Ronin RoCritiques

You might be tempted, but don't do it! Not only is this book full of inaccuracies, but it is poorly written. A big disappointment. Avoid it and wait for the Evanier bio.

As far as rap biographies go, this one tries to aspire to something more than a magazine article or a glossy artist bio full of pics. It attempts to be a real biography. Dre is presented from birth to stardom, and you learn a good deal about him and his ways. I learned some things about Snoop, reaffirmed my hatred for Easy E, lost almost all of my respect for Tupac, and only increased my admiration of Dr. Dre. He paid his dues and appears to be a much smarter man than his education and grammar would indicate (there's a quick note of him playing chess). I really found his move up from World Class Wreckin' Cru up to N.W.A through Death Row to Aftermath quite interesting. I would have liked a nice selection of pictures like a typical biography, and perhaps more analysis of individual songs on a more minute level. The biography is as sourced as it can be: the rap world doesn't have the same sources as typical history, if you think about it. Then, of course, I broke my own rule about not buying biographies of living people, because it ends in 2007, and Detox still isn't here yet, is it?

A wonderful book telling the history of the Kirby/Lee comic book revolution. It is well written and has lots of behind the scenes stories and conflicts. I was a little heartbroken when I read of all of the bickering and backstabbing that went on between many of my childhood heroes. It made me realize (like many other biographies) that all of my real life heroes are flesh and blood not just characters in some book! The only thing that could have made this book better would have been pictures. You can’t have a book about comic books and the people behind them without “color pictures!”½

If anyone ever wanted to look up on one of the reasons Gangster Hip-Hop became so popular, look no further than the Biography of Dr. Dre. The Biography covers Andre Young's early childhood, teenage years, and of course, his rise to fame with the N.W.A. , along with the creations of many other popular music artists like Snoop Dog and Eminem. Even if you DON'T like Gangster Rap, it is still a great story.