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Didn’t We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston
A candid exploration of the genius, shame, and celebrity of Whitney Houston a decade after her passing On February 11, 2012, Whitney Houston was found submerged in the bathtub of her suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. In the decade since, the world has mourned her death amid new revelations about her relationship to her Blackness, her sexuality, and her addictions. Didn’t We Almost Have It All is author Gerrick Kennedy’s exploration of the duality of Whitney’s life as both a woman in the spotlight and someone who often had to hide who she was. This is the story of Whitney’s life, her whole life, told with both grace and honesty. Long before that fateful day in 2012, Whitney split the world wide open with her voice. Hers was a once-in-a-generation talent forged in Newark, New Jersey, and blessed with the grace of the church and the wisdom of a long lineage of famous gospel singers. She redefined “The Star-Spangled Banner.” She became a box-office powerhouse, a queen of the pop charts, and an international superstar. But all the while, she was forced to rein in who she was amid constant accusations that her music wasn’t Black enough, original enough, honest enough. Kennedy deftly peels back the layers of Whitney’s complex story to get to the truth at the core of what drove her, what inspired her, and what haunted her. He pulls the narrative apart into the key elements that informed her life—growing up in the famed Drinkard family; the two romantic relationships that shaped the entirety of her adult life, with Robyn Crawford and Bobby Brown; her fraught relationship to her own Blackness and the ways in which she was judged by the Black community; her drug and alcohol addiction; and, finally, the shame that she carried in her heart, which informed every facet of her life. Drawing on hundreds of sources, Kennedy takes readers back to a world in which someone like Whitney simply could not be and explains in excruciating detail the ways in which her fame did not and could not protect her. In the time since her passing, the world and the way we view celebrity have changed dramatically. A sweeping look at Whitney’s life, Didn’t We Almost Have It All contextualizes her struggles against the backdrop of tabloid culture, audience consumption, mental-health stigmas, and racial divisions in America. It explores exactly how and why we lost a beloved icon far too soon.
Gerrick D. Kennedy (Author), Leon Nixon (Narrator)
Audiobook
Parental Discretion Is Advised: The Rise of N.W.A and the Dawn of Gangsta Rap
Discover the stunning rise, fall, and legacy of N.W.A, one of America's most revered and iconic enduring music groups, who put their stamp on pop culture, black culture, and who changed hip-hop music forever in this comprehensive and authoritative work of music journalism. In 1986, a rap group was formed that would establish the foundation of gangsta rap and push the genre forward, electrifying fans with their visceral and profane lyrics that sensationalized street life and brazenly challenged the police system. Comprised of Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and DJ Yella, the group's multi-platinum success was aided, and at times tarnished, by its brash swagger and conflicts with legal and business establishments. During their five years together, N.W.A managed to put West Coast hip-hop on the map and mint groundbreaking superstars out of Eazy, Dre, and Cube, ushering in a new genre of rap that included Tupac, Snoop Dogg, and the Notorious B.I.G. Going beyond the story portrayed in the 2015 blockbuster movie Straight Outta Compton, through firsthand interviews, extensive research, and top-notch storytelling, Los Angeles Times music reporter Gerrick Kennedy transports readers back in time to offer a front-row seat to the drama and controversy that followed N.W.A as they rose to become a music sensation. Kennedy leaves nothing off the table in his pursuit of the full story behind the group's most pivotal moments, such as Ice Cube's decision to go solo after their debut studio album became a smash hit; their battle with the FBI over inflammatory lyrics; incidents of physical assault; Dr. Dre's departure from the group to form Death Row Records with Suge Knight; their impact on the 1992 L.A. riots; Eazy-E's battle with AIDS; plus more. A bold and riveting work of music journalism, Parental Discretion Is Advised unveils the true and astonishing history of one of the most transcendent and controversial musical groups of the 1980s and 1990s.
Gerrick D. Kennedy (Author), Guy Lockard (Narrator)
Audiobook
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