The word on street lit

Urban fiction, also known as Street lit and Gangsta fiction, is a literary genre set, as the name implies, in a city landscape; however, the genre is as much defined by the race and culture of its characters as the urban setting. The tone for urban fiction is usually dark, focusing on the underside. Profanity (all of George Carlin’s seven dirty words and urban variations thereof), sex and violence are usually explicit, with the writer not shying away from or watering-down the material. In this respect, urban fiction shares some common threads with dystopian or survivalist fiction. Often statements derogatory to white people (or at least what is perceived as the dominant white culture and power structure) are made, usually by the characters. However, in the second wave of urban fiction, some variations of this model have been seen.

Genesis and historical forces behind urban fiction

Urban fiction was (and largely still is) a genre written by and for African-Americans. In his famous essay “The Souls of Black Folk,” W.E.B. Dubois talked about how a veil separated the African-American community from the outside world. [http://www.bartleby.com/114/] By extension, fiction written by people outside the African-American culture could not (at least with any degree of verisimilitude) depict the people, settings, and events experienced by people in that culture. Try as some might, those who grew up «outside the veil» (i.e., outside the urban culture) simply could not write fiction truly grounded in inner-city and African-American life.

The first generation of urban fiction

In the 1970s, during the culmination of the Black Power movement, a jailed black man named Robert Beck took the pen name Iceberg Slim and wrote «Pimp», a dark, gritty tale of life in the inner-city underworld. While the book contained elements of the Black Power agenda, it was most notable for its unsparing depiction of street life. Iceberg Slim wrote many other novels, and attained an international following. Some of the terminology he used in his books crossed over into the lexicon of Black English. [http://www.popsubculture.com/pop/bio_project/iceberg_slim.html] . Other writers included Donald Goines [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0324786/bio] , and notably, Claude Brown’s «Manchild In The Promised Land» published in 1965. Also published in 1965 was Malcolm X’s autobiography, «The Autobiography of Malcolm X.» Because this non-fictional read captures the realistic nature of African-American urban life for coming of age young men, the book has consistently served as a standard for reading amongst African-American teen-aged boys.

Hip Hop Lit: Rap music as an urban ballad

During the 1980s and early 1990s, urban fiction in print experienced a decline. However, one could make a cogent argument that urban tales simply moved from print to music [http://mmstudio.gannon.edu/~gabriel/parker.html] , as rap music exploded in popularity, with harsh, gritty stories such as The Message and Dopeman set to a driving, strident bass rhythm. Of course, for every rapper who signed a recording contract and made the airwaves, ten more amateurs plied the streets and local clubs, much like urban bards or troubadours telling urban fiction in an informal, oral manner rather than in a neat, written form. One of the most famous rappers, Tupac Shakur, is sometimes called a «ghetto prophet,» and is undeniably an author of urban fiction in lyrical form. Tupac Shakur also wrote a book of poetry called «The Rose That Grew From Concrete».

Hip Hop lit in print form though is thriving. Non-fiction books from players in the hip hop realm such as Russell Simmons, Kevin Liles, LL Cool J, and FUBU founder Daymond John are also filed in this genre. Carmen Bryant and Karrine Steffans have both written blockbuster books for this audience, as has shock jock Wendy Williams (radio host). Both Karrine Steffans and rapper 50 Cent had such success with their books that they were given their own imprints to usher in similar authors. 50 Cent’s G-Unit Books adds a legitimacy to a fictional genre that was previously disregarded.

The new wave of urban fiction

Toward the end of the 1990s, urban fiction experienced a revival, as demand for novels authentically conveying the urban experience increased, and new business models enabled fledgling writers to more easily bring a manuscript to market. One of the first writers in this new cycle of urban fiction was the controversial Sister Souljah, who wrote «The Coldest Winter Ever» (1999). For good or ill, her books gained publicity based on [http://www.linguistlist.org/issues/3/3-512.html comments she made during an interview] that some took out of context and interpreted as advocating the killing of white people. Teri Woods’ «True to the Game» and Omar Tyree’s «Flyy Girl», were also published in 1999. Along with Souljah’s «Coldest Winter», the three novels are considered classics in this renaissance genre.

Other writers of urban fiction include Jeff Rivera, Vikki Stringer, Shannon Holmes, Miasha, TN Baker, Solomon Jones, Nikki Turner, writing duo Meesha Mink & De’Nesha Diamond, and Pamela M. Johnson, the latter of whom is becoming known in urban fiction circles for bootstrapping a single novel sold from the trunk of her car into a [http://www.macavellipress.com/ publishing company and press] .

In less than a decade, urban fiction has experienced a renaissance that boasts hundreds of titles. The newest wave of street fiction is urban Latino fiction novels such as «Devil’s Mambo» by Jerry Rodriguez and Jeff Rivera’s «Forever My Lady».

There is also an unexpected literary wave to hip-hop fiction and street lit. Authors with a book or books in this offering include Sofia Quintero of the Black Artemis Novels, E-Fierce AKA Elisha Miranda, Parys Sylver, Heru Ptah, Ferentz Lafargue, Saul Williams, Abiola Abrams, Felicia Pride, Marcella Runell Hall and Martha Diaz. These are hip hop lit or street lit books that take a more literary approach using metaphor, signifying and other literary devices. These books may also be used in socially redeeming or classroom capacities, while maintaining love and positivity for the music and the hip hop culture.

With this new wave of Renaissance Street lit comes a whole new ball game when it comes to promotion and exposure. Aside from hand to hand sales which seems to work best in a genre where word of mouth has proven to be worth more than any large ad campaign, the internet has increased the authors and publishers the ability to reach out to the genres’ readers. With internet savvy many self-published authors who once had no shot of recognition are now household names. Like author,Rasheed Clark, who went from relatively unknown, to being honored with fourteen Infini Literary Award nominations for his first two novels, «Stories I Wouldn’t Tell Nobody But God» and the follow up «Cold Summer Afternoon.» Both of which became instant bestsellers and proving Clark to be a fresh voice in African American fiction.

From online book groups and websites such as [http://www.qbr.com/ QBR] , [http://www.rawsistaz.com/ RawSistaz] , [http://www.urban-reviews.com/ Urban Reviews] , and [http://www.coast2coastreaders.com/ Coast 2 Coast Readers] to e-zines like [http://www.theurbanbooksource.com/ The Urban Book Source] , internet sites geared toward Urban readers are making their forces felt, and can often make the difference between a bestseller and a book that shouldn’t have ever been printed.

Authors in this genre such as K’wan, Nikki Turner, and Relentless Aaron, are known for bringing street teams and other musical promotion efforts to the book scene. In recent years, these authors have joined with hip-hop artists such as 50 Cent to further promote the genre by penning the musicians’ real-to-life stories.

Many of these titles are published by independent houses, and the ones from those houses are known for their lack of copy editing.

External links

* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1606270 Readers Embrace ‘Ghetto Lit’ Genre] , National Public Radio Morning Edition, January 20, 2004.
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15236974 Publishing Company Called Out over ‘Ghetto Lit’] , National Public Radio All Things Considered, October 12, 2007.
* [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/10/19/MNGP72ERMV1.DTL New literary genre emerging from underground authors] , San Francisco Chronicle, October 19, 2003.
* [http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/points/stories/DN-blackbooks_08edi.ART.State.Edition1.3e7ea20.html Nick Chiles: Don’t call this smut ‘literature’] , Dallas News, January 8, 2006.
* [http://www.streetfiction.org StreetFiction.org: An Urban Fiction Review Web Site]

Reading lists

Because this genre is very popular with urban teenagers, the following reading lists should prove to be helpful for educators and librarians.

*Library Journal. [http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6573180.html?industryid=47118 The Word on the Street No. 5, By Rollie Welch, Collection Manager, Cleveland, P.L.]
*Library Journal. [http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6563201.html The Word on the Street No. 4, By Vanessa J. Morris, Philadelphia, PA]
*Library Journal. [http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6551738.html?q=the+word+on+street+lit&q=The+word+on+street+lit+no.+3 The Word on the Street No. 3, By Rollie Welch, Collection Manager, Cleveland P.L.]
*Library Journal. [http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6539643.html?industryid=47108 The Word on the Street No. 2, By Vanessa J. Morris, Philadelphia, PA]
*Library Journal. [http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6530172.html?industryid=47118 The Word on the Street No. 1, By Rollie Welch, Collection Manager, Cleveland P.L.]
* [http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6349018.html Streetwise Urban Fiction, by David Wright, Seattle Public Library]
* [http://ted.gse.upenn.edu/~vmorris/VJMWebsite/UrbanFictionReadingList.htm Urban/Street Lit For Public *Library Collections by Vanessa J. Morris, Philadelphia, PA]
* [http://ted.gse.upenn.edu/~vmorris/VJMWebsite/SchoolUrbanFictionReadingList.htm Urban/Street Lit For School Library Collections by Vanessa J. Morris, Philadelphia, PA]
* [http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Title/Author_List_%28from_Miranda_Doyle%2C_San_Francisco_Public_Library%29 Urban/Street Fiction Title/Author List by Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library]
* [http://books.aalbc.com/urbanstreet.htm African American Book Club Urban/Street Fiction List]
* [http://campbele.wordpress.com/ Crazy Quilts Blog with Urban Lit for School Library Collections by Edith Campbell, Arlington High School, Indianapolis, IN]

Also see Street Lit/Urban Fiction Ask-the-Librarian question page.

Readings

(reverse chronological order)

Morris, Vanessa Irvin. «The Street Lit Author and the Inner-City Teen Reader.» Young Adult Library Services 10, 1 (Fall 2011): 21-24. (Note: This article is a mashup of two previously released publications: «Inner City Teens Do Read,» a conference paper at the University of Birmingham (UK), and «The Author and the Teen Reader» a blog article from www.streetliterature.com)

Morris, Vanessa Irvin. The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Street Literature. Chicago: American Library Association, 2011. See 10/25/2011 press release, A readers’ advisory guide to street literature examines its appeal to readers.

Marshall, Elizabeth, Jeanine Staples, and Simone Gibson. 2009. «Critical Readings: African American Girls and Urban Fiction». Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy : a Journal from the International Reading Association. 53, no. 7: 565-574. See article abstract.

Akinyemi, Aaron. Where is the good popular fiction for black men? Way too much shelf space is given over to the tawdry clichés of gun-toting ‘ghetto lit’. Guardian News and Media (UK) Books Blog, August 21, 2009.

Ellison, Charles D. Define «Urban Lit» …. The Huffington Post, June 23, 2009.

Emlen, Nina, Grenke, Karen, Lassen, Christopher, and Kristy Raffensberger. What Librarians Say About Street Lit. School Library Journal, February 4, 2009.
Also see: A Dirty Little Secret: Self-Censorship By Debra Lau Whelan — School Library Journal, 02/01/2009

Coe Booth says she knows of a few libraries in which her first novel, Tyrell (Scholastic, 2006)—an ALA Best Book for Young Adults about a 15-year-old Bronx boy whose family is homeless—is in a glass display case or behind the checkout desk instead of on the shelf in the teen section. «It’s definitely very frustrating—especially since it’s being done in anticipation of a challenge, not in reaction to any real complaints,» she says.

Even more infuriating, says Booth, is labeling. «It seems that any book with an African-American character on the cover is quickly being labeled street lit, regardless of the subject matter or the setting of the book.»

Meanwhile, books about Caucasian characters in urban settings don’t get lumped into that genre. «It’s a form of racism,» she says, because the street-lit category is an «easy way for some librarians to label a book that they can quickly dismiss as being inferior»—and for that reason, choose not to buy.

Pinkney, Joey. Urban Lit is Dead!. The Urban Book Source (web site). December 2008.

Fialkoff, Francine. Editorial: From Street Lit to Literacy. Education and entertainment aren’t mutually exclusive. Library Journal, November 15, 2008.

Jones, Vanessa E. The real world: Teens say they’re reading urban fiction because it reflects life in the city. Should parents be concerned? Boston Globe, November 3, 2008.

A New Focus (and Debate) on Street Lit in Libraries. Library Journal, October 24, 2008.

Barnard, Anne. Urban Fiction Makes Its Way From Streets to Public Libraries New York Times, October 22, 2008.

Also see: Comments to the article

Honig, Meagan. «Takin it to the Street: Teens and Street Lit.» VOYA, August 2008.

Pattee, Amy. Street Fight: Welcome to the World of Urban Lit. Teens love it. Some librarians loathe it. Welcome to the world of urban lit. School Library Journal, July 1, 2008.
Also in this article: Urban Lit — A Core Collection and Selectin’ & Collectin’ Urban Lit (web sites)

Rice, Almah LaVon Rice. The Rise of Street Literature ColorLines (web site). May/June 2008.

Tyree, Omar. An Urban «Street Lit» Retirement. The Daily Voice, June 19, 2008.

For the record, I never called my work «street literature» and I never will. When I began to publish ground breaking contemporary novels with Flyy Girl in 1993, and Capital City in 1994, I called them «urban classics.» They were «urban» because they dealt with people of color in the inner-city or «urban» population areas. They were «classics» because I considered myself one of the first to start the work of a new era. But now, after sixteen years and sixteen novels in the African-American adult urban fiction game, I feel like the man who created the monster Frankenstein. Things have gotten way out of hand. So it’s now time to put up my pen and move on to something new, until the readership is ready to develop a liking for fresh material on other subjects.

Blacks and Books. Library Journal blog, In the Bookroom — Street Lit category, November 13, 2006.

Ferranti, Seth. Hip Hop Fiction Beefs. The Urban Book Source (web site), November 2006.

Allwood, Mark. Street Lit Goes Legit. New York Resident, October 2, 2006.

Wright, David. Collection Development «Urban Fiction»: Streetwise Urban Fiction. Library Journal, July 15, 2006.

Fialkoff, Francine. Editorial: Street Lit Takes a Hit. An African American author raps the genre, but librarians defend it. Library Journal, February 1, 2006.

Can Fiction Matter? Reflections on Street Lit. Library Journal blog, In the Bookroom, September 22, 2005.

General Information

The African American Literature Book Club has Author Profiles of most major Urban Fiction/Street Lit authors.

R.A.W. SISTAZ (Reading and Writing Sistaz) Links to individual author’s websites

Suggested Authors for Core Collection:

Zane, Nikki Turner, Eric Jerome Dickey, Donald Goines, Carl Weber, Mary Monroe, Mary Morrison,
Omar Tyree (also writes under name «The Urban Griot»)

Articles

(reverse chronological order)

Rugg, Peter. In federal prison on a drug conviction, Quentin Carter wrote best-selling novels about Kansas City. The Pitch (Kansas City, MO), June 16, 2009. Also see Letters from the week of July 16.

Hinman, Kristen. Lit Up: Keisha Ervin’s gritty tales of the St. Louis streets have made her one of the nation’s hottest purveyors of urban fiction. RFT: Riverfront Times (St. Louis), April 14, 2009. Also see Street Lit: The Keisha Ervin Excerpts, #1 and Street Lit: The Keisha Ervin Excerpts, #2 and Street Lit: The Keisha Ervin Excerpts, #3 and Street Lit: The Keisha Ervin Excerpts, #4 and Street Lit: The Final Keisha Ervin Excerpts.

Morris, Vanessa. Q&A: Teri Woods. Library Journal, July 15, 2009

Gregory, Kia. «Street lit offers outlet for upstart authors].» Philadelphia Inquirer, July 26, 2008.
About: Khalil Robinson and Joe Jones

Donahue, Deidre. 5 questions for Eric Jerome Dickey. USA TODAY, August 17, 2007.

Cornog, Martha. LJ Talks to Zane. Library Journal, June 27, 2007.

Coates, Ta-Nehisi Paul. Hustle and Grow. TIME, October 9, 2006.
About: Relentless Aaron and K’wan

Kilgannon, Corey. Street Lit With Publishing Cred: From Prison to a Four-Book Deal.
New York Times, February 14, 2006.
About: Relentless Aaron

Resources

PHAT Fiction Wikispace — PHAT Fiction: Engaging Hip-Hop Literature in the Public Library (*phat=popular, hip and tempting fiction). The PHAT Fiction panel discussion was held on June 28th at the 2010 American Library Association’s Conference in Washington, D.C. During this discussion, the panelists explored the impact of hip hop publishers and authors in public libraries and a comparison of racial, ethnic, and regional aspects of urban fiction. This wikispace was created as a means to communicate, collaborate, and share ideas and information with librarians, teachers and supporters of the genre. The PHAT Fiction panel was organized and moderated by Susan K. McClelland, Reader’s Advisor Librarian for the Evanston Public Library in Evanston, Illinois. Participants of this panel discussion included: K.C. Boyd, co-moderator Area Library Coordinator, Chicago Public Schools — Department of Libraries and Information Services; Kia Dupree, panelist Author of «Damaged»; Vanessa Morris, panelist Librarian and Assistant Teaching Professor The iSchool at Drexel University; Christopher Lassen, panelist Children’s Librarian, Brooklyn Public Library; Megan Honig, panelist Young Adult Materials Specialist, New York Public Library; Amy Pattee, panelist Associate Professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Science Simmons College; Paula Chase Hyman, panelist Author of the «Del Rio Bay» YA Series; D.L. Grant, panelist Assistant Manager, San Antonio Public Library; Tachelle Wilkes, panelist Author/Educator; and Coe Booth, panelist Author of «Tyrell» and «Kendra.»

• Read the YALSA Blog entry dated Sunday, July 4th, 2010 by Kelly Czarnecki: Report on, Phat* Fiction: Engaging Hip-Hop Literature in the Public Library (*phat=popular, hip and tempting fiction) session at ALA.

Street Lit Author Panels/Events

African American Literature Book Club
The African American Literature Book Club has author profiles, book reviews, and bestsellers lists.

Black Expressions Book Club
Urban Fiction/Street Literature books are included in the Fiction, Short Stories & Anthologies, and Urban Fiction sections.

Streetfiction.org
An excellent source of information on Urban Fiction/Streetlit books. This site has bibliographies of numerous authors as well as information on new books, interviews and books reviews.

The Urban Book Source
The Urban Book Source has book reviews, interviews, and editorials

Urban Reviews
Urban Reviews has book reviews and lists new and upcoming releases

Urban Fiction/Street Lit
From GRPLpedia, the Grand Rapids Public Library WikiGuides

Urban Fiction/Street Lit/Hip Hop Fiction Resources for Librarians
From Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki

Urban Lit Universe: Where Urban Lit Feels Right At Home Ning online community
From Ning.com — Free Ning.com registration to join the discussion

Bestseller Lists

There are no definitive, well-established sources that can be used to determine what are the bestselling Urban Fiction/Street Lit books as there are for general Fiction books. The sources shown below list bestsellers for African-American Fiction, in general, but include books considered as Urban Fiction or Street Lit. While these lists are not as comprehensive as the New York Times or Publishers Weekly bestsellers lists, they are helpful for developing an Urban Fiction/Street Lit collection for a public library.

African American Literature Book Club AALBC Bestsellers Lists (includes Urban Fiction and Street Lit)

Black Expressions Book Club Black Expressions New Releases and Bestsellers

Books of Soul — lists Urban Fiction Bestsellers Books of Soul Bestsellers

Essence Magazine — search for «essence book club» for bestsellers lists Essence

Mosaic Books — Lists bestsellers from 2000-2009 Mosaicbooks.com

Reviews

Library Journal The Word on Street Lit column coauthored in alternate months by Rollie Welch and Vanessa J. Morris

The Word on Street Lit No. 18, Morris, August 2009

(No. 17 accidentally skipped by Library Journal; expect will be corrected soon)
The Word on Street Lit No. 16, Welch, July 2009
The Word on Street Lit No. 15, Morris, June 2009
The Word on Street Lit No. 14, Welch, May 2009
The Word on Street Lit No. 13, Welch, April 2009
The Word on Street Lit No. 12, Welch, March 2009
The Word on Street Lit No. 11, Welch, February 2009
The Word on Street Lit No. 10, Morris, January 2009
The Word on Street Lit No. 9, Welch, December 2008
The Word on Street Lit No. 8, Morris, November 2008
The Word on Street Lit No. 7, Welch, October 2008
The Word on Street Lit No. 6, Morris, July 2008
The Word on Street Lit No. 5, Welch, June 2008
The Word on Street Lit No. 4, Morris, May 2008
The Word on Street Lit No. 3, Welch, April 2008
The Word on Street Lit No. 2, Morris, March 2008
The Word on Street Lit No. 1, Welch, February 2008

Street Fiction: Hip Hop, Street Lit, and Urban Fiction Book Reviews and Author Interviews
Street Fiction is dedicated to reviewing street fiction, also known as urban fiction, street lit, or gangsta fiction. One of the fastest growing genres, these books expose the reader to drugs, violence, sex and and the gritty realities of street life in urban America. Daniel Marcou, creator of this web site, is a corrections librarian, creative writing instructor, and author.

R.A.W. SISTAZ Book Reviews
There are reviews of new books and you can «search archives» for books already released.

Publishers

Macmillan Editor’s List: The Black Box — African American Book Titles

Triple Crown Publications

Q-Boro Books

Kensington Books

Simon and Schuster’s Atria/Strebor imprints

Random House’s One World imprint

Urban Books

G-Unit Books

[Intro]
Honestly, I can’t spare a rap ass nigga
Everyday I’m on the block with some trap ass niggas (Ayy)
If you got them bands, then where yo sack at, nigga? (Where yo sack at, nigga?)
If you wanna borrow sauce, I need my tax, lil nigga (Tax, lil)
Bans, bans, bans, bans, bans (Bitch)
Yah (Plug)
Fuck wrong with these pussy ass niggas, man?
Yeah, ayy
Money so long (Ayy)
Money so long (Ayy)

[Verse 1]
Honestly, I can’t spare a rap ass nigga
Every day I’m on the block with some trap ass niggas
If you got them bands, then where yo sack at, nigga?
If you wanna borrow sauce, I need my tax, lil nigga (Bitch)

[Chorus]
Word on the street
Word on the street (Plug)
He wanna be me, but this life don’t come cheap
Devil want heat? I always keep my heat (I always keep my heat)
I tried to keep the peace, but pussy niggas in between

[Outro]
Ayy, bet he won’t move, bet he won’t move
Bring all the backs out bet he won’t shoot
Put all my bands on it, bet he won’t do it
Only one chance, don’t make the wrong move
Plug

How to Format Lyrics:

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