1994. Years before "homo thug" and "down low" became infamous catchphrases, Omar Little put the "G" in Gangsta on HBO's The Wire, and Lil Nas X became a global pop star ... there was B-BOY BLUES. Revisit or experience for the first time the story that ushered in the Africentric gay fiction genre, and put Black-on-Black male love on both the map and the bestseller lists! SYNOPSIS: Mitchell Crawford always wished, hoped, and dreamed for a RUFFNECK - a hip-hop-lovin', street-struttin', cool posin', crazy crotch-grabbin' brotha. And he finally finds one in Raheim Rivers, who is a vision of lust: six feet tall and 215 pounds of mocha-chocolate muscle. Mitchell knows Raheim will take him for a walk on the wild side. But he doesn't count on getting behind Raheim's mask - and finding someone he can love. Praise for B-Boy Blues: "Hardy has successfully crafted the first gay hip hop love story. It sexily sizzles off the page." - E. Lynn Harris "Not since Terry McMillan's Disappearing Acts has it felt so good to be loved so bad. Grade: A-." - Entertainment Weekly "Hardy proves that Black love is just as dizzying and gratifying when boy meets boy." - Vibe "A masterpiece of both Black and gay literature." - Booklist Cover image: Alyxandria Fabrega @artbyalyx Cover models: Timothy Richardson & Thomas Mackie aka Mitchell & Raheim from @bboybluesthefilm (currently streaming on @betplus) Cover design: Tony Dobson @hallsongraphics

Things are definitely "jood" (better than good) for 15-year-old Raheim Errol Rivers, III. A senior at Brooklyn Technical High School, he's on track to become salutatorian of his graduating class. He's juggling early admissions offers from Yale, Harvard, and MIT. He's dating an "older woman": 19-year-old New York University sophomore Maxine "Max" Edgewood. But the chocolate icing on his yellow layer cake is his father, Raheim Errol Rivers, Jr., and godfather, Mitchell Crawford, reuniting after four years. Errol is ecstatic when Raheim moves back in with he, Mitchell, and Mitchell's five-year-old daughter, Destiny. But he soon discovers that making room for another Rivers man in their home is easier said than done.

At his ten-year high school class reunion, Mitchell Crawford confronts his first love, his gymnastics coach Warren Reid.

Do men and monogamy mix? It's not a question Mitchell "Little Bit" Crawford gave much thought to until his beaufriend of almost two years, Raheim "Pooquie" Rivers, an All-American jeans model, heads to Hollywood to make his first feature film. As Mitchell soon discovers, the temptation to cheat is very real . . . and it seems to be everywhere. An ex even pops up hoping to pick up where they left -- and got -- off. While intrigued, Mitchell chalks all the attention up to "the married man" syndrome: one is much more desirable when he's attached to someone else. But as he continues to run into bisexual musician Montgomery "Montee" Simms, the look-but-don't-touch rule is put to the test. As he and Montee get closer, Mitchell's idealistic beliefs about commitment are challenged. Will he love the one he's with because he can't be with the one he loves?

In a tribute to the late author E. Lynn Harris, three authors present stories about the romantic lives of gay African-Americans, with each story paired with the author's personal memories of Harris and how he influenced them.

NAMED A RECOMMENDED BOOK OF 2018 BY Buzzfeed • The Wall Street Journal • The Millions • Southern Living • Bustle • Esquire • Entertainment Weekly • Nylon• Mashable • Libary Journal • Thrillist “Cassaras’s propulsive and profound first novel, finding one’s home in the world—particularly in a subculture plagued by fear and intolerance from society—comes with tragedy as well as extraordinary personal freedom.” -- Esquire A gritty and gorgeous debut that follows a cast of gay and transgender club kids navigating the Harlem ball scene of the 1980s and ’90s, inspired by the real House of Xtravaganza made famous by the seminal documentary Paris Is Burning It’s 1980 in New York City, and nowhere is the city’s glamour and energy better reflected than in the burgeoning Harlem ball scene, where seventeen-year-old Angel first comes into her own. Burned by her traumatic past, Angel is new to the drag world, new to ball culture, and has a yearning inside of her to help create family for those without. When she falls in love with Hector, a beautiful young man who dreams of becoming a professional dancer, the two decide to form the House of Xtravaganza, the first-ever all-Latino house in the Harlem ball circuit. But when Hector dies of AIDS-related complications, Angel must bear the responsibility of tending to their house alone. As mother of the house, Angel recruits Venus, a whip-fast trans girl who dreams of finding a rich man to take care of her; Juanito, a quiet boy who loves fabrics and design; and Daniel, a butch queen who accidentally saves Venus’s life. The Xtravaganzas must learn to navigate sex work, addiction, and persistent abuse, leaning on each other as bulwarks against a world that resists them. All are ambitious, resilient, and determined to control their own fates, even as they hurtle toward devastating consequences. Told in a voice that brims with wit, rage, tenderness, and fierce yearning, The House of Impossible Beauties is a tragic story of love, family, and the dynamism of the human spirit.

Describes the development of the music group that was the first to break Elvis Presley's record for length as number one on the pop chart.