Black Will Shoot by Jesse Washington

From the Publisher

Marq Wise is a talented, ambitious young writer with a good life, a gorgeous girlfriend — and the inescapable feeling that something is missing. When he's offered a job at Fever, his favorite hip-hop magazine, Marq finally realizes just what that is.

Now he can uncover the real, gritty stories — unless his older brother, Dontay, a one-hit-wonder producer turned crack smoker, ruins everything first. As Marq immerses himself in his beloved hip-hop, his world slowly collides with Dontay's, and both begin to unravel. And the more Marq discovers about the gangsters and criminals who really run the rap game, the deeper and deadlier the danger.

Black Will Shoot is a compelling look at the most impactful and influential American cultural movement of the past thirty years. Jesse Washington — entertainment editor for the Associated Press and a former top editor at Vibe and Blaze magazines — has written a fearless page-turner set amid the glories and evils of the rap world. His unique experience and sophisticated yet street-smart prose make this remarkable debut the first literary novel to truly capture the flavor, influence, and significance of the sound track to a generation.

Publishers Weekly

This razor-sharp debut from Washington-the controversial former editor-in-chief of Vibe's spinoff magazine, Blaze-offers a searing look at the rap industry. New York City writer Marquis Wise, having done a cover story about the murder of Large, a hip-hop star turned Oscar winner, lands a dream job at the hip-hop magazine Fever. Marq is also fortunate to have Holliday Watkins, a gorgeous lawyer, as his sweetie. In contrast, Marq's older brother, down-on-his-luck producer Dontay, has a crack habit, too many bills and an inability to forget his idol, Large. The author alternates between Dontay's dazzling streetwise voice/rap lyrics ("Tall nigga, name of Dontay/ I rap tight like turbans in Bombay") and Marq's journalistic account of how things went down when money, drugs and violence overpowered music originally intended to enlighten not frighten. Currently the Associated Press's entertainment editor, Washington courageously tells it like it is in this roman à clef about one of the most influential American subcultures of our era. (Feb.)

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