Gangsta Rap

by Benjamin Zephaniah

Overview

'A fairytale of hip-hop success ... teens will enjoy the thrilling music fantasy, while many will identify with the smart, talented boys who grow up quickly and rescue themselves' Booklist

An electrifying novel from hugely popular performance poet and novelist Benjamin Zephaniah, exploring the rap music scene, inequality and three boys caught up in it

Just what do you do with talent from the wrong side of town? Benjamin Zephaniah draws on his own experiences with school and the music business to create a novel that speaks with passion and immediacy about the rap scene.

Ray has trouble at home, and he has trouble at school – until he's permanently excluded and ends up sleeping on the floor of a record shop. What happens to a boy like Ray? If he's lucky, maybe he gets a chance to shine.

The story of three boys who aren't easy. They don't fit in. They seem to attract trouble. But they know what they want, and they've got the talent to back it up ...

Brilliantly written and with a real ear for dialogue, fans of Angie Thomas and Malorie Blackman will love Benjamin Zephaniah's novels for young adult readers:

Refugee Boy
Face
Gangsta Rap
Teacher's Dead

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781408842546
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	07/04/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

A high-profile international author with an enormous breadth of appeal, Benjamin Zephaniah was perhaps best known for his performance poetry with a political edge for adults and ground-breaking performance poetry for children. Alongside his poetry he created novels and plays, wrote and performed music and had a recurring role as preacher Jeremiah Jesus in the BBC series Peaky Blinders. In his novels for young people, which include Face, Refugee Boy, Gangsta Rap and Teacher's Dead, Zephaniah tackled vital themes that resonate as much today as they did upon their first publication.

Editorial Reviews

Zephaniah (Refugee Boy) paints a vivid picture of the hip-hop music scene and related gang warfare in London, but his message to readers is mixed. While attending an alternative school, three reputed trouble makers ("known for their confrontational behaviour") are given the opportunity to develop their music skills and voice their anger against their school system, their parents and other authority figures. Marga Man, the owner of a local music store, helps 15-year-old Ray and his buddies Tyrone and Prem form a band called the Positive Negatives; they release a hit single and the group is soon on the way to international stardom. The price of their success is high, however. Fans of a rival rap band grow vicious. Live concerts performed by the Positive Negatives become breeding grounds for fights, and the band members receive mysterious, recurring threats. On the one hand, the author clearly communicates the boys' commitment to their music and the ill effects of unleashed violence; on the other hand, his account of the three expelled students becoming overnight stars stretches credibility, and the expression of their anger seems to be the only purpose and goal for their music. Although the book features ultra-hip dialogue, romance and action, unfortunately, readers don't get a sense of the boys' characters or their relationships (to one another or to family members and other friends), and will likely remember the violence more than the author's message. Ages 14-up. (Aug.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 9 Up-Rebellious in his East London home and deeply alienated from his alcoholic West Indian father, 15-year-old Ray pops off during class, gets expelled, and joins his best friends, outgoing Prem and contemplative Tyrone, who have also been "excluded" from school. All three are passionate hip-hop lovers who hang out in a small music shop run by a sympathetic Jamaican named Marga Man. After they are jailed following a fight, the headmaster decides to enroll them in an alternative program that allows them to pursue their rap interests. Marga Man uses his music contacts to get them started in a band-the Positive Negatives-and they soon become successful. Unfortunately, they attract the attention of a rival band. Spurred on by a greedy promoter, the rappers engage in a deadly gang fight that both groups later regret. With the promoter in jail, they vow to work together to end the violence. Ray is an appealing and multidimensional character, but many of the others are little more than types. Mirroring the culture of "gangsta rap," some of the dialogue is misogynist (girls are referred to as "bitches"), stereotyped (Marga Man speaks a combination of mainstream and pidgin English), and raw. A mixed bag with a wholesome message.-Jack Forman, Mesa College Library, San Diego Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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