How Ruffhouse Records founder Chris Schwartz overcame poverty, abuse, and addiction to start one of the most pivotal labels in hip-hop history and launch the careers of some of music's biggest stars"All respect to Chris Schwartz. He is a great visionary."―NasAs a struggling musician trying to catch a break in 1980s Philadelphia, Chris Schwartz navigated the crime-infested, morally bankrupt music industry to found and build one of the most successful hip-hop record labels in the world. That label was Ruffhouse, which launched the careers of Nas, The Fugees, Cypress Hill, and others, dominating the charts and generating global revenues of over one billion dollars.Schwartz and his partner, Joe Nicolo, built Ruffhouse from one desk and a phone to one of hip-hop's most revered record companies while simultaneously struggling with drug addiction and alcoholism. A story of money, greed, envy, betrayal, violence, addiction, loss, and redemption, not to mention a whole lot of music, Ruffhouse reveals the inside story of the record companies, recording studios, tour buses, private jets, mansions, radio stations, and concert halls at the height of hip-hop's 1990s heyday, while also uncovering the darker side of the business, from police stations to rehab clinics, courtrooms to prisons. Narrated in Schwartz's own candid, searing prose, Ruffhouse is a gripping portrayal of hip-hop culture at its tipping point, as it transitioned from urban curiosity to a global commercial platform.
Forged in the fires of the Bronx and Kingston, Jamaica, hip-hop became the Esperanto of youth rebellion and a generation-defining movement. In a post-civil rights era defined by deindustrialization and globalization, hip-hop crystallized a multiraci...
A comprehensive, chronological survey of rap and hip hop from 1973 to the present by Chuck D, arguably the most influential rapper in the world.In the more than 40 years since the days of DJ Kool Herc and "Rapper's Delight," hip hop and rap have be...
"Raw, authoritative, and unflinching ... An elaborately detailed, darkly surprising, definitive history of the LA gangsta rap era."---Kirkus, starred reviewA monumental, revealing narrative history about the legendary group of artists at the fore...
The History of Gangster Rap is a deep dive into one of the most fascinating subgenres of any music category to date. Sixteen detailed chapters, organized chronologically, examine the evolution of gangster rap, its main players, and the culture that ...
A timely reflection on identity in America, exploring the intersection of fatherhood, race, and hip-hop culture.Just as his music career was taking off, Juan Vidal received life-changing news: he’d soon be a father. Throughout his life, neglec...
DOCTORS OF RHYTHM: Hip Hop's Greatest Producers Speak! features exclusive interviews with legendary producers Wyclef Jean, Boi 1da, Pete Rock, Mike Dean, Mannie Fresh, Easy Mo Bee, Eric B., Mario C., Jeff Bass, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Afrika Islam, Drumma Bo...
Narrator: Jake Brown; various entertainers Published: 12/05/2017
Def Jam is the hip-hop label that introduced mainstream America to the likes of Run DMC, LL Cool J, The Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and Slick Rick. Beginning in the NYU dorm room of co-founder Rick Rubin, this never-before-told story captures ...
A brand-new special edition recording of the first audiobook in the worldwide bestselling trilogy from Suzanne Collins!
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying d...
Finally back in print--David Foster Wallace and Mark Costello's exuberant exploration of rap music and culture. Living together in Cambridge in 1989, David Foster Wallace and longtime friend Mark Costello discovered that they shared "an uncomfortab...
{"id":"3172090","ean":"9781721374526","abr":"Unabridged","title":"Ruffhouse: From the Streets of Philly to the Top of the '90s Hip-Hop Charts","subtitle":"From the Streets of Philly to the Top of the '90s Hip-Hop Charts","author":"Chris Schwartz","rating_average":"0","narrator":"Ms. Lauryn Hill","ubr_id":"3172090","abr_id":"0","ubr_price":"24.99","abr_price":"0.00","ubr_memprice":"16.24","abr_memprice":"0.00","ubr_narrator":"Ms. Lauryn Hill","abr_narrator":"","ubr_length":"Unabridged: 6 hr ","abr_length":"Abridged: "}
