As the publisher’s sampler

proclaims, “They aren’t just books — they’re `joints.’ ” Coming Soon: Paperbacks That Sound Like Hip-Hop. “The novels are geared directly and unashamedly to

black urban youths and are meant to be more than just reads.

They are the literary equivalent of hip-hop videos, using the

language and metaphor and rhythms of hip-hop, its sex and

violence, only in prose rather than lyrics and beats. Indeed,

each novel comes packaged with a Def Jam CD…” New York Times