Customer Reviews

Explicit Content

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a person who doesn't take or use hip hop beyond the slam of my car door, the occasional rest on BET when channel surfing, and the occasional hook to reign in the attentions of the adolescence I come in contact with, Black Artemis has gained my attention with Explicit Content.

Leila and Cassie are best friends with a dream of making it big in hip hop. Leila , the wild child Latina, is approached by the super producer of Explicit Content G Double D, to go solo. She jumps at the chance leaving her friend Cassie, more grounded Black girl, high and dry. Cassie, feeling betrayed, decides to still pursue her thang, albeit a bit differently. After a hip hop contest she confronts G Double D asking why he didn't want her. After hearing what he had to say she decided to do it on her own. However a few days later the same producer steps up and offers a deal too good to turn down and manages to pull her into the Explicit Content family. Once she's in she realizes music ain't the only thing she has to be down for.

Following the story of Cassie and Leila had this sista up at 3:00 a.m. finishing the book and writing this review. As I read I kept telling myself, "I am going to pass this onto the teens in my make shift book club in my Sunday school class. ( Well at least the older ones!)"

Along with some interesting insight into hip hop culture its just a damn good story that moves well, that is smart, and sucks you in. Written with real hip hop vernacular and accented with actual rhyme, Explicit Content is everything one would imagine a good hip hop novel to be.


Kotanya
APOOO BookClub

This was a deep tale of friendship and hip-hop that was easy to read and follow. Even if you're not a hip-hop head, the underlying story of being true to yourself with all the distractions, manipulations and glitz life can throw at you, should hold you.
Looking forward to PICTURE ME ROLLIN' from Black Artemis.

Cassandra and Leila have been blowing up the club scene with their rhymes as Sabrina Steelo and Fatal Beauty. When it looks like they will finally get that big break they have been waiting for they find themselves torn apart.
Whe G Double D only signs Leila( Fatal Beauty) to the Explicit Content label Cassandra feels burned by Leila but not for long. When G Double D decides he wants Cassandra as well.
Once inside Explicit Content, Cassandra finds things are not at all as they seem and that Leila is in trouble.
Black Artemis puts some serious flavah in your ear with this Hip-Hop debut.
The book focuses on the girl's friendship and their differences. One being Black and one being Latina and the importance of family. She takes you inside the hip hop industry and into a Rap label full of false promises, shady deals and broken dreams.
This is Hip-Hop fiction to the fullest. You won't want to miss a beat of this stunning debut.
reviewed by:
Dawnny

Black Artemis has done an excellent job in this telling of two female rappers striving to make it in a male-dominated industry. Cassandra and Leila have been tight since high school and set out together as a rap duo. Due to ambitions and 'trying to get put on', their friendship is put to the ultimate test when Leila signs a record deal with Explicit Content as a solo act. Once Cassandra rebounds from the depression of her friend's betrayal, she ends up getting signed to the same label. Cassandra knows something isn't quite right with Leila and the record label but in her desire to make it she compromises herself and ends up doing things she blasted Leila for. Once she realizes the truth dangerous truth behind Explicit Content, she devises a plan to try and save not only herself but her old friend as well.

If you're a hip hop head you must get this book. And even if you're not but are looking for a wonderful read then you have to pick up Explicit Content!

Shelley Halima
Author of Azucar Moreno
www.shelleyhalima.com

I like this book alot because its a hip hop story about two female rappers. Its real different. NO ONE ever did a story about two female rappers. I admire the fact that she had an African American female rapper as well as a Hispanic female rapper.

This story pinpoints alot of things in the music industry such as phony record labels, drugs, violence
and money. But at the end there is a huge turn around. Purchase this book so you can also enjoy Sabrina Steelo and Fatal Beauty.

Wow! Where do I begin? Being several generations removed from
the hip-hop scene, I've never afforded myself the opportunity
to appreciate or even understand the genre. With mild trepidation
I began reading EXPLICIT CONTENT, the story of two young ladies
from the Bronx with mad aspiration to become major hip-hoppers.

Cassandra Rivers and Leila Aponte fought their way into a
friendship and parlayed that friendship into a hip-hop duo known
as Sabrina Steelo and Fatal Beauty. But, when G-Double-D, the CEO
of the gangsta rap label, Explicit Content, seduces Leila with
promises of solo stardom, she falls for it hook, verse, and sample
and leaves Cassie hanging. Cassie swallows the hurt from Leila's
betrayal and goes solo herself; after all she is the one with
the skills. In a short time, Cassie's determination captures the
attention of Double-D and he offers her a recording deal. Cassie
has to decide how much she is willing to risk for stardom; Double-D
has secrets, big secrets, and Leila is in danger. In spite of the
tension between them, Cassie is worried about Leila, but she doesn't
want to jeopradize her own career or get caught in the middle of
Explicit Content's drama.

Black Artemis, a hip-hop activist, writer and speaker has penned
more than a story about rappers. She has written a bonafide,
unpretentious classic about the lives of a generation caught in
a musical upheaval. This is an intense story about friendship,
loyalty, and the too high price to `make it'. The writing is
frank, hip and genuine; Ms. Artemis does not gloss over any aspect
of the music, the genre, or the people. About half-way through the
book, I started to understand the use of a jargon and the need for
an attitude exclusive to the craft. I walked away from EXPLICIT
CONTENT with a different awareness and yes, even an appreciation
for the sub-culture and for the economic aspect surrounding the
phenomenon of HIP-HOP. This is a mad introduction for a first
published book. (RAWSISTAZ Rating: 4.5)

Reviewed by aNN
of The RAWSISTAZ™Reviewers

Was not expecting to enjoy this book so much! I loved it!

Two girls from different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds come together over a common love, music. Leila and Sabrina have been doing their thing on the underground music scene. With the stage names Fatal Beauty and Sabrina Steelo, theirs is the proverbial music match made in heaven. With a sound like no other, this dynamic duo is ready to move forward on to bigger and better things. All they need is a chance.

Chance comes in the form of record mogul G Double D. His label Explicit Content is looking to form a female act and Fatal Beauty has caught his eye. Naďve and star struck, Fatal severs her ties with long time partner Sabrina and doesn't look back. Devastated Sabrina works hard to step up her game so that she can get a deal also. Realizing over time that all that glitters isn't gold and that what she may have initially thought was betrayal was really salvation, Sabrina wants to make everything like it was before it's too late.

Black Artemis' debut novel, Explicit Content, is one of the best hip-hop stories to date. Urban and gritty she reveals the not so nice side of the rap music industry. Explicit Content is truly enjoyable and will give the die-hard hip hoppers a real treat.

Angie

What Queen Latifah is to rap--what Rachel Raimist is to documentary film-- Black Artemis is to fiction. Explicit Content is a gripping novel that won't let you put it down. I couldn't stop reading until I reached the end and then I went back to sections to savor them again. Black Artemis is a skillful writer who captures with amazing detail what it must be like for women trying to carve a space for themselves in Hip-Hop. The characters pull you in and the story won't let you go. Black Artemis examines the ups and downs of the industry but at the center is the strength of female friendships. The novel schools the reader without preaching. Black Artemis is a wonderful new writer and I can't wait to hear more from her.

Black Artemis writes a tale filled with insight,pathos and irony without pandering to the current add afflicted mtv hip hop nation. Though definitely a tale with a feminine slant it never preaches,instead it informs and entertains! Don't walk run to your bookstore and support this fledgling superstar author.