A genre of fiction that usually centers on
the dark side of urban life. Largely written
by and for the African-American
community, Urban Fiction novels commonly
include frequent profanity, violence, graphic
sex and crime. While often criticized for
portraying the “hood” or urban “lifestyle”
as glamorous, many of the novels end on a
positive note – often with a plot that involves
a moral or ethical dilemma not unlike less
graphic novels considered to be
“mainstream.”
Iceberg Slim
Aka Robert Beck
August 4, 1918 – April 28, 1992
Pimp
Trick Baby
Long White Con
The Naked Soul Of Iceberg Slim
Mama Black Widow
Airtight Willie and Me
Deathwish
Doom Fox
Donald Goines
Aka Al C. Clark
December 15, 1936 – October 21, 1974
Dopefiend
Whoreson
Black Gangster
Street Players
White Man's Justice,
Black Man's Grief
Black Girl Lost
Eldorado Red
Swamp Man
Never Die Alone
Crime Partners
Death List
Cry Revenge
Kenyatta's Escape
Daddy Cool
Kenyatta's Last Hit
Inner City Hoodlum
Ice-T releases his debut album
Rhyme Pays in 1987, containing
(arguably) the first “gangsta
rap” song – “6 n the mornin.”
“Once you open an Iceberg Slim
book, you’re instantly taken
into a world of hustlers, pimps,
con-artists, and bad, fast
women. The stuff I loved! My
friends and I felt like we were
part of this cult-like
underground, ‘cause they let
us in on something real –
Iceberg’s words. These words
had a profound effect on my
career and life.” – Ice-T,
introduction to Doom Fox
Boo
Mob
Pu b
gie
Tupac
Onyx
Notoriou
s B.I.G
N.W.A
Too
Short
Dr. Dre
Raekwon
Sno
Sister Souljah
“If Black people kill Black
people every day, why not have
a week and kill white people?” Sister Souljah, 1992.
Those words are "filled with
the kind of hatred that you do
not honor today.“ – Bill Clinton,
in response to Sister Souljah’s
comments regarding the 1992
Riots in Los Angeles.
1999
The Coldest Winter Ever and
True to the Game, both
published in 1999, are widely
considered responsible for
the renewed popularity in
Urban Fiction today.
An Overview of Modern Urban Fiction
•Often referred to as street lit, hip-hop books, black pulp
fiction, ghetto lit/ghetto books, gangsta lit
•The average protagonist is an African-American female
between the ages of 15 and 25
•Common subjects featured in urban fiction: abortion,
crime, premarital sex, incarceration, violence, murder, rape,
abuse, pregnancy, drugs
•Written in first person, non-standard English, prominently
featuring the use of slang and frequent profanity.
•Money and sex are most often the means used by the
female protagonist in order to gain power and dominate
others.
• Most of the more popular titles are actually “cautionary
tales,” as the protagonist learns from his/her experiences or
mistakes and offers words of advice for readers.
Readers of Urban Fiction
•The average reader is female, African-American, between
the ages of 15 and 30.
•Readers come from a wide range of socioeconomic
backgrounds – the audience is not limited to poor/working
class communities (which most of the stories focus on. )
•The novels seem to satisfy a natural curiosity for taboo
subjects – drug use, sex, sensuality, and abuse.
•The subject matter can also inform readers on issues such
as love, relationships and escape from traditional gender
roles.
•May provide the reader a more “honest” depiction of the
African-American female, as opposed to stereotypical roles
in traditional media.
Popular authors
T.N. Baker
Tracy Brown
Chunichi
Wahida Clark
Eric Jerome Dickey
Keisha Ervin
Nina Foxx
Shannon Holmes
La Jill Hunt
Brenda Jackson
Jihad
Solomon Jones
Dwayne S. Joseph
K'wan
Thomas Long
Victor L. Martin
Noire
Gary Phillips
Daaimah S. Poole
Sister Souljah
Vicki Stringer
Nikki Turner
Omar Tyree
Carl Weber
Tu-Shonda Whitaker
KaShamba Williams
Teri Woods
Zane
Publishers
Triple Crown Publications
Macavelli Press
Q-Boro Books
Ghetto Heat
Kensington Books Dafina
Simon and Schuster’s Strebor line
Melodrama Publishing
St. Martin’s Griffin Imprint
Urban Books Press
Cartel Publications
Gorilla Convict Publications
Wahida Clark Publishing
A “starter-Kit” Collection of titles
Brown, Tracy (2003). Black: A street tale.
Brown, Tracy (2007). White lines.
Goines, Donald. (anything by)
Holmes, Shannon (2003). B-more careful
Holmes, Shannon (2007). Dirty Game.
Jones, Solomon (2001). Pipe dream
King, Deja (2005). Bitch
K'wan (2003). Gangsta: An urban tragedy.
(and anything else by K'wan)
Slim, Iceberg. (anything by)
Souljah, Sister. (anything by)
Stringer, Vickie (2006). Dirty red
Stringer, Vickie (2002). Let that be the reason.
Stringer, Vickie (2008). Still dirty.
Styles, T. (2007). Black and Ugly
Swinson, Kiki (2005). I'm still Wifey.
Swinson, Kiki (2007). Life after Wifey.
Swinson, Kiki (2008). Still Wifey material.
Swinson, Kiki (2004). Wifey: A novel.
Teague, Kwame. (anything by)
Tyree, Omar (2005). Boss Lady.
Tyree, Omar (1996). Flyy girl.
Tyree, Omar (2000). For the love of money.
Williams, KaShamba (2003) Blinded.
Woods, Teri (1994). True to the game:
Woods, Teri (2007). True to the game II.
Woods, Teri (2008). True to the game III.
A “starter-Kit” Collection of “safe” YA titles
Booth, Coe. Tyrell.
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bucking the
Flake, Sharon . The Skin I’m In
Frost, Helen . Keesha’s House
Grimes, Nikki . Bronx Masquerade
James, Brian. Tomorrow Maybe
Johnson, Angela . The First Last Part
Langan, Paul . Blood is Thicker
Lipsyte, Robert. The Brave
Myers, Walter Dean . Monster
Myers, Walter Dean. Dopesick
Ortiz Cofer, Judith . An Island Like
You: Stories of the Barrio
Pearsall, Shelley . All of the Above
Sarge Schraff, Anne . A Matter of Trust
Sitomer, Alan. Homeboyz
Soto, Gary. Buried Onions
Strasser, Todd. Can’t Get There From Here
Strasser, Todd. If I Grow Up
Van Diepen, Allison. Snitch
Van Diepen, Allison. Street Pharm
Wolff, Virginia Euwer . True Believer
Woodson, Jaqueline . Autobiography of a
Family Photo
Wright, Bil . When the Black Girl Sings