to tell his story. He was one of the first rappers to record songs through a prison phone in the early '90s (much to the dismay of his jailors). His untimely death in 2004 left a wound in the Bay Area hip-hop scene that's never quite healed. This is the complete story of how Mac Dre became one of the most important rap stars on the West Coast, told through the eyes and voices of those who witnessed his meteoric...

In The Beat Game, Grammy Nominated music producer Darrell "Digga" Branch shows Hip Hop beat makers and producers how to play in the high-paced game called the music business: Branch draws on his own personal experiences, successes and failures, as well as interviews with his well-known professional peers in the music industry, to provide a comprehensive guide to the legal, financial and creative aspects of the Hip Hop music game. Branch examines the...

Get the Summary of Rob Kenner's The Marathon Dont Stop in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. "The Marathon Don't Stop" by Rob Kenner chronicles the life and legacy of Nipsey Hussle, a rapper and community activist from South Central Los Angeles. The book details Hussle's journey from his early days shining shoes to fund his school shopping, to his rise as a Grammy-nominated artist with his own record label, All Money...

In Atlanta, Georgia, in 2009, three family members, two cousins, and an uncle created Migos. The three members of the band were Kiari "Offset" Cephus, Quavious "Quavo" Marshall, and Kirsnick "Takeoff" Ball. While separately, rappers Offset, Quavo, and Takeoff have appeared in numerous films and television shows as a band, Migos have stuck to music, endorsements, and business. Each artist has landed his own endorsement deals, but as a group the hip-hop...

You are an android. Okay, well maybe you're not really an android, but you have been programmed. Hiphop artist, GaKnew Roxwel, dives into psychology and brings back a bounty of gems. Under the Influence, paired with the Sound of Silence album, creatively shares the science of automatization and how habits reign over more than we realize. This dynamic dual of book and CD tells the universal tale of Calvin Lloyd, and his triumph from being tangled in...