Published 2014-02-01
“…The authors of the genre, many of whom are former gang members or convicts, followed in the steps of the best-selling pulp writers of the 1970s Donald Goines (Whoreson, Daddy Cool) and Robert Beck aka Iceberg Slim (Pimp).This urban literature can be loosely characterized as formulaic stories set in the black community, revolving around sex, drugs, guns and cash; yet they also emphasize redemption and can be read as
cautionary tales for the young. With some titles selling up to 100 000 in record time, this phenomenon was bound to move from the margins to the center, and indeed mainstream publishers soon entered the market, proposing lucrative contracts to the self-published authors, and creating or expanding specialized black-oriented imprints. …”
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