{"product_id":"the-plot-against-hip-hop-9781617750243","title":"The Plot Against Hip Hop","description":"\u003cp\u003e--Finalist for the 2012 NAACP Image Award in Literature\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"George is an ace at interlacing the real dramas of the world . . . the book's slim length and flyweight depth could make it an artifact of this particular zeitgeist in American history. Playas and haters and celebrity cameos fuel a novel that is wickedly entertaining while being frozen in time.\" --\u003cem\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"This hard-boiled tale is jazzed up with authentic street slang and name-dropping (Biggie, Mary J. Blige, Lil Wayne, and Chuck D) . . . George's tightly packaged mystery pivots on a believable conspiracy . . . and his street cred shines in his descriptions of Harlem and Brownsville's mean streets.\" --\u003cem\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eThe Plot Against Hip Hop\u003c\/em\u003e is a noir novel set in the world of hip hop culture. The stabbing murder of esteemed music critic Dwayne Robinson in a Soho office building is dismissed by the NYPD as a gang initiation. But his old friend, bodyguard\/security expert D Hunter, suspects there's much more to his death. An old cassette tape, the theft of a manuscript Robinson was working on, and some veiled threats suggest there are larger forces at work.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e D Hunter's investigation into his mentor's murder leads into a parallel history of hip hop, a place where renegade government agents, behind-the-scenes power brokers, and paranoid journalists know a truth that only a few hardcore fans suspect. This rewrite of hip hop history mixes real-life figures including Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Russell Simmons with characters pulled from the culture's hidden world, such as the Illuminati, FBI agents, and West Coast gangstas that roam the hard streets D Hunter walks down.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e D Hunter is a tough, black-clad product of crime-ridden Brownsville, Brooklyn, a man whose family has been devastated by violence and who has dedicated himself to protecting people in an age of insecurity. Hunter has his own secrets, his own vulnerabilities, which he fights to overcome as he becomes a reluctant private eye. After reading \u003cem\u003eThe Plot Against Hip Hop\u003c\/em\u003e, you'll never hear the music the same way.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Akashic Books, Ltd.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/01\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781617750243\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 220\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.45lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.90h x 5.80w x 0.70d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e Shamus Award - Nominee\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/05\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2011 pg. 64\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/15\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eEssence\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2011 pg. 74\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2011 pg. 28\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/15\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eEbony\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/2011 pg. 44\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Nelson George","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45302286811317,"sku":"9781617750243","price":13.56,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_09f444cb-2f3e-4cae-8cb4-645808ed2b4b.jpg?v=1744724969","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-plot-against-hip-hop-9781617750243","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}