"Most musicians would do anything to work with the hot, young record producer known as "Rolling Deep." R.D. can pick and choose any artist he wants--and he wants Laurel Raineau. A classical violinist, Laurel plays soaring music that touches R.D. to his very soul. But the last thing Laurel wants is to work with someone whose exploits with the ladies appear in the tabloids every week. Not one to take no for an answer, R.D. keeps trying--and failing--to...

"From the streets of Baltimore to the halls of the New Mexico Philharmonic, a musician shares his remarkable story in I'm Possible, an inspiring memoir of perseverance and possibility. Growing up, Richard Antoine White and his mother didn't have a key to a room or a house. Sometimes they had shelter, but they never had a place to call home. Still, they always had each other, and from a young age, Richard believed he could look after his mother, even...

A cultural portrait of the Pulitzer Prize-winning rap superstar documents his coming-of-age as an artist, his genius as a lyricist, and his profound impact on today's racially fraught America.

Kem goes back to the very beginning to introduce his grandmother who worked as a sharecropper in the South and had thirteen children. As Kem's family rises from the sharecropping and ultimately lands in Detroit, there is an unspoken mantra of "hard things are better left unsaid," which has devastating consequences down the line. His mother is never without a beer in her hand, and his relationship with his father is oddly tense. Emotionally starved,...

"Carlisa "Carli" Henton is a musician and songwriter hoping to follow in her father's musical footsteps. But, biding her time until she makes it big in the music industry, she works as a junior account manager at a big-name media company to cover her New York City rent. Carli meticulously balances her work with her musical endeavors as a songwriter -- until a chance meeting with rising star Tau Anderson sends her calculated world into a frenzy. Their...

"Ray McMillian loves playing the violin more than anything, and nothing will stop him from pursuing his dream of becoming a professional musician. Not his mother, who thinks he should get a real job, not the fact that he can't afford a high-caliber violin, not the racism inherent in the classical music world. And when he makes the startling discovery that his great-grandfather's fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, his star begins to rise....

The intimate debut memoir by the man known to the world as Mister Rogers' Neighborhood 's "Officer Clemmons," a Grammy Award-winning artist who made history as the first African American actor to have a recurring role on a children's television program When he created the role of Officer Clemmons on the television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, François Clemmons made history as the first African American actor to have a recurring role on a...

Celebrate the vibrant jazz, R&B, and soul music of African American artists who, during segregation, created the foundation of modern American music. Like many other Black Americans, they relied on Victor Hugo Green's Negro Travelers' Green Book, a directory of lodgings, restaurants, and entertainment venues where African Americans were safe and welcomed. Now explore the history of this essential guide with vocalists, musicians, historians, and others...

The dynamic film of the 1972 Los Angeles event attended by over 100,000 concert goers and first billed as the 'black Woodstock,' gets ya plenty. Its performances burn with vitality. Its forays into the neighborhood are a time capsule of pride and pain. And the Richard Pryor comedy riffs that provide the film's running commentary are a treasure all by themselves.

"The Life-Changing Magic of Drumming is a beginner's guide to drumming, with secrets from world-famous musician Nandi Bushell. Find out how Nandi Bushell--the young drummer who has played with the Foo Fighters--discovered drumming when she was just five years old. She shares how she plays--from the simple drumming beats she first learned to drum rolls, fills, and backbeats--and offers insider tips and advice for young musicians around the world."--...