Road Dawgz

by K'wan

"It's the penthouse or the morgue." This is the philosophy adopted by Keshawn Wilson, a.k.a. `K-Dawg', self-proclaimed lord of the streets. Keshawn is the youngest of five kids and one of only two that doesn't belong to his mother's husband. As a little boy he feels the distance between he and his stepfather, and life becomes increasingly difficult for him as the years pass; his childhood and young adult years are spent in a home for boys and state prison, where he serves time for manslaughter. It is during his time behind bars, amongst hardened criminals, that the seeds of evil take root in his life and mercilessly transform him from an innocent child to a heartless, conniving menace, better known as `K-Dawg.' K-Dawg decides that the world owes him something, and when he is released from prison he intends to take it. He comes up with the ultimate power move that is sure to put him on top of the game or under the earth. He wants it all, and he is dead set on having it no matter what the cost. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Genres: African American, Urban

278 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

In 2002 K'wan hit the scene with his debut novel Gangsta, under Triple Crown Publications. It was the first novel released by the budding house and would eventually become the building block for what is now a multimillion dollar company. What started as a therapeutic release went on to become a part of urban-lit history and an Essence bestseller, as well as drawing rave reviews overseas.
After penning his second novel, Road Dawgz (2003), K'wan drew the attention of St. Martins press. The literary powerhouse quickly signed K'wan to a multi-book deal, the first of which being Street Dreams (2004). In 2008 he received the Black Author of the year award from Black Press Radio for the novella Blow.
Since his insertion into the publishing world K'wan has been featured in Vibe, Pages, King, Felon, Big News, The Library Journal, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Press, Clutch and most notably Time Magazine, to name a few. He was also interviewed by MTV News for a feature on Hip-Hop fiction, and a guest on Power 105s morning show as well as NPR (national public radio). In addition to being an accomplished author, K'wan is also a motivational speaker, mentor to at risk children and the C.E.O of Black Dawn, Inc.
K'wan currently resides in New Jersey where he is working on his next novel.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/kwan

Reviews

[Demetrius · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was nice reading about K’dawg’s back story. He was a shiesty motherfucker. I see why Animal hated him!

Jus, China, and Demon were my favorite characters. They stayed loyal to the end!

[Blow Pop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Content warnings: violence, murder, rape, abuse, excessive use of the n-word, racism

So I adore K'wan's writing. I absolutely do. But one of the biggest things that annoys me (and this is purely a personal annoyance) is his excessive use of the n word. Personally, I DON'T like that word. Don't like hearing it. Don't like reading it. And as such I ONLY refer to it as the n word (also I'm excessively white and it's not a word I should be using anyway). I mean I get it and it's ok for him and his characters to use it. But I still cringe EVERY. TIME. I. HEAR/SEE. IT. Because I know the history of the word. And it's one of those words that just physically makes me cringe. DESPITE that, this was a fantastic book. And I want a sequel because I have unanswered questions....well one unanswered question.

There be spoilers from here on.


Another thing that bothers me about his writing is his treatment of women in his books. That most of them are just a piece of ass to be used, abused, and then discarded. And that most of them aren't smart. That bothers me a lot. SERIOUSLY bothers me. It won't stop me from reading his books (because if it did there's a lot of books I wouldn't read because of it).

Also, as a parent, drug lord or not, how the fuck can you stand by and watch (after ordering) her get raped and murdered? I mean I get the ordering her death because of betrayal. But rape? That was a little over the top excessive.

I fully believe that the main character, Keshawn was fully right and acting in self defense when he killed his father. I mean what kind of parent actively tries to kill a child that was born because the mother wanted the child but the child was born of her being raped? I'll tell you what kind. A bad kind. I mean I get it. Sometimes from a parental point of view (so I'm told. As I'm not a parent I don't see this but I've heard from other parents) if you know that your spouse has a child from rape you do wind up not liking them much because of that. I can get that. It's understandable. But what's inexcusable is telling that child every chance you get when the mother isn't around about what happened to her to have birthed them. That's fucked up. And I imagine will do a number on a child to hear. And then purposefully leaving out (it said coolant but coolant isn't blue to my knowledge. Last I checked it was green or red. So I'm thinking it was probably windshield washer fluid or something like that) a toxic chemical for said kid to drink. I fully believe that his dad would have kept trying to kill him after that since that attempt didn't work.

Also how does that death get ruled as an accident if you have a cup of it sitting in your car? That just doesn't make sense.

I really disliked Pearl. I mean yeah you had a fight with your brother. That doesn't mean you take your kid and live on the streets and basically become a junkie. That's irresponsible parenting. I'm glad that the kid was reunited with Keshawn and Nikki. And glad that his pitbull wasn't hurt too badly. I was so angry about that scene.

My one unanswered question is how did he get out of the building when it exploded? My only theory (because it's not stated that the building had a panic room or anything) is that he used Demon shooting at the cops and then diving out the window as a distraction to get out of the building somehow and then detonated it as soon as he was clear enough from it.


But despite problems and unanswered question this was a good book.

[readingsprints_and_chaisips · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Mrs Tupac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damn K dog he was the underdog and the villain but when he started getting money he became even more of a hot head. Even his lawyer gave him the right advice and he wasn't trying to hear it. All the women in the book seemed like horny dumb slut buckets I didn't like that. I felt people had K dog's back but not like they should've so he did what was best for him and said F it. It's sad asf how he was an ok dude who thought he had real homies on his team but even they would throw in the towel on him if necessary. I wanted K dog & the rest of his team to win but when I read the authors note I had a feeling I wouldn't be getting my happy ending. K wan wanted to prove a point with this book and I think he did. He's always been a great writer to me imo him & Noire neck to neck with this hood sh~t....
What I liked about,the,book:
it was fast paced , lots of twists and turns.
what I didn't like :
The ending 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[Joshawa · Rating 5 out of 5]

road dawgz was a great book showing how you can go from being at the top to the bottom just by making bad decisions. kdawg the main character comes to realize that after being releasd from jail and fiuring that the world owes him something because of the fact that life snt going well. his mom is possibky about to die in fact does his sis is invovled in the gan rap as well so kdawg has no ne to look up to or forward to. society is his life and it quickly becomes dangerous for kdawg to survive. if your interested in books like this then i definitely reccomend this book to you.(the book does get kinda graphi so you also must be mature enough to handle it).

[Latanya Mizell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another page turner

Great read I so wish there was part 2. Id love to find out how Justice was reunited w/ K dawg, and all the events leading up to the Road Dawgs breaking Animal out of jail. K'wan Foye's literature, has been the focal point of my collection for a few years now and I'm never disappointed. Please keep them coming

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

K-Dawg was a piece of shit. He used every single person he brought into his circle. The only people he had genuine love for was his family and Nicky. Maybe Justice, but he really was on some anybody can get it type shit.

Once people started snitching, I understand why he had to handle things in the manner he chose. But people like Lamin, who he sent out to fucking dry by tricking him into murdering the DA, who were beyond loyal didn't deserve what he gave them. He banked on La's unwavering loyalty and his ignorance to get him to do that hit. Then rolled out on him. That shit was so fucked up.

I did not like K-Dawg as a person. The one indication of the humanity he was forced to almost completely abandon was when Pearl was saying all that evil shit to him and his feelings were so hurt he had to leave her space before he started to cry. The empath in me immediately felt compassion for him. And I understood how he ended up being like that. His stepfather was fucked up. His wife got raped and got pregnant as a result, and he blamed the children. He killed Kesha by mistake, K-Dawg's twin, when they were just kids, trying to kill him. Then K-Dawg later killed his stepfather and ended up in jail.

Even though I didn't like him. I was still rooting for him. I was glad he ended up getting away. How he managed that shit I have no clue. But he fucked up a LOT of lives with his mere existence. Yea, people were getting money, but it really wasn't worth it. Demon was able to slither through the streets handling business for years, then the shit K-Dawg got him in cost him his life. Chyna, who loved her little brother did some stupid shit by following his ass right into the fire. She and Demon could have been happy together, but instead they died. Gloria, Vega's daughter, betrayed her father for years while that nigga strung her along like he was gonna be with her, knowing good and well he wasn't leaving Nicky for her. The guy had very very few redeeming qualities about him.

[Born True Bethea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of the best books that I have read in 2017! It had everything in it great action, plot, climax and the ending was great. This book is a definite reread.

[ADRIANNE GILL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kdawg is crazy.

[Mariyam · Rating 1 out of 5]

disclaimer: i skimmed thru 90% this story after i realized what it was like lol Note to author: You could write really great crime dramas, without injecting all these weird hyper-stereotyped tropes into it.

i hate reading books that turn complex issues into stereotypes, commercialized, action movie-esque shit. but i guess i should've expected that from a book series with titles like "welfare queens" or whatever.
i think the author only wrote this stuff bc he knows what sells to the white publishers and producers of the 2000s who jumped up, drooling, on this type of bullshit BET-esque writing. just so lame.

Clearly, i should just stick to reading memoirs of actual gang members or even just watch movies like colors and boys n the hood. there's so much more depth and humanization in even those fictional pieces, despite all their flaws. and yes, i can deal with reading abt dark topics like drugs, crime, sexualization, etc. but when its just used as an irresponsible plot device, its so dehumanizing and gross to read about.

So compared to actually good memoirs/historical fiction books of Black American people involved in urban crime, poverty, generational trauma (like Manchild in the Promised Land or Monster's Autobiography or even crime drama blaxploitation movies like SuperFly)... this story just felt so disingenuous.

it's just sooo ridiculous to read some guy coming out of prison after 5 years and being this ultra-smart super villain, master manipulator who's also had a traumatic background but is gonna pull all the criminal underground strings to become a kingpin or smth... Lol hollywood ass romanticization of crime rings or gangs. this is not how anything works irl, it's not how gangs work.

it reminded me of the show Snowfall, which i also went into watching with the expectation it's a realistic, humanized portrayal of 80s LA youth gangs and cocaine trade. but they just use that as a plot device for fakeass drama and gloss over any necessary social/historical commentary. like i can just tell where the white movie execs came and told John Singleton "hmmmm we need more drama and unnecessary violence to kill off these Black teenage gang members like they're fodder, meanwhile we'll preserve our white male CIA protagonist."

Yessss i know these are crime dramas, its not supposed to be that realistic or serious about addressing deeper themes abt crime. but i just was hoping for a more humanized story, not some overdramatic ultra-villain shit.

it's kinda sad bc the writing style itself was honestly ok in this book. dramatic, funny, provided a balance of imagery and action.
and yet....... wasted on the dumbest, stereotypical, dehumanizing, unrealistic plots and characters.
anyway more Red Flags in the book:
(1) all the main protagonists we're supposed to sympathize with are described as looking Creole or Indian or Puerto Rican or light skinned or green eyed or half white or this that this OMFGGG the colorism is annoying. yes I know mixed Black people exist obviouslyyyyy, but when the book specifically and consistently writes the attractive or likeable characters to only be mixed as if having those traits is better... it's a weird pattern.
(2) graphically describing rape scenes, injecting as much trauma porn as possible. woman only ever being described in terms of attractive-ness.
(3) are we supposed to sympathize with K-Dawg (and co.) or perceive him as morally gray? when he's actually written as an unrealistic villain ass who didn't deserve his lil happy ending or whatever.

anyway review over. boo

[S. Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

THIS WAS ONE OF THE FIRST BOOKS I'D BOUGHT BY K'WAN & I LIKED IT. IT'S BEEN A MINUTE OR TWO SINCE I READ THE BOOK & HEARD THE AUDIBLE OF IT IT CAUSED ME TO WONDER IF JUSTICE IS THE SAME CHARACTER WRITTEN IN THE HOOD RAT/ANIMAL SERIES.
HOWEVER, FROM THE DESCRIPTION OF JUSTICE IN THIS BOOK AS OPPOSED TO THE ANIMAL/GHETTO BASTARD/THE BEGINNING BOOKS I COULD HAVE SWORN THAT JUSTICE IS DESCRIBED AS BEING PART MIDDLE EASTERN DESCENT/ OR PART INDIAN. BUT, IN THE BOOKS I'D READ JUSTICE IN HE WAS SAID TO BE PART BLACK & LATIN- HIS FATHER BEING BLACK & MOTHER MARIE BEING PART BLACK & PUERTO RICAN. HMMM.
I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT JUSTICE & FELT THAT SINCE JUSTICE & K-DAWG KNEW RED SONJA BEFORE SHE MET ANIMAL, JUSTICE YOUNGER BROTHER, THAT POSSIBLY JUSTICE COULD BE LITTLE CELESTE'S FATHER-NOT ANIMAL/TAYSHAWN TORRES. AT LEAST, THAT'S WHAT I HOPE.
I ALSO WANT TO KNOW HOW JUSTICE FEELS ABOUT HIS GF'S DAUGHTER MEE-MEE DYING (IN WELFARE WIFEYS)/ DOES HE BLAME HIS BROTHER ANIMAL FOR PUTTING MEE-MEE IN THE PREDICAMENT THAT RESULTED IN HER DEATH.
JUST WONDERING......I DO THIS WHEN I'M LISTENING TO ANIMAL-RELATED BOOKS ON AUDIBLE.

[Written Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had everything I love about reading rolled into one! There was a forbidden & surprising love story, a rise to the top, happiness and sorrow, along with a very realistic ending that left me satisfied to say the least. K Dawg was a hard headed young man with a plan & I loved it! He wasn’t afraid to push the limits & he didn’t allow anyone’s small thinking to stop his show. K’wan always creates characters that make me laugh, cry & go through every other emotion possible before everything is all said & done.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine finding out that you & your twin are the results of a violent rape & growing up hated by your step-father. K-dawg's story is heartbreaking and really gives insight to his personality. There were a few typo's but it didn't take away from the story. It's no secret that K'wan can write the ABC's and it would be a banger and this is no different.

I still hate K-dawg though.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second book read by Kwan and I have to say it's his best so far. First book I read by him that I found in Wal-Mart was Wrath. The book is about Keshawn Wilson (Drug Lord) who's just released from prison and his crew called the Road Dawgz who causes havoc, going on murdering spreas against anyone who snitches or doesn't agree with them. Keshawn dies at the end of the book.

[Sheryl Boyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

K'wan never lets you down. He always delivers a good book! Keshawn aka K-Dawg did a 7yr bid in prison and came out with a master plan to put him and his Road Dawgs on top. Read the book to find out how he made it happen.

[Siobhan Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was a good book. A little too much violence for me but I would still read it.

[La · Rating 3 out of 5]

K-Dawg was is my least favorite character. However, he's quite interesting so it was necessary to know his backstory... it wasn't good or bad.It was just need to know. Can't skip it.

[Meyonder Little-Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book it gives a lot of background on K-dawg and e helps the reader understand his character more

[Diamond Chambers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.... This audiobook is amazing. I didn't want it to end. Definitely recommend.

[James Michels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe my favorite of K’wan’s work.

[Carrie Campbell-jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting. This book was another page turner and it was good to read K-Dawg’s story. How did he become so evil in the other books???

[Joy McGuire · Rating 5 out of 5]

That Was A Great Read, K-Dawg Anyways Had A Plan On Top A Plan......Mastermind!!!!! The ? Of The Day Is How & When He Got Out The Club Unnoticed......ummmmmm!!!!!

[George Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

I gave this book a 5 star rating because I liked the story line it talked about how the main caracter had a hard life killed his step father went to jail for murder got out and then became a big drug dealer that would not go back to jail. He loved his family and wanted better for them and him. I liked the book a lot and wish they made a part two

[Diane Rembert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keshawn is coming home after serving a 5 year bid. He is determined to reclaim his throne as the King of Harlem, so he forms The Road Dawgz. They are young, aggressive and wrecking havoc on the streets...but at what cost.

[L.D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, "another one bites the dust." Sampling various Urban Authors and enjoying all I have read. K'wan is another one to mentally add to my must reads. A read with, "meat and potatoes!!!" Dessert occasionally given on the side. Character developments are rich!! Now on to my next read!! :)

[Punkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

omg this ending was awesome K'wan you snapped and did it again for me

[D Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the first K’wan books I read. It didn’t disappoint then and it doesn’t now.

[Cherise Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome is all I got to say!!

[Joelette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book I've read by K'wan. I think this his is first book. If you like urban fiction, you will really enjoy this book and this exciting author.