The Big Payback

<p><strong>"There has never been a better book about hip-hop&hellip;a record-biz portrait that jumps off the page."&mdash;<em>A.V. Club</em><br /><br />The perfect read for music lovers and business aficionados alike,&nbsp;<em>The Big Payback</em>&nbsp;reveals the secret histories of the early long-shot successes of Sugar Hill Records and Grandmaster Flash, Run DMC's crossover breakthrough on MTV, the marketing of gangsta rap, and the rise of artist/entrepreneurs like Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs.<br /></strong><em><br /><strong>THE INSPIRATION FOR THE VH1 SERIES THE BREAKS</strong><br /><br />The Big Payback</em> takes readers from the first $15 made by a "rapping DJ" in 1970s New York to the multi-million-dollar sales of the Phat Farm and Roc-a-Wear clothing companies in 2004 and 2007. On this four-decade-long journey from the studios where the first rap records were made to the boardrooms where the big deals were inked <em>The Big Payback</em>&nbsp;tallies the list of who lost and who won. <br /><br />300 industry giants like Def Jam founders Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons gave their stories to renowned hip-hop journalist Dan Charnas, who provides a compelling, never-before-seen, myth-debunking view into the victories, defeats, corporate clashes, and street battles along the 40-year road to hip-hop's dominance. <strong>INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS</strong></p>