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The Big Payback
- The History of the Business of Hip-Hop
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 27 hrs and 14 mins
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Publisher's summary
An original journalist for The Source, Dan Charnas built a celebrated career in the rap industry. In The Big Payback, he chronicles the rise of the hip-hop culture and shows how it became so powerful in a matter of decades. Charnas also profiles many of the movers and shakers in this burgeoning cultural movement, offering unprecedented access to an industry that continues to shake the globe.
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Waylon Jennings. Willie Nelson. Kris Kristofferson. Three renegade musicians. Three unexpected stars. Three men who changed Nashville and country music forever. Streissguth's new book brings to life an incredible chapter in musical history and reveals for the first time a surprising outlaw zeitgeist in Nashville. Based on extensive research and probing interviews with key players, what emerges is a fascinating glimpse into three of the most legendary artists of our times and the definitive story of how they changed music in Nashville and everywhere.
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Revealing little-known Details does Captivate!
- By Cody Meyer on 11-20-17
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Walk This Way
- Run-DMC, Aerosmith, and the Song That Changed American Music Forever
- By: Geoff Edgers
- Narrated by: Geoff Edgers
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Washington Post staff writer Geoff Edgers takes a deep dive into the story behind "Walk This Way", Aerosmith and Run-DMC's legendary, groundbreaking mashup that forever changed music.
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A MUST LISTEN/READ
- By Aron Teo Lee on 05-17-19
By: Geoff Edgers
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MJ
- The Genius of Michael Jackson
- By: Steve Knopper
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Rolling Stone contributing editor Steve Knopper delves deeply into Michael Jackson's music and talent. From the artist's early days with the Jackson 5, to his stratospheric success as a solo artist, to "Beat It" and "Thriller", "Bad", and "The Man in the Mirror", to his volatile final years, his attempted comeback, and his untimely death, Knopper explores the beguiling and often contradictory forces that fueled Michael Jackson's genius.
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It is ok but no details of his creativity in here
- By Jay on 02-25-16
By: Steve Knopper
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The Story of Motown
- By: Peter Benjaminson, Greil Macus - foreword
- Narrated by: Sean Crisden
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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In January 1959, Berry Gordy borrowed $800 from his family and founded the Detroit-based record company that in less than a decade was to become the largest Black-owned business in the United States. It also became one of the most productive and influential producers of popular music anywhere in the world. The Story of Motown is the story of Berry Gordy's triumph over powerful, established financial interests, entrenched popular taste, bigotry, and racism.
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Check Your Facts
- By Marie on 11-24-18
By: Peter Benjaminson, and others
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The Comedians
- Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy
- By: Kliph Nesteroff
- Narrated by: Kliph Nesteroff
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Comedians, comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff brings to life a century of American comedy with real-life characters, forgotten stars, mainstream heroes and counterculture iconoclasts. Based on over 200 original interviews and extensive archival research, Nesteroff's groundbreaking work is a narrative exploration of the way comedians have reflected, shaped, and changed American culture over the past 100 years.
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Performance issues
- By E. A. Smith on 09-02-19
By: Kliph Nesteroff
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Appetite for Self-Destruction
- The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age
- By: Steve Knopper
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
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For the first time, Appetite for Self-Destruction recounts the story of the precipitous rise and fall of the recording industry over the past three decades, when the incredible success of the CD turned the music business into one of the most glamorous, high-profile industries in the world - and the advent of file sharing brought it to its knees.
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Awesome Book
- By Todd on 08-15-09
By: Steve Knopper
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The History of Rock & Roll
- Volume 1: 1920-1963
- By: Ed Ward
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Ed Ward covers the first half of the history of rock & roll in this sweeping and definitive narrative - from the 1920s, when the music of rambling medicine shows mingled with the songs of vaudeville and minstrel acts to create the very early sounds of country and rhythm and blues, to the rise of the first independent record labels post-World War II, and concluding in December 1963, just as an immense change in the airwaves took hold and the Beatles prepared for their first American tour.
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Author's blindspots mar this book
- By Mark Clark on 03-28-17
By: Ed Ward
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Sing to Me
- My Story of Making Music, Finding Magic, and Searching for Who's Next
- By: LA Reid
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Legendary music producer LA Reid - the man behind artists such as Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Kanye West, Rihanna, TLC, Outkast, Pink, Justin Bieber, and Usher - changed the music business forever. Now he tells his story, taking fans on an intimate tour of his life. Sing to Me is a fascinating journey from Reid's small-town R&B roots in Cincinnati, Ohio, and his work as a drummer to his fame as a Grammy Award-winning music producer and his gig as a judge on the hit reality show The X Factor.
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Wow!! What a journey!!!
- By Marty Cohn on 02-06-16
By: LA Reid
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Homey Don't Play That!
- The Story of In Living Color and the Black Comedy Revolution
- By: David Peisner
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Few television shows revolutionized comedy as profoundly or have had such an enormous and continued impact on our culture as In Living Color. Inspired by Richard Pryor, Carol Burnett, and Eddie Murphy, Keenen Ivory Wayans created a television series unlike any that had come before it. In Living Color shaped American culture in ways both seen and unseen. Now, Homey Don't Play That! reveals the complete, captivating story of how In Living Color overcame enormous odds to become a major, zeitgeist-seizing hit.
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Wow, that sucked......
- By Just W on 10-11-18
By: David Peisner
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Razzle Dazzle
- The Battle for Broadway
- By: Michael Riedel
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 16 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Razzle Dazzle is a provocative, no-holds-barred narrative account of the people, money, and power that reinvented an iconic quarter of New York City, turning its gritty back alleys and sex shops into the glitzy, dazzling Great White Way - and bringing a crippled New York from the brink of bankruptcy to its glittering glory.
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Too long and boring in spite of a vibrant subject
- By harry rohme on 03-04-18
By: Michael Riedel
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Never a Dull Moment
- 1971 - the Year That Rock Exploded
- By: David Hepworth
- Narrated by: David Hepworth
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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On New Year's Eve, 1970, Paul McCartney told his lawyers to issue the writ at the High Court in London, effectively ending The Beatles. You might say this was the last day of the pop era. The following day, which was a Friday, was 1971. You might say this was the first day of the rock era. And within the remaining 364 days of this monumental year, the world would hear Don McLean's "American Pie", The Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar", The Who's "Baba O'Riley", Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", and more.
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A blast from the past
- By Amazon Customer on 07-30-16
By: David Hepworth
What listeners say about The Big Payback
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Cornelius Church
- 12-26-13
The Best Hip Hop History Book Ever!
Any additional comments?
This was the most comprehensive hip-hop book I've ever read! If you're a hip hop artist, purist, educator, or simply a casual fan, this book starts you from the embryo and guides you to hip hop's middle age in a one seamless arc.
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- Chief Break Everything
- 04-13-12
So much love
If you have any interest at all in hip hop, you'd be doing yourself a huge favor by listening to this book. It's incredibly detailed, offering snapshots of pivotal moments in the rise of hip hop from beats in clubs and kids rapping on the street to the extremely successful and ubiquitous art form it is today. Although it's over 27 hours and nearly 700 pages in print, I only wish this was longer. The drama between some of the industry's leading figures not only gives context to lyrics that might not otherwise make sense, and imparts a deeper understanding of artists' identities - it's also makes for a lot of interesting narratives. Even if you think you know a lot about hip hop history already, you will almost certainly learn something new, and there's a perspective here you can only get from hearing it all in the context of the time and place in which it happened. Oh, and it's really well-written and narrated. Definitely recommend this one.
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8 people found this helpful
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- James Hahn II
- 11-28-20
Hip-Hop Masterclass
An incredible read front-to-back. Whether you’re a head looking for an inside history on the culture or an entrepreneur looking for ideas, this book is for you. Just phenomenal.
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- Christine D. Baker
- 09-06-12
Great book -- I learned a lot!
This book was awesome. I knew pretty much nothing about the history of hip hop as a genre when I started and I learned so much. I really, really enjoyed it.
It's definitely long. And there are times when there's a bit too much detail about certain aspects of the industry (I definitely got bored when they started talking about hip hop artists getting sponsorship from different kinds of flavored water), but it was really excellent overall.
I especially enjoyed the sections about the early history of R&B, DJs, and the disco scene and how that connected with the rise of hip hop.
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- Tim
- 07-04-12
Most Comprehensive Book
Even though I may not like Hip Hop as much as other genres, this is the most comprehensive book that I ever read on a particular subject. No matter if you like Hip Hop or not, you will love this book because it's the most interesting read in a culture that is so popular among all ages.
Reading about how the legends got started in the scene was the best, like Run DMC, Beastie Boys, House of Payne, Dr. Dre, and the business, like Def Jam Records. The most interesting part is how they got into the mainstream so quickly, by changing the tunes on the radio overnight, by turning into a rap and pop station the next day.
In stead of reading thugs, pimps, and hoes, you will read the business side of this pop culture and how they become the 800 pound gorilla in music, fashion, Hollywood, and whatever else that they label as dope.
If you want to understand how Hip Hop got started, this is a infinite title that you have to pick up either in print or audio.
I gave it 4 out of 5 stars just because toward the end, the book became a bit too political with President Obama. It seems like that the President will bust a rhyme as he tries to get reelected for a second term, but that would be tight. It could happen, as the nation saw President Clinton played his saxophone on stage.
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3 people found this helpful
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- CR
- 06-11-22
Front to back
This was a thorough.The stories were linked and insightful
Great read. Hip-Hop in every way!
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-17-24
Narrator
I disliked The Narrator butchering names as if he never heard of the people. Like saying Eric B. And Rakeem instead of Rakim..really? Other than that he did a good job.
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- Douglas
- 06-11-15
Must Read if interested in Hip-Hop, Music, Culture
This was one of those rare books that I went into prepared to be disappointed but came away feeling like it was better than I even hoped.
I'm a fan of history, music, and hip-hop. Over the past 5 years or so I've become fascinated by the history of rap music. I had been looking for a book on the topic and finally decided to give this one a shot. It was fantastic. I didn't want it to end.
Charnas tells of the genre's history from before the beginning, through the early years, covering all of the different eras. The book is not just about facts and data; Charnas does the whole thing through stories. Charnas was there to experience much of the history that he writes about, but I have to say that he did a commendable job of telling both sides of any story and not being biased.
I do have one warning for prospective readers: while the stories of rappers and hip-hop icons are told brilliantly and covered extensively, much of this book deals with the business side of hip-hop. Many hip-hop fans will be fascinated by the sagas of Sugar Hill, Tommy Boy, Def Jam, Source Magazine, etc., but just a warning for those who feel like they might be bored by that side of the game.
There's a lot about record companies and distributors and radio stations and contracts in this history. But while that stuff may not always be as interesting as the artists and records, it is very important because the story of hip-hop is one that deals with breaking down doors and pushing through obstacles. Hip-hop is a culture; a way of life. This book treats it as such.
It took me a while to get used to Free as a narrator. Early on I wasn't really feeling it and wondered why Charnas hadn't just done his own narrating (he does an introduction to the book). However, I eventually came to really enjoy Free's style. In particular, I thought he did a great job with the dialog. There are a lot of quotes and conversations in this history, and I thought Free was excellent at bringing those voices to life while not overdoing it.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Robert
- 05-18-14
"Flava In Ya Ear"
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I would recommend this to anyone with a love for Hip Hop or an interest in understanding it. It's the ROOTS for the Hip Hop Generation.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Big Payback?
Hard to pin-point a most memorable moment. It's like picking a favourite child.
Which scene was your favorite?
I haven't finished this anthology yet. But it is packed full of great stories that call upon sparks to engage conversations.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Certainly laughed. Brings a little personality out in those society puts on pedestals.
Any additional comments?
A must read! This should be show cased. It connects the dots of so much of what is happening now in fashion (New York's Eddie Plein as the godfather of the grill) to the rise of Harvard's Obama and the connection to the Source magazine. Thank you for creating an audible version of this book, it without question will put some flava in ya ear. Well written, researched, and delivered.
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- Lavoisier
- 10-30-17
A must for anyone in the music industry.
One of the best books I've ever read in my life. First time I read it, second time iistened. Easily worth it.
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