Explicit Content

by Black Artemis

It's "Sex and the Small Town" in three fun and flirty stories about a local baseball team...and America's other favorite pastime... Cassandra Rivers and Leila Aponte have been puttin' it down as Sabrina Steelo and Fatal Beauty on the underground hip hop scene. Even though Cassie dreams of working it like Wu Tang while Leila fantasizes about becoming the Latina Big Pun, it's all good because they're as tight in life as they are on the mic. But when G Double D, founder of gangsta rap label Explicit Content, seduces Fatal with promises of solo stardom, she falls for his rap hook, verse, and sample. Burned by Fatal's betrayal, Sabrina must forge ahead alone, driven to beat her partner-turned-rival to the streets. Before she knows it, Cassie's drive leads her right into the center of Explicit Content drama. G's got secrets, none of them good, and Fatal's in danger. Her bond with Fatal is too deep to deny, and Cassie's competitiveness quickly turns into concern. But G Double D makes it clear-ride or die. Cassie has to decide what she's willing to risk to achieve her dream-including Fatal's friendship and perhaps even her life.

Genres: Fiction, African American

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Sofia Quintero is the author of several novels and short stories that cross genres. Born into a working-class Puerto Rican-Dominican family in the Bronx., the self-proclaimed Ivy League homegirl earned a BA in history-sociology from Columbia University in 1990 and her MPA from the university's School of International and Public Affairs in 1992. After years of working on a range of policy issues from multicultural education to HIV/AIDS, she decided to pursue career that married arts and activism. Under the pen name Black Artemis, she wrote the hip hop novels Explicit Content, Picture Me Rollin and Burn. Sofa is also the author of the novel Divas Dont Yield and contributed novellas to the chica lit anthologies Friday Night Chicas and Names I Call My Sister. As an activist, she co-founded Chica Luna Productions (chicaluna.com), a nonprofit organization that seeks to identify, develop and support women of color who wish to create socially conscious entertainment. She is also a founding creative partner of Sister Outsider Entertainment, a multimedia production company that produces quality entertainment for multicultural audiences. Sofa is presently working on her first young adult novel Efrains Secret which will be published by Knopf in 2009. To learn more about Sofia and her work, visit blackartemis.com, sisteroutsider.biz or myspace.com/sofiaquintero."

Reviews

[Jodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the reference to Wu-Tang caught my eye on this one & made me pick it up. It was an interesting read. Very different than what I normally read, but sometimes it's good to mix up reading choices. I do remember talking with a slang for a few hours after finishing the book. haha!

[Agas · Rating 4 out of 5]

So why hasn't this been made into a movie yet? Cast Adrienne Bailon as Leila and everything will be fine. Honestly, though, I thought this was going to be an inconsequential read. It turned out to be one of the best I've read this year.

[wordLife · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hip hop lit that's intelligent as it is entertaining. This is the type of stuff our young people need to be reading! Black Artemis writes book that urban youth can relate and respond to.

[Page Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew! So much happened in this book. I recently started watching the television show "Queens" and though this book was out before the show, and has nothing to do with the tv show, I could not help but to relate some of this with Brandy's character. I appreciated the bird's eye view into these artist's lives and the struggle to get on top. Both for women, and for artists in this business. I was on the edge of my seat through a lot of it. Good read.

[Diva Dina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not impressed. This one bored me.

[junia · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHERE DID MY REVIEW GO ?

this was a really fun book. The audiobook was bad because the reader couldn’t speak Spanish and there are a lot of random Spanish phrases.

But I thought this was a well-written, fast-paced read. I read it with my kid who had to read this for a class on women in hip hop. I loved the throwback to different artists in the industry at the time, the growth in the heroine and ultimately a realistic friendship.

[Latoria Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

good read

[Regular John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down