Queen of Urban Prophecy
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Stardom crashed like an avalanche onto this female rap artist. Now getting justice, real power, and true respect will be the hardest fight of her life . . .
20-year-old Deza was supposed to be just another hot girl emcee, but when a bonus track strikes a surprising social chord, it rockets her album to the top of the charts—and her record label promotes her to headline their first-ever all-female national tour. As Deza attempts to live up to her new reputation, her inexperience generates tour drama. And when her female DJ quits, the label replaces her with the last thing Deza needs: the sexy guy DJ she flirted with at a club.
But in battling to prove she deserves her success and embracing her power as an activist for Black Lives, Deza starts to feel she can face anything that comes her way—until her label prepares to undermine the all-female lineup in the name of mega-profits.
Now, up against brutal industry misogyny and corporate big money, Deza will need the drive of that scrappy emcee from the South Side of Chicago and the bulletproof cool of a seasoned music professional if she wants to claim a space of respect in hip hop, not just for herself, but for everyone and everything she believes in . . .
Praise for Aya de León and her novels
“Gripping feminist heist fiction about turning the tables on the disaster capitalists in the jaws of climate apocalypse? Improbably and thrillingly, Aya de León has pulled off exactly that with Side Chick Nation. I couldn't put it down.”
—Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine
“Staking out space for women of color in the heist-fiction genre, Aya de Leon's smart, sly writing is a knockout.”
—Andi Zeisler, Bitch Magazine
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The too-often male-centered world of hip-hop gets a fresh feminist spin in Aya de León’s exciting romantic drama. Chicago rapper Deza Starling suddenly finds herself in the national spotlight when one of her songs seems to eerily foreshadow a police shooting. Her music is skyrocketing up the charts, and she’s now a voice for social reform. But that notoriety comes with a cost—the kind that puts her in the crosshairs. De León weaves deeply important and timely issues into Deza's story, which blossoms into a sweet romance as she and her DJ crush Damian find themselves trapped on a nationwide tour together. We love Deza’s incredible bravery—not to mention her swaggering attitude. (Wait until you get to her freestyle battle with the cocky Lil Trey.) Queen of Urban Prophecy delivers a thrilling blend of social justice, real-world problems, and sweet romance.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The incisive if uneven latest from de Leon (A Spy in the Struggle) follows a young female rapper headlining her first national tour. After a more established rapper bows out of a tour, up-and-comer Deza Starling gets the headliner spot on an all-female tour. On the road, she struggles with self-doubt and battles misogyny (a Rolling Stone article portrays her as a "sexy girl with no substance, who was way out of her league," when in actuality her fans are catching onto her raw and confrontational lyrics). One of her songs becomes a hit and earns her the name "Queen of Urban Prophecy," but Deza isn't sure she can keep up with the title. As the tour goes on, a romance develops with a DJ. Then, after the record company adds a male duo to headline over Deza, she fights to keep her focus. Flashbacks convey Deza's difficult childhood, and as the tour goes on she takes various political stands. The author tries to harmonize a coming-of-age story, commentary on the music industry, and romance, but doesn't quite hit the mark, even if the drama is often entertaining. This does a good job showing a young woman finding her voice amid adversity, but the uneven narrative lessens the impact.
