Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah

Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah
Author: Kathy Iandoli
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2021-08-17
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1982156864

In a definitive and “excellent homage to a star who left this planet too soon” (Questlove), the life, career, tragic death, and evolution of Aaliyah into a music legend are explored—now updated with new material featuring in-depth research and exclusive interviews. By twenty-two years old, Aaliyah had already accomplished a staggering amount: hit records, acclaimed acting roles, and fame that was just about to cross over into superstardom. Like her song, she was already “more than a woman” but her shocking death in a plane crash prevented her from fully growing into one. Now, two decades later, the full story of Aaliyah’s life and cultural impact is finally and lovingly revealed. Baby Girl features never-before-told stories, including studio anecdotes, personal tales, and eyewitness accounts on the events leading up to her untimely passing. Her enduring influence on today’s artists—such as Rihanna, Drake, Normani, and many more—is also celebrated, providing Aaliyah’s discography a cultural critique that is long overdue. “There’s no better way to pay your respect to R&B’s true angel than to lose yourself in the pages” (Kim Osorio, journalist and author of Straight from the Source) of this “dazzling biography” (Publishers Weekly) that is as unforgettable as its subject. This book was written without the participation of Aaliyah’s family/estate.

Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah

Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah
Author: Kathy Iandoli
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2022-08-23
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1982156856

"By twenty-two years old, Aaliyah had already accomplished a staggering amount: hit records, acclaimed acting roles, and fame that was just about to cross over into superstardom. Like her song, she was already "more than a woman" but her shocking death in a plane crash prevented her from fully growing into one. Now, two decades later, the full story of Aaliyah's life and cultural impact is finally and lovingly revealed. Baby Girl features never-before-told stories, including studio anecdotes, personal tales, and eyewitness accounts on the events leading up to her untimely passing. Her enduring influence on today's artists--such as Rihanna, Drake, Normani, and many more--is also celebrated, providing Aaliyah's discography a cultural critique that is long overdue. "--Provided by publisher.

God Save the Queens

God Save the Queens
Author: Kathy Iandoli
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 364
Release: 2019-10-22
Genre: Music
ISBN: 0062878522

An NPR Best Book of the Year "Without God Save the Queens, it is possible that the contributions of dozens of important female hip-hop artists who have sold tens of millions of albums, starred in monumental films, and influenced the direction of the culture would continue to go unrecognized." —AllHipHop.com Can’t Stop Won’t Stop meets Girls to the Front in this essential and long overdue history of hip-hop’s female pioneers and its enduring stars. Every history of hip-hop previously published, from Jeff Chang’s Can’t Stop Won’t Stop to Shea Serrano’s The Rap Yearbook, focuses primarily on men, glaringly omitting a thorough and respectful examination of the presence and contribution of the genre’s female artists. For far too long, women in hip-hop have been relegated to the shadows, viewed as the designated “First Lady” thrown a contract, a pawn in some beef, or even worse. But as Kathy Iandoli makes clear, the reality is very different. Today, hip-hop is dominated by successful women such as Cardi B and Nicki Minaj, yet there are scores of female artists whose influence continues to resonate. God Save the Queens pays tribute to the women of hip-hop—from the early work of Roxanne Shante, to hitmakers like Queen Latifah and Missy Elliot, to the superstars of today. Exploring issues of gender, money, sexuality, violence, body image, feuds, objectification and more, God Save the Queens is an important and monumental work of music journalism that at last gives these influential female artists the respect they have long deserved.

Aaliyah

Aaliyah
Author: Tim Footman
Publisher: Plexus Publishing
Total Pages: 159
Release: 2021-11-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0859657132

In this biography of Aaliyah, Tim Footman tells the story of her short life, detailing her childhood in Detroit, where she attended stage school and became an assured performer, performing in Las Vegas by the age of 11 and securing a record deal at the age of 12. By age 15, Aaliyah had her first No. 1 hit and had become involved with her mentor, R&B producer R Kelly. A series of award winning hit albums and singles followed, including the album One in a Million, which went platinum, and the single 'Try Again', for which she won a Grammy. The book also covers Aaliyah's career as an actress, winning lead roles in blockbusters such as Romeo Must Die, and Queen of the Damned, plus her other hugely successful contributions to film soundtracks. The events leading to her death in 2001 are also covered, plus the subsequent impact of this loss on her fans and the music industry. Aaliyah's aura of mystery and her iconic status are discussed throughout the book.

Aaliyah

Aaliyah
Author: Christopher John Farley
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2002-01-26
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0743455665

Don’t miss the inspirational biography behind the exciting new Lifetime movie Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B, starring Alexandra Shipp as the extraordinary singer Aaliyah. Aaliyah Dana Haughton was that music business rarity: a teen idol who transformed herself into a critically acclaimed hip-hop soul artist, a singer who successfully made the transition to actress, and a beautiful woman who never let the trappings of celebrity go to her head. Following her impressive debut at age fourteen with the album Age Ain’t Nothin’ but a Number, Aaliyah raised the bar with her hugely influential and bestselling follow-up, One in a Million. She then took her talents to Hollywood, starring in the action thriller Romeo Must Die and the highly anticipated horror film The Queen of the Damned. But soon after the release of her third album in the summer of 2001, Aaliyah’s life was cut short in a tragic plane crash. Here is the inspirational story of the star The Washington Post dubbed “Hip-Hop’s Lady Di”—a woman who, by the time of her death at age twenty-two, touched legions of fans around the world with her haunting voice and gentle spirit.

I Am One of a Kind

I Am One of a Kind
Author: Aaliyah Wilson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2021-01-31
Genre:
ISBN:

Through playful, charming rhyme and vivid, beautiful illustrations, I Am One of a Kind inspires young brown girls to be proud of who they are! This amazing book is all about building a girl's confidence, imagination, and spirit! It seeks to remind little girls that they are unique, worthy, special, beautiful, and enough. Growing up can be a difficult time for kids, this book will help your children explore their deepest feelings, accept their unique qualities and will foster personal growth and self-accpetance.

Hip Hoptionary TM

Hip Hoptionary TM
Author: Alonzo Westbrook
Publisher: Crown Archetype
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2002-10-15
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 0767913957

The bumpin’ book for hip-hop disciples (a.k.a. fiends), songwriters, all other writers, pop culture fans, linguists, and parents who are just trying to figure out what their kids are saying. The inventive sounds of hip-hop (which became America’s number two music genre in 2001, outselling country) have echoed far from their Bronx beginnings of twenty years ago. Making its way from Compton sidewalks to suburban malls, garnering commentary from The Wall Street Journal alongside Vibe, hip-hop by definition delivers its messages in the most creative language possible. Celebrating hip-hop’s boon to the realm of self-expression, Hip Hoptionary™ translates dozens of phrases like “marinating in the rizzi with your road dawg” (relaxing in your car with your friend), including: • Big bodies: SUVs or luxury vehicles • Government handle: registered birth name • 411: the latest scoop or information • Bling-bling: diamonds, big money, flash and cash • Brick City: Newark, New Jersey • 1812: war, fight (as in War of 1812) In addition to the lexicon of idioms and beeper codes, Hip Hoptionary™ also features lists of hip-hop fashion labels, books, mixed drinks, and brief bios of America’s famous rappers, making this the ultimate guide for a Double H (hip-hop) nation.

Jane Doe #9

Jane Doe #9
Author: Lizzette Martinez
Publisher: WildBlue Press
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2021-10-26
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 195222585X

"Lizzette Martinez’s story embodies the fire energy that gives light and life to survivors all around her! Survivors need to see strength and perseverance despite opposition, and Lizzette models just that." —Melissa Schuman, actress and singer In January of 1995, 17-year-old Lizzette Martinez met Grammy-winning musician and record producer R. KELLY at Aventura Mall in Florida where he was performing. At first, it seemed that her hopes of becoming a professional singer were about to come true when he offered to help boost her career. However, this mentorship quickly turned into sexual grooming, leading to years of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. After struggling to free herself of the relationship and rebuild on her own, Lizzette’s successful new life, far away from the entertainment industry, was interrupted in 2017 by allegations against R. Kelly by other women. This led her to coming forward to the authorities with her own history of abuse by the music icon. In January 2019, she participated with other survivors in a documentary series with Lifetime called “Surviving R. Kelly.” It should have been a healing experience but instead left them feeling abandoned and fearful for their lives. In August 2021, Kelly went on trial in New York on racketeering and sex trafficking charges and was found guilty of all charges. In JANE DOE #9 by Lizzette Martinez and Keelin MacGregor, readers get a no-holds-barred look at Martinez’s relationship with Kelly, her efforts to break free and pursue her dreams, and courage to take on her abuser and seek justice. "Lizzette has been very courageous and persistent in her battle to make sure that R. Kelly was held accountable. I am honored to represent her." - Gloria Allred, women's rights attorney and National Women's Hall Of Fame inductee "In twenty-one years of reporting on R. Kelly abusing his wealth and fame to prey on so many girls and young women—and it was their bravery in speaking out that finally stopped the worst predator in the history of popular music—Lizzette Martinez has always struck me as one of the strongest and most courageous. I could not admire her more, and I am eager indeed to read her story in her own words. She is an inspiration." –Jim DeRogatis, music critic, journalist, and author of Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly

Where the Devil Don't Stay

Where the Devil Don't Stay
Author: Stephen Deusner
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2021-09-07
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1477323937

In 1996, Patterson Hood recruited friends and fellow musicians in Athens, Georgia, to form his dream band: a group with no set lineup that specialized in rowdy rock and roll. The Drive-By Truckers, as they named themselves, grew into one of the best and most consequential rock bands of the twenty-first century, a great live act whose songs deliver the truth and nuance rarely bestowed on Southerners, so often reduced to stereotypes. Where the Devil Don’t Stay tells the band’s unlikely story not chronologically but geographically. Seeing the Truckers’ albums as roadmaps through a landscape that is half-real, half-imagined, their fellow Southerner Stephen Deusner travels to the places the band’s members have lived in and written about. Tracking the band from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to Richmond, Virginia, to the author’s hometown in McNairy County, Tennessee, Deusner explores the Truckers’ complex relationship to the South and the issues of class, race, history, and religion that run through their music. Drawing on new interviews with past and present band members, including Jason Isbell, Where the Devil Don’t Stay is more than the story of a great American band; it’s a reflection on the power of music and how it can frame and shape a larger culture.

Kingston by Starlight

Kingston by Starlight
Author: Christopher John Farley
Publisher: Crown
Total Pages: 338
Release: 2005-06-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0307238407

Irish-born Anne Bonny is only a teenager when she is left destitute by her mother’s death. Abandoned by her father, she seems destined to be forgotten by the world. But Anne chooses to seek her fortune in the lush tropics of the colonial West Indies, where she passes herself off as a young man named Bonn. She finds work as a ship’s hand, sailing under the command of Calico Jack Rackam, a notorious and charismatic pirate with a bounty on his head. Calico Jack has his heart set on raiding the Madrid Galleon, the richest ship in the Caribbean, which sails from Kingston laden with Cuban gold and Jamaican rum. Bonn is entranced by the sea and by the ship’s violent crew, which includes a mysterious swordfighter named Read, who, it turns out, has a secret life of his own. Calico Jack soon discovers Bonn’s and Read’s true identities, but it is only when the three pirates are captured that their darkest secrets begin to surface. In the shadow of the gallows, a strange twist of fate reveals a shocking betrayal that may save Bonn from death, while permanently changing everything she has known about her past and the world around her. Gorgeously written and full of mystery, intrigue, and startling revelations about gender, race, history, and the human heart, Kingston by Starlight is a once-in-a-lifetime read.