BOOKS: THE BOOMBOX PROJECT By Lyle Owerko

On last Saturday's broadcast of The Underground Dugout, I reviewed photo-journalist Lyle Owerko's ode to a bygone era- "The Boombox Project: The Machines, The Music and The Urban Underground". One part coffee table book, one part historical text and 100% Hip Hop, "The Boom Box Project" is Lyle Owerko's labor of love. Mr. Owerko fascination with the boombox, its status in urban culture and vital component of early hip hop is explored throughout this book. From interviews with Kool DJ Herc, Run DMC, The Beastie Boys, The Clash and Rick Rubin among others (with a foreword by Spike Lee), the boombox is elevated to its rightful place in pop culture.

During the 1970s and 1980s, it was common to see many people hoisting these sound systems on their shoulders and in their hands sometimes requiring two people to carry them. Often times the freshest music was heard through these portable stereos and they provided the backdrop for many b-boy performances. Lyle Owerko combed the world for some of the rarest and forgotten models and photographed them as pieces of art. This book is a must have for those who remember that era and for those who appreciate the foundations of urban culture.

www.owerko.com

BOOKS: The BeatTips Manual 5th Edition

Props to my dude Saint Joe over at soundsandgear.com. Saint Joe did a great review of this impressive must have manual for both new and veteran beatmakers. "The BeatTips Manual" by Amir SA'ID. Check his review below and read more HERE

BOOKS: HOW TO RAP: The Art and Science of the Hip-Hop MC by Paul Edwards plus Foreword Kool G Rap

PRESS RELEASE:

With a foreword by Kool G Rap and interviews with over 100 major MCs, HOW TO RAP: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC guides the reader through the artform of Rap in the words of the artists, giving an inside look behind their creative processes and techniques.

Over 100 artists interviewed exclusively for the book include classic MCs and groups such as Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, Mobb Deep, AZ, Jurassic 5, Cypress Hill, Pharoahe Monch, Boot Camp Clik, Masta Ace, and A Tribe Called Quest, as well as more recent artists such as Clipse, Styles P, The Black Eyed Peas, Crooked I, Immortal Technique, Royce Da 5'9", Papoose and Nelly.

HOW TO RAP breaks MC'ing down into content, flow, writing, and delivery with topics such as writing in your head, punching-in vocals, and interacting with the crowd all tackled from different angles by numerous pros.

The book also features the first complete breakdown of "flow", allowing readers to create tongue-twisting compound rhyme styles like Kool G Rapand Eminem, complex conversational flows like Nas, Jay-Z, and OC, the classic true school patterns of Melle Mel, and everything in between.

For more info on the book, visit www.howtorapbook.com

Pics From KRS ONE's Book Signing @ Barnes and Noble NYC Last Night

KRS One & Beth The Superfan


KRS One


"WILD STYLE" Director Charlie Ahearn


Beth The Superfan stopped by KRS One's first book signing last night and worked to secure an interview for THE ZRO HOUR. Details are being worked out so stay tuned...

Check out the dates and locations for his appearances through the week in the NY/NJ area in the previous post.

BOOKS: KRS ONE signed edition of THE GOSPEL OF HIP HOP available now!

PRESS RELEASE:

The Gospel of Hip Hop: First Instrument, the first book from the I Am Hip Hop imprint, is the philosophical masterwork of KRS ONE. Set in the format of a self-help holy book, this 800-plus-page opus is a spiritual manual for citizens of Hip Hop Kulture that combines classic philosophy with faith and practical knowledge, for a fascinating, in-depth exploration of Hip Hop as a life path. Known as "the Teacha," KRS ONE developed his unique outlook as a homeless teen in Brooklyn, New York, engaging his philosophy of self-creation to become one of the most respected emcees in Hip Hop history. As Hip Hop's true steward, KRS ONE painstakingly details the development of the culture and the ways in which we, as "Hiphoppas," can and should preserve its future.

ORDER YOUR SIGNED EDITION OF THE GOSPEL OF HIP HOP, by KRS ONE while supplies last! Only $24-

www.powerhousebooks.com/thegospelofhiphop

Meet KRS One in person at these book signings/lectures this week:

11/10/2009 · Barnes & Noble · Livingston, NJ · 112 Eisenhower Parkway · 7 p.m. Reading/Signing
11/11/2009 · Hue-Man Bookstore · Harlem, NYC · 2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd · 6 p.m. Reading/Signing
11/12/2009 · Barnes & Noble · Clifton, NJ · 395 Route 3 East · 7:30 p.m. Reading/Signing

BOOKS: "What's My Priority" Author Trina Slade-Burks To Appear @ NYC Book Signing Today

Friend and supporter of THEZROHOUR.COM, artist/author Trina Slade-Burks, will be appearing at a book signing for "What's My Priority" tonight in Yonkers, New York. "What's My Priority" is a book of poems, artwork and affirmations that the author has collaborated with family & friends. It is a personal look at the emotions of an artist. Come out and support. There will be original artwork on sale and readings from the book.

Host:
Trina Slade-Burks

Location:
Salud Bar Lounge
585 Central Park Ave
Yonkers, NY 10704 US

When: Friday, October 23, 7:00PM

Phone: 561-832-1727

Doors will open @ 7pm
Excerpts from the book wil be read by close friends @ 8:30pm. Hear excerpts read by Prophet from TKA/K7 & online radio host Alexie F

Because we are at a Lounge going right into the night life after the signing there is a dress code. Jeans OK. collared shirts.Uptowns OK with button shirt... UPSCALE CASUAL....NO SNEAKERS NO HATS!!!!!

Some art from the book will be available for sale!!!!!
CASH BAR & FOOD AVAILABLE!!!!!!

BOOKS: Blaxploitation Graphic Novel AFRODISIAC Coming December 2009

Brian Maruca & Jim Rugg, The crew behind Street Angel hits the ghetto with the Afrodisiac - in SuperColor! Theres cats, gats, spats, and feathered hatsaction as big as a Georgia ham and wool so fine it'll blow your mind! Lock up your daughters, come hell or high water, cause here comes the king of the concrete jungle!

96 4C pages
6 " x 9 " HC
$14.95
ISBN 978-1-935233-06-0
Shipping December 2009

http://www.adhousebooks.com/index.html

PDF Preview: http://www.adhousebooks.com/images/previews/ad.afrodisiac.preview.pdf

BOOKS: THE ZRO HOUR's ALEXIE F. Writes Epilogue in New Book "WHAT IS MY PRIORITY?"

"What Is My Priority?" is a new book by a friend of THE ZRO HOUR, Trina Slade-Burks. It is a book of poetry, affirmations and art executed by artist, Trina Slade-Burks with a collaboration of family and friends inserts. Some photo family history accompanied with contemporary art round out this release.

You can purchase HERE

BOOKS: IT'S JUST BEGUN: THE EPIC JOURNEY OF DJ DISCO WIZ - Hip Hop's First Latino DJ

Thanks to TOOLS OF WAR for forwarding this:

Press Release:
IT'S JUST BEGUN: THE EPIC JOURNEY OF DJ DISCO WIZ - Hip Hop's First Latino DJ by Ivan Sanchez and Luis "DJ Disco Wiz" Cedeno

Half-Cuban, half-Puerto Rican, Luis "DJ Disco Wiz" Cedeño is 100 percent Boogie Down Bronx. Born in the 60s, Wiz struggled in a turbulent and violent relationship with his alcoholic father while trying to protect his mother who was suffering from breast cancer. Raised in the 70s, Wiz learned the code of the streets while hustling with his crew, the East Side Boys. In 1975, Wiz discovered salvation when he hooked up with the legendary Grandmaster Caz to form the Mighty Force Crew, waging some of the biggest DJ battles in the Bronx during Hip Hop's earliest years.

When Hip Hop first hit, the DJ was king. Rockin' the party on two turntables for the b-boys and fly girls on the dance floor, DJs like Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash pioneered an art form that has come to define our times. The first Latino DJ in the game, Wiz, along with Caz, went on to make a "mixed plate" in 1977 which combined sound bites, special effects, and paused beats. An innovator, originator, and a battle-style DJ with no fear, Wiz swept through the Bronx like a tornado.

Luis "DJ Disco Wiz" Cedeño, the first Latino Hip Hop DJ, is credited, along with Grandmaster Caz, for being the first DJs to make a "mixed plate" in 1977. In the years since, Wiz has been an influential force in educating the world about the early years of Hip Hop. Wiz was a major contributor in the opening of the Experience Music Project in Seattle in 2000, and was instrumental in the making of Jim Fricke and Charlie Ahearn's Yes Yes Y'all (Da Capo Press, 2002). He was also featured in the Emmy-nominated VH1 Rock Doc NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell, and is the creator and founder of the Hip-Hop Meets Spoken Wordz series.

Release date: May 19, 2009
Available at fine book stores as well as online at www.amazon.com



www.myspace.com/itsjustbegunbook
www.myspace.com/djdiscowiz

Every Friday, DJ Disco Wiz hosts Hip Hop Chronicles: from 10pm-12am EST on www.urbanlatinoradio.com

BOOKS: BOOK of RHYMES: The Poetics of Hip Hop

Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop by Adam Bradley

Most would agree that history's great poets include figures such as Shakespeare, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost and Maya Angelou. But what about GrandMaster Caz, Jay-Z, KRS-One, Nas or Grandmaster Mele Mel? A book of rhymes is where MCs write their lyrics and is thus, where Rap becomes poetry. In BOOK OF RHYMES: The Poetics of Hip Hop (Basic Civitas; March 3, 2009), literary scholar Adam Bradley explores the poetic intricacies of MC'ing, explaining how "My flow is in the pocket like wallets / I got the bounce like hydraulics" compares to "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? / Though art more lovely and more temperate." Bradley, who was trained in Black Studies by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Cornel West, and in poetics by poetry critic Helen Vendler, dissects the basic components of poetry, revealing the ways in which MC'ing not only conforms to, but has advanced the medium.

Release Date: March 3, 2009 (Basic Civitas Books)

BOOKS: Do Not Give Way to Evil: Photographs of the South Bronx, 1979 -1987

powerHouse Books announces the release of Lisa Kahane's "Do Not Give Way to Evil: Photographs of the South Bronx, 1979 -1987". From the press release:

The Bronx had almost stopped burning by 1979. The intensity and extent of the devastation permeated the landscape. It was an awesome mess, not just another neighborhood, but another realm, visible but incomprehensible. The Bronx came undone in a confluence of unfortunate circumstances: the life cycle of community, rampant city planning, economic change, racism, poverty, failed hopes, drugs, crime, abandonment, counterproductive government response. It was destroyed for profit. The entire story has yet to be told.

A friend suggested to photographer Lisa Kahane that she record it for a time when it would be a memory, which was then impossible to imagine. The ruins of the immediate past overwhelmed any idea of a future. Ironically, Kahane had a good time in the Bronx. People smiled and said, "Throw me a photo!" Few objected to having their picture taken and no one tried to take her camera away. They wanted their story told. Any discomfort the camera might inflict was nothing compared to what they'd endured.

The result, Do No Give Way to Evil: Photographs of the South Bronx, 1979-1987, is an extraordinary document of devastation and rejuvenation, as Kahane records the first seeds of rebuilding. Throughout this desolate world, the people live alongside abandoned buildings and debris-strewn lots, carrying on their business with civic pride. Though the buildings may be ghosts of their former selves, the spirit of the people holds strong.

With an essay by Peter Frank and text by the photographer, John Ahearn, CRASH, DAZE, Jane Dickson, Stefan Eins, John Fekner, Joe Lewis, SHARP and Rigoberto Torres.

DO NOT GIVE WAY TO EVIL: Photographs of the
South Bronx, 1979 - 1987
by Lisa Kahane

NEW YORK CITY/
PHOTOGRAPHY
HC, 11 x 8.25 inches
136 pages
56 four-color images and
59 duotone photographs
ISBN:978-1-57687-432-5 $35.00
powerhousebooks.com

BOOKS: KRS One's RUMINATIONS Command Top Dollar

I'm an idiot for not picking up this book in the many times that I had an opportunity. KRS One's second book (the first being "The Science Of RAP") titled "RUMINATIONS" is apparently VERY sought after. Its out of print (originally published in 2003 and commanding up to $2300 on amazon.com. "Ruminations" featured a foreword by journalist Tavist Smiley and expands KRS' discourse on life, living as an American citizen as a man of African descent, Hip Hop culture, spirituality and his overall world view. I am a great supporter of KRS' music and views on Hip Hop culture. I am always on the lookout for books that expand my library of Hip Hop history and commentary. If anyone knows wher I can find a used or new book for no more than $40 let me know..