Challenging conventional wisdom on a range of issues, Todd Boyd examines the debates over use of the "N-word" and the "get money" ethos of hip hop moguls like Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. He also looks at hip hop's impact on a diverse array of figures, from Bill Clinton and Eminem to Jennifer Lopez.

"A gritty, fast-paced tale of revenge...Tight, terse prose harkens back to pulp fiction of the 1950s...The work is a breath of fresh air from lengthy, trying-too-hard-to-shock street lit and is an excellent choice for all metropolitan collections." --Library Journal (starred review, Pick of the Month) "The urban setting is unnamed but familiar in this brief, bloody tale of wasted lives lived short and hard." --Publishers Weekly "Simultaneously a fast-paced crime drama and an engrossing, unsentimental moral tale, H.N.I.C. peers into the dark heart that underpins the codes of loyalty and friendship, betrayal and vengeance." --Brooklyn Daily Eagle "In a genre that too often places incorrect ebonics in the mouths of black characters and fails to cross the empathy gap to get into their heads, Savile and Prodigy arrive at a seamless voice that is a refreshing take on crime fiction tropes...if tone and texture are what you're looking for in your hardcore literature...H.N.I.C. delivers the goods." --Okayplayer "H.N.I.C. is written by Prodigy himself and shows the extent to which good rappers can make good storytellers." --Brooklyn Based "Ultimately, H.N.I.C. deals on all the right levels and is completely satisfying." --Blackout Book Review "If you don't have this novella in your library collection already, please be on the lookout for this 2013 release, H.N.I.C., penned by Hip Hop artist Prodigy of the group, Mobb Deep." --StreetLiterature.com "The strength of this novella, in addition to its straightforward prose and rapid pacing, rests on the universal theme at its center: loyalty. Loyalty and the bullshit our friends put us through...Like any good work of crime, H.N.I.C. is grounded in such common experiences and, like any good work of crime, it speaks to all of us, despite the fact that very few of us can bypass an alarm system through some computer trickery." --Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together "It tells the...urban tale of deceit, greed and questioned loyalty with just enough drama to keep you turning the pages." --Literary Jewels "A brutal and quick read...custom-made for the big screen." --Charles Tatum's Review Archive Prodigy, from the legendary hip-hop group Mobb Deep, launches Akashic's new Infamous Books imprint with a story of loyalty, vengeance, and greed. Pappy tries to break out of the game before the head of his crew, Black, gets them all killed. Against his better judgment Pappy agrees to do one last job, but only because it's the price of his freedom. He knows his "brother" Black would rather see him dead than let him walk away. Yet he still agrees to do the job because Black isn't the only one who can't be trusted. Further developing the stark realism and uncompromising streetwise narratives of his lyrics, H.N.I.C. cements Prodigy's position as one of the foremost chroniclers of contemporary urban life. Simultaneously a fast-paced crime drama and an engrossing, unsentimental moral tale, H.N.I.C. peers into the dark heart that underpins the codes of loyalty and friendship, betrayal and vengeance. With H.N.I.C., Prodigy inaugurates Infamous Books, a revolutionary partnership that pairs the Infamous Records brand with Brooklyn-based independent publisher Akashic Books. Infamous Books' mission is to connect readers worldwide to crime fiction and street lit authors both familiar and new.

Hockey Night in Canada has reached a great age (and for television, practically an immortal one) because it made itself into something that Canada couldn't live without. It is this surge of emotion that connected us all each week, and which connects us through the years to now. Hockey Night in Canada didn't just aim a camera at a game and observe what happened-it actively gave the country a prism through which it could see itself and its evolving diversity. We look where the eye of Hockey Night in Canada looks, and it looks at us. We remember what it remembers. We feel what it feels. That is the dynamic that has made the show much more than a long-lived TV success; it is a cultural juggernaut. Ask fans where they saw their first hockey game, and chances are it was on Hockey Night in Canada. Ask the players-male or female-what first got them into the rink, and the answer will be the same: they wanted to be like the players on Hockey Night in Canada.

Michigan will never forget Gordie Howe's presence on and off the ice — he combined skill, savvy, strength, meanness and longevity like no other hockey player. Known to generations of fans as Mr. Hockey, Howe passed away on June 10, 2016 at the age of 88. The Detroit Red Wings legend's career spanned from 1946 to 1980, including 25 seasons with the Red Wings. A 23-time NHL All-Star, Howe led the Red Wings to four Stanley Cups, won six Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable player and won six Art Ross Trophies as the NHL's top scorer. When he retired in 1980, he held the NHL records for regular-season goals (801), assists (1,049), points (1,850). In this tribute to the legendary Red Wing that features nearly 100 images, the Detroit Free Press reflects on Howe's life in 128 pages of historic photos and defining stories about Mr. Hockey.

True stories and hard-won lessons about a life of hockey, from a Stanley Cup champion and top analyst. As a child growing up in Toronto, Nick Kypreos lived for hockey and dreamed of following in his idols’ footsteps to play in the NHL. Hockey was an important part of the Kypreos household. It was largely through the game that his immigrant Greek parents acclimatized to their new lives in Canada, and from a young age “Kyper” proved he was more than good enough to move through the ranks. But he was never a top prospect—he didn’t even attend the NHL draft when he became eligible. And yet, through dedication and constant improvement, he made it to the show. Kypreos built a career on his tireless work ethic and made a name for himself for always having a positive influence on team morale. A medium-weight fighter, he squared off with the league’s toughest players, including Chris Simon, Joey Kocur, Tony Twist, and Scott Stevens—anything to give his team an edge. Ultimately, he was brought to the New York Rangers to help them win the Stanley Cup in 1994—their first in fifty-four years—with the legendary Mark Messier. And then he got to live his other dream: playing for his hometown team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. When a concussion forced him to retire early, it changed his life. But the lessons he’d learned on the ice over eight seasons helped him build a new career as a top hockey analyst and personality for Sportsnet. For twenty seasons he provided unique insight on the evolving game, and a player’s perspective on the biggest discussions of the day. Revealing, fun, and brutally honest, Undrafted shows the challenges of being a pro player. It’s a story of the resilience it takes to prove yourself every night, and how the right attitude can lead to the greatest success, not only in the arena, but in life.

In Young, Black, Rich, and Famous, Todd Boyd chronicles how basketball and hip hop have gone from being reviled by the American mainstream in the 1970s to being embraced and imitated globally today. For young black men, he argues, they represent a new version of the American dream, one embodying the hopes and desires of those excluded from the original version. Shedding light on both perception and reality, Boyd shows that the NBA has been at the forefront of recognizing and incorporating cultural shifts?from the initial image of 1970s basketball players as overpaid black drug addicts, to Michael Jordan?s spectacular rise as a universally admired icon, to the 1990s, when the hip hop aesthetic (for example, Allen Iverson?s cornrows, multiple tattoos, and defiant, in-your-face attitude) appeared on the basketball court. Hip hop lyrics, with their emphasis on ?keepin? it real? and marked by a colossal indifference to mainstream taste, became an equally powerful influence on young black men. These two influences have created a brand-new, brand-name generation that refuses to assimilate but is nonetheless an important part of mainstream American culture. This Bison Books edition includes a new introduction by the author.

In Playing With Fire, Theo Fleury takes us behind the bench during his glorious days as an NHL player, and talks about growing up devastatingly poor and in chaos at home. Dark personal issues began to surface, and drinking, drugs, gambling, and girls ultimately derailed a career that had him destined for the Hall of Fame. Fleury shares all in this raw, captivating, and honest look at the previously untold story of one the game's greatest heroes.