    
H_i_c_k_s_o_n
Newbie Poster
Username: H_i_c_k_s_o_n
Post Number: 4
Registered: 05-2006
Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 01:00 pm: | 
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GHETTOHEAT®
THE HOTNESS IN THE STREETS!!!™
APRIL ‘06
“YOU MUST BE A SPECIAL L-A-D-Y…
… AND A VERY EXCITING G-I-R-L…
…YOU MUST BE A SPECIAL L-A-D-Y…
…‘CAUSE YA GOTTA BE SITTIN’ ON TOP OF THE W-O-R-L-D
SITTIN’ ON TOP OF THE W-O-R-L-D!”
—RAY, GOODMAN & BROWN, SPECIAL LADY
Worldwide, come together! HICKSON proudly presents to you, The First Lady of GHETTOHEAT®: SHA!
Lady Speaks the Truth, Volume 1
Essay written by S H A
Growing up in Urban America isn’t easy. Throw in the race, gender and age cards. You walk through life with iron-filled crates shackled to your ankles. How can you climb the ladder of success with so much holding you back?
This isn’t about me outlining how to live your life or what’s right and wrong—I don’t know the answer to that. This is about me asking you to wake up! What’s up, Urban America? Have we’ve become so complacent as to stop our complaining because we’ve been reassured that everything is new and approved, and comes backed with a money back guarantee if we’re not satisfied?
I don’t know about you but, I’m not satisfied! I’m not a part of the “walking dead” that rest assured in what they’ve been spoon-fed, that would’ve been the easy way out: I like it hard.
I don’t think you understand me. As my third-grade teacher put it, I wasn’t “born with a silver spoon in my mouth.” I was born in Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. It happened sometime after the birth of “THE MONSTER” (HIV/AIDS) and just before the Crack epidemic hit hard. Though my father owned a bodega and I attended parochial school, I was far from rich. It wasn’t steak and lobster; 34th Street Miracle Christmas’ and such. However, what we lacked in finances, we made up for through love and unity.
No money meant a closet filled with out-of-style clothes and ridicule from my peers; it was whatever! I was too focused on school to really give a damn. Then my body decided it wanted to start puberty at nine-years-old. Don’t think that made me special, there were other girls in the fifth grade with bangin’ bodies.
While they were using what they had to get what they want, I stayed in my books. Of course I wasn’t popular with the boys, but everybody knew my name. Rhymes were my reason and Hip Hop saved me from the cruelty of the bullies. Well, at least, some of the time.
Being from BK, my ability to write poetry and to get lyrics from any song off the radio, made me tolerable. My strict Haitian father didn’t allow me to hang out after school, go on go-away trips or participate in any of the bullshit that happened in my neighborhood. If it didn’t happen on my stoop, I wasn’t able to go.
Soon after, I was in Queens and desperately wanted to go back to Brooklyn. I thought I’d be much more popular back “home”, but the reality was if I wasn’t “doing it”, I was wack. I accepted that. I had no choice but to be wack and watch every single move that everybody made.
Then I reached high school. I attended a school that made headlines for acid-throwing, gun-toting, monster-infected students! It was the closest one to my house, so I really didn’t have a choice. It was then when I got the fever for the fast life. I wanted to be that chick with the fly dudes that pushed the baddest cars, dipped in jewelry of every caliber.
I started asking around for the fly boys from elementary school. Surely by then, I thought, they had to be on top of the game. Dudes were either in Spofford, just recently released from juvenile detention, dead or strung the fuck out on crack-cocaine. Real talk, a sixteen-year-old junkie is not a joke.
Then I started watching the older dudes. This was the era of The Sleepwalkers, The Lost Boys and others. My young self got a thrill walking through the neighborhood with the older boys checking for me, because of my over-developed body; that made the girls hate me even more. I was already catching hell because of my hair and swagger. Yet, that was dealt with accordingly. I’m not saying I won every battle, but you damn sure won’t be able to call me cara cicatriz (Scar face)!
It was all fun and games until someone got his head blown off in Brookville Park one hot summer night…That brought me to the reality of things. I sat back and started making connections. It didn’t take too long to figure out who were the major drug dealers, the minor drug dealers, the wannabe drug dealers, the stick-up kids, the car thieves and the wankstas (Suckers). Before long, I had them all figured out and knew most of their modus operandi; it was too easy.
For the rest of high school, I met a whole slew of characters. I met guys who were predicate felons at the age of twenty; guys who snapped their fingers and made anything you desired appear like magic. I’ll admit crime life is very enticing! But the end results are not.
I played my cards well, at that time, holding them close to my chest. I was very careful about who I was seen with and where. Undercover detectives were all over the place all the time. Every other day, somebody was getting locked up, and females were getting caught out there on technicalities. That right there was what really made me think twice about all my moves. I lost count of how many females I’ve seen get charged with years and decades, just because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Damn those RICO and Rockefeller laws! They will get innocent people and first-time offenders caught up in the system every time.
Besides the jail time aspect of a hustler’s life, I realized that Uncle Sam makes fun and games out of hustlin’. That’s another reason I just observed the business of drugs. Tell me why a black man getting caught with crack rocks in BK will get at least ten years, but a white man getting caught on the island with cocaine will get a much lesser sentence? Doesn’t crack come from cocaine? Wake up, Urban America!
Why is it that Caucasians dominate the welfare system, but yet African-Americans and Hispanics are portrayed as being the dominate races in the system? Isn’t it strange how families stay stuck in the same situation generation after generation? Your momma had you at sixteen, her momma had her at fifteen and her momma had her at fourteen! Yet, all of you still live in the same project apartment? F.Y.I., the projects, no matter how “luxurious” some may seem, are designed to keep the masses psychologically disabled so we can perpetuate the cycle, over-and-over again.
Uncle Sam put up the projects. Uncle Sam allows drugs to come into the country. Trust that if America really wanted to be drug free, then we damn sure would be! Then what would the DEA do? Do you realize how many federal, state and city jobs would be lost if there wasn’t any illegal drugs in America?
Thousands of people would be out of work and the economy would fall apart. The Great Depression wouldn’t be able to compare to the economic state of America if drug money wasn’t in circulation. Uncle Sam can keep his VESID vouchers and his rehabilitation programs: I know the score.
To my young people of Urban America: hustlin’ is what it is. We all do it in one shape or another. For most of us, it’s a part of life. Victims of our socio-economic status, we have to do what we have to do; just do it wisely. Know when to hit HARDER, know when to ease up. I thank God for that ability. Too many times I’ve come this close to being state property…I’m free. Wake up and you’ll be too.
“SHE’S A BAD, SON-OF-A-GUN, I’M HER LOVIN’ DON JUAN
TREAT HER LIKE A LADY, TREAT HER LIKE A LADY!”
—THE TEMPTATIONS, TREAT HER LIKE A LADY
An excerpt from HARDER by S H A
A GHETTOHEAT® PRODUCTION
PROLOGUE
Gasp…
Breathe.
My eyes open slowly as the piercing pain at the back of my head overwhelms me.
Where am I?
My head feels light.
Have I been slipping in and out of consciousness?
Strange.
Somewhere nearby, there’s water dripping. Every drop makes the pain in my head worst.
Where ever this is, it’s hot and I’m wet.
I can smell Wrays and Nephew rum, Calli weed and Guinness Stout in the air.
No, stout is on me.
The over proof rum and weed? …Rippa’s infamous signature.
Shit.
Things are becoming clear.
Damn you Rippa. Damn you to Hell!
I can hear Luciano playing in the background so I know that you’re around here somewhere. What I don’t know is where I am or why I can’t seem to move. I just wish it wasn’t so dark in here. Maybe if I call for him.
“Rippa!”
My vocal chords move, but my lips don’t.
Shit!
My lips are taped!
What the fuck is going on?
Ok. Think. Think, baby girl. The last thing I can remember…is…getting ready to leave New Jersey for a little getaway before my son was born. I’ve been hiding out for the past several months, and Nicky thought it would be good for AJ and I to go on a little vacation in Puerto Rico.
Arturo, sweet loving Arturo Jesus. I put that man through Hell and back. I know that. But, I’ve cleaned up my act and were going to be one big happy—
Fuck!
Where’s AJ?
My mouth is taped and I’m bound to a hard-ass mattress.
Holy shit—noooooo!
Rippa must be holding me hostage, but how? He did promise this.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!
Excerpt 2: FUCK YOU, PAY ME
When I finally arrived back home, Tony was heated. I didn’t even realize that I was out that long.
“Where the fuck you been Kai?” he yelled as I walked through the door.
“I went to the range and then shopping. I had a lot on my mind to clear out and I just needed to get away. Damn, is there a law against that?”
“Na, ain’t no law, shorty! Just watch ya’self cuz if I finds out different, we gonna have major problems.”
Tony was taking on a Rico tone with me that I did not like whatsoever. “Who the fuck is you talking to, Tony? I know it ain’t me. Ya better keep that shit in ya back pocket before you come at me with it.” I had never seen Tony like this before and it made me very upset. I knew I had to calm down before I said something that I would live to regret.
“Oh word? It’s like that, Kai? Fuck you forget or something? This here is my house. I’m the star, baby girl. You used to be the co-star, but now you just another fucking spectator. Show over; get the fuck out.”
Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse! “Get the fuck out? You get mad over some bullshit and now it’s get the fuck out? Tony, think about that shit for a minute.”
I started talking slowly and softly. “I’m ya co-star alright, but do you know what that means? It means everything you own, I own. All the work you put in, I put in, too. You forget who sees over the cooks and make sure ya deliveries are made on time. That’s me, motherfucker. You sure you wanna have me running the street with all ya info, baby boy?” That weird laugh echoed out of me again. This time, it set Tony off.
He grabbed me by my throat and threw me into the hard brick wall. When I hit the floor, he started to strangle me as he screamed, “BABY BOY? BABY BOY, HUH? YOU FUCK THAT NIGGA? HUH? DON’T YOU EVA IN YA LIFE CALL ME BABY BOY AGAIN, YOU FUCKING SLUT!” He let go and I hit the floor again. It took all the air I had in me, but I managed.
“Tony-I-ain’t-fuckin’-nobody.”
“Oh word? You come in here acting brand-new and you ain’t fucking nobody? We’ll see.”
Tony then picked me up by my waist and ripped my jeans off. He proceeded to remove my panties. I didn’t know what he was up to until he threw me onto the couch. He spread my legs wide open, as he stuck three fingers in me at the same time. I screamed in pain. He bowed his head in regret.
“I’m sorry, Kai,” was all that he said before he left the house for the night. I laid there until he came back early the next day. When he walked in the house, I pretended to be asleep as he started to play with my hair.
“Kai, I hope you’re listening to me. You know shits been kinda hard since Five Points. You know its hard knowing that I can’t make love to you. I be seeing how dudes look at you and shit. I know your type, ma; you got the sex drive of a 18-year-old-man.”
I stifled a giggle.
“I just be thinking when you’re gone, you out there getting the only thing I can’t give you. I know you’ve been on my side since I came back home, but I still be bugging. You’re a trooper, baby and that’s why I love you. Please don’t leave me; I need you. All this shit is ‘cause of you. I know that, mama. I love you.”
That became my driving force. The man that ran Queens needed me. It’s true that behind every great man was a great woman. I wanted to go down in history as being the greatest.
Tony would be my link to the city. I already had him in my back pocket, so that meant I had Queens in my back pocket. All I needed was the other four boroughs to fall in line. Sure, I would step on some toes, but I would stand to be retired at twenty-five with enough money to finance my life, for the rest of my life. AJ was right, but I had a point to prove and money to make. After that was done, I would be game to anything else.
I started stashing away as much money as I could. I told Tony that I would no longer sleep at his house since he put his hands on me. He begged for me not to. Instead, we came to the agreement that I would only sleep over two or three nights out of the week, and I had to be on his payroll. He agreed. Every Friday morning I got $5000 cash. I never put it in the bank. I used some of it as pocket money, and had my checks from work directly deposited in my bank account every Thursday. I used my work money to pay my bills and other expenses. I didn’t want to give Uncle Sam a reason to start sniffing up my ass. Instead, I hid the money that Tony gave me in my bedroom closet at my father’s house.
My game plan was clear. I would be the queen-of-the-NYC-drug empire. I had Tony do all of the dirty work and I stopped managing the cooks. I became his silent partner, so to speak. With a little coaching from me and a lot of strong-arming, Tony could definitely have a heavy hand in the other boroughs.
In case the Feds were watching, I had a sound proof alibi: I was a student. I worked full-time and I lived at home with my pops. Technically. The only way I would be fucked if they ever wanted to search my father’s crib. Tony never came to my house so I doubt that would ever happen.
“YOU ARE MY L-A-D-Y…
YOU’RE EV’RYTHING I NEED AND MORE…
YOU ARE MY LADY…
YOU’RE ALL, I’M LIVIN’ FOR”
—FREDDIE JACKSON, YOU ARE MY LADY
A KISS, Poetry by S H A
A kiss
What a kiss
Strong enough to dismiss time
How much time I don't know
I lost myself within Sky
A delicious ascent
Surpassing boundaries of consciousness
Locked in his arms
Every other thing now gone
And it seemed like we were the fated ones…
The last two people on Earth
Pent up desires finally being released
Curiosities confirmed
As we…lose ourselves to one another
Equally shocked at each other
Never knowing the other
Possessed so such wicked passion in between our lips
That a kiss, delicious, delectable kiss
Would leave us both stiff
At just the thought of it
I fall into a lucid state-of-mind
Desire in my eyes
A whisper to my words
Disturbed, I hear voices say, “…Are you ok?”
Am I?
Slowly descending from Sky
Dear God I…think we just met
Warm places still wet
Slowly regaining consciousness
Questions float to the surface: What did I do to deserve this?
Worthy or am I worthless?
Is he just teasing me?
Or leading me onto a happier path?
I don't know, so I have to ask
Because his kiss
Pure bliss
Set my soul adrift
And I wonder if…this means what I hope it means
Patiently, I'll wait and see
As I nurse the hangover from…his kiss
SHA is the First Lady of GHETTOHEAT®, an 80s baby born in Brooklyn who grew up in Queens. In 2006, SHA attained her Bachelors of Science degree in Psychology and is currently working towards her Masters. Writing has always been SHA’s way of dealing with life, penning poetry since the age of nine.
SHA recently tried her hand at fiction, growing tired of the monotonous titles that filled the African-American section of the bookstore where she worked at. Proudly representing for young women within the inner-city, being a creative force who speaks directly to her generation, SHA is currently working on the sequel to her suspenseful novel, HARDER.
To mail comments or questions to SHA, send all correspondence to:
GHETTOHEAT®
P.O. BOX 2746
NEW YORK, NY 10027
ATTENTION: SHA
or e-mail her at: SHA@GHETTOHEAT.COM
HEY-HEY-HEY! HICKSON’s here, checking in with the people, still on my grind, showing the folks: who’s really doin’ the business!!! Speaking of which, you want to hear a crazy story? Taking you back to Friday, March 24th, 2006, a freezing cold day in which “Jack Frost” was losing his mind, punishing us all with bitter wind chills in New York City, I went down to my warehouse at 10 am, by myself, in order to receive the second shipment of CONVICT’S CANDY; keep in mind the new order was doubled. I did say I was by myself, right?
Damn near 200 boxes were delivered on 5 big wooden grids. Did I also mention that I had no gloves on? I thought my hands would fall off they were so cold, but here’s the clincher: I accidentally sliced opened my right hand with a box cutter while trying to rip the shrink wrap around the boxes. Ouch! People, the story gets better. My nose starts to run; I have no tissue for the blood dripping from my hand or for my runny nose. Me, being a true survivor began sucking the blood from my hand, quickly trying to stop the pressure from flowing, which didn’t work; now at this time, I’m spitting blood onto the sidewalk—real ghetto-like!
I then snatched off my army jacket and hoodie, (HARLEMADE, no doubt!) peel off my T-shirt and ripped it in half, wrapping it with my hand while using the other half as a handkerchief. Boo-Boo was going through it that day. But here is where it gets crazy. As I’m trying to place the 42-pound boxes of books on the rolling cart, securing them quickly before some shifty fool on the street decides to take one while I’m not watching, out of nowhere, a bunch of street vendors started to approach me, hounding me to buy cases of CONVICT’S CANDY. My hand is still bleeding, no one is caring.
So what does HICKSON do? Get grizzly with them all! Shooting them all with evil stares, I began charging those idiots all half price for each case, selling 7 cases on the spot in total. I was re-wrapping my hand while snatching the hundreds of dollars from each street vendor, simultaneously. “Big Pimpin’” ain’t easy, but somebody’s gotta do it. Call me what you want, but you won’t call me broke: HICKSON HAS BILLS TO PAY!!! Royalties too!!! And I pay them all in full, on time, unlike some of the other publishers…but that’s another story, one in which I’m sure to cover…
After getting my bread from the street vendors, I continued to unload the rest of the many boxes from the grids, took them up to my storage space (an hour’s time flat) went to UPS to satisfy my distributors, made a few local deliveries to urban book stores, sent out my emails, yelled at a couple of uncooperative store managers regarding outstanding invoices (which I will be discussing in the May newsletter), went back to the crib to get dressed and ready for my book signing at Waldenbooks. “Big Pimpin’” ain’t easy, but let me show you how it’s done—phase two of THE CONVICT’S CANDY TOUR:
10.14.06 @ 1pm-7pm Waldenbooks
880 N. Military Hwy, Norfolk, VA
9.2.06 @ 3pm-8pm Nubian Bookstore
2449 Southlake Mall, Atlanta, GA
9.1.06 @ 12pm-5pm Oasis Books, South Dekalb Gallery
2801 Candler Road, Decatur, GA
8.27.06 @ 1pm-8pm Harlem Week 2006
West 135th Street, New York, NY
8.26.06 @ 1pm-8pm Harlem Week 2006
West 135th Street, New York, NY
8.19.06 @ 1pm-7pm Waldenbooks
880 N. Military Hwy, Norfolk, VA
8.12.06 @ 4pm-6pm As The Pages Turn Book Club
Café 3801 (Book Club Discussion)
3801 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
8.12.06 @ 11am-4pm Borders Express
9th & Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
7.29.06 @ 1pm-7pm Ligorious Bookstore Inc.
2385 West Cheltenham Square Mall, Philadelphia, PA
7.22.06 @ 11am-7pm The Harlem Book Fair 2006, Section S53
West 135th Street, New York, NY
7.15.06 @ 1pm-7pm Urban Knowledge, Mondawmin Mall
2301 Liberty Heights Avenue, Baltimore, MD
7.9.06 @ 2pm-7pm Waldenbooks
1061 Green Acres Mall, Valley Stream, NY
7.8.06 @ 2pm-7pm Waldenbooks
5324 Kings Plaza Center, Brooklyn, NY
7.7.06 @ 12pm-3pm A & B Books
146 Lawrence Street, Brooklyn, NY
6.30.06 @ 11am-3pm Borders Express
9th & Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
6.29.06 @ 11am-7pm Massamba (Street Vendor Signing)
164th St. & Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, NY
6.25.06 @ 12pm-4pm B. Dalton Bookseller, Gallery Mall
30 Mall Drive West, Jersey City, NJ
6.24.06 @ 2pm-6pm B. Dalton Bookseller, Gallery Mall
30 Mall Drive West, Jersey City, NJ
6.23.06 @ 11am-7pm Massamba (Street Vendor Signing)
164th St. & Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, NY
6.22.06 @ 11am-7pm Massamba (Street Vendor Signing)
164th St. & Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, NY
6.17.06 @ 1pm-6pm Waldenbooks
7749 East Point Mall, Baltimore, MD
6.16.06 @ 3pm-8pm Bookman (Street Vendor Signing)
Location to be determined, Washington, DC
6.16.06 @ 11am-2pm Expressions Books
222 North Paca Street, Baltimore, MD
6.15.06 @ 11am-7pm Massamba (Street Vendor Signing)
164th St. & Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, NY
6.11.06 @ 10am-8pm Odunde African Festival 2006/Empire Books
South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
6.10.06 @ 1pm-5pm Nu-Xpressions
92 Main Street, Paterson, NJ
6.9.06 @ 12pm-5pm The Black Library
325 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA
6.8.06 @ 7pm-8:30pm Brownstone Books
409 Lewis Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
6.8.06 @ 3pm-6pm Nubian Heritage
560 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY
6.8.06 @ 12pm-3pm A & B Books
146 Lawrence Street, Brooklyn, NY
6.4.06 @ 2pm-7pm Waldenbooks
5324 Kings Plaza Center, Brooklyn, NY
6.3.06 @ 2pm-7pm Waldenbooks
1061 Green Acres Mall, Valley Stream, NY
6.3.06 GHETTOHEAT®: 3RD YEAR ANNIVERSARY
6.2.06 @ 12pm-6pm Empire Books
6106 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
6.1.06 @ 12pm-3pm A & B Books
146 Lawrence Street, Brooklyn, NY
5.27.06 @ 1pm-6pm 4 Readers Only/Franklin Mills Mall
1455 Franklin Mills Circle, Philadelphia, PA
5.26.06 @ 3:30pm-7:30pm B. Dalton Bookseller, Gallery Mall
10th & Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
5.26.06 @ 11am-3pm Borders Express
9th & Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
5.25.06 @ 11am-7pm Massamba (Street Vendor Signing)
164th St. & Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, NY
5.21.06 @ 2pm-6pm Waldenbooks
5324 Kings Plaza Center, Brooklyn, NY
5.20.06 @ 2pm-6pm Waldenbooks
5324 Kings Plaza Center, Brooklyn, NY
5.19.06 @ 5pm-8pm Borders Express
2000 Route 38, Cherry Hill, NJ
5.19.06 @ 11am-3pm Borders Express
1625 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
5.18.06 @ 11am-6pm Khalil (Street Vendor Signing)
15th Street & Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
5.14.06 @ 2pm-6pm Waldenbooks
5324 Kings Plaza Center, Brooklyn, NY
5.13.06 @ 2pm-8pm Waldenbooks
1061 Green Acres Mall, Valley Stream, NY
5.7.06 @ 12pm-4pm B. Dalton Bookseller, Gallery Mall
30 Mall Drive West, Jersey City, NJ
5.6.06 @ 12pm-6pm Waldenbooks
880 N. Military Hwy, Norfolk, VA
5.5.06 @ 1pm-7pm Waldenbooks
701 Lynn Haven Pkwy, Virginia Beach, VA
4.30.06 @ 2pm-6pm Waldenbooks
5324 Kings Plaza Center, Brooklyn, NY
4.29.06 @ 3pm-7pm Urban Knowledge
123 Christiana Mall, Newark, DE
4.29.06 @ 12pm-3pm Borders Express
123 Christiana Mall, Newark, DE
4.27.06 @ 11am-7pm Massamba (Street Vendor Signing)
164th St. & Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, NY
4.15.06 @ 4pm-7pm Karibu Books, Prince George’s Mall
3500 E. West Hwy., Hyattsville, MD
4.15.06 @ 12pm-3pm Karibu Books, Iverson Mall
3737 Branch Avenue, Hillcrest Heights, MD
4.14.06 @ 12pm-3pm Waldenbooks
30 Rockefeller Center, New York, NY
4.13.06 @ 11am-6pm Khalil (Street Vendor Signing)
15th Street & Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
4.9.06 @ 2pm-6pm Waldenbooks
5324 Kings Plaza Center, Brooklyn, NY
4.7.06 @ 12pm-3pm Waldenbooks
30 Rockefeller Center, New York, NY
4.6.06 @ 7pm-8:30pm Barnes & Noble
675 Sixth Avenue on 8th St., New York, NY
4.6.06 @ 12pm-3pm A & B Books
146 Lawrence Street, Brooklyn, NY
4.2.06 @ 12pm-7pm For Sisters Only
Charlotte Convention Center
501 South College Street, Charlotte, NC
4.1.06 @ 10am-7pm For Sisters Only
Charlotte Convention Center
501 South College Street, Charlotte, NC
Was he “gay for the stay”? Now owns a “big house in Virginia”? “Doin’ shows” with homo-thugs, transsexuals and butch-queens behind the prison walls? On the low as “trade”? A femme-queen? “Bumping pocketbooks”? Hmmm…people, “what’s the tea”?
Find out all today by reading CONVICT’S CANDY, the new novel that’s causing quite a stir, written by DAMON “AMIN” MEADOWS & JASON POOLE, ESSESNCE best-selling author of LARCENY. CONVICT’S CANDY, available everywhere where books are sold.
PRAISE FOR CONVICT’S CANDY
“Meadows and Poole, and GHETTOHEAT® re-define the boundaries of urban fiction with this fast-moving,
entertaining novel. Part love story, part prison-life expose, CONVICT’S CANDY will keep you turning pages.
The story, language, and writing deliver powerfully.”
— MAX RODRIGUEZ, QBR: The Black Book Review
“CONVICT’S CANDY is the real deal about jail life. If you have a man doing a bid, you must read this book!”
—WENDY WILLIAMS, The Wendy Williams Experience
“I really loved CONVICT’S CANDY, the book is ill!”
—LIL’ KIM, Hip-Hop Superstar
“A sweet, sticky story. A real page turner!”
—BEVERLY SMITH, Fashion Editor at Vibe
“Gripping…A gritty, scandalous story about brothers behind bars. Keeps you on the edge of your seat.”
—AISHA GUMBY, Philadelphia’s Operation Manager, Don Diva
“CONVICT’S CANDY is a sweet drama at its best! Entertaining, yet informative, reveals the brutal truth of
life and times in prison.”
—SHA, Author of Harder
“Damon “Amin” Meadows and Jason Poole’s CONVICT’S CANDY will shock the world with this controversial novel.”
—DRU NOBLE, Author of Sonz of Darkness
“A compelling novel. CONVICT’S CANDY is intriguing, insightful and deliciously crafted.”
—EMLYN DEGANNES, Publisher of The Lies Hustlers Never Tell
“CONVICT’S CANDY is intense and enlightening! Cleverly written to educate the masses of a serious social issue.”
—TONY COLLINS, Author of Games Women Play
“Mesmerizing…A classic tale of sexuality and life in prison told with brilliance and truth. Artistically masterful.”
—ANGELA WALLACE, Author of Secret Dramas and 360 Degrees of Drama
“CONVICT’S CANDY is spell-bounding, exciting and raw, with a little extra in between!”
—KASHAMBA WILLIAMS, Author of Blinded, Grimey and Driven
“CONVICT’S CANDY, a new voice for urban literature. A novel that has you quickly turning pages from the
beginning to the end!”
—REGINALD L. HALL, Author of Memoir: Delaware County Prison
“Damon “Amin” Meadows and Jason Poole’s novel, CONVICT’S CANDY left me speechless!”
—TREASURE BLUE, Author of Harlem Girl Lost
CONVICT’S CANDY, written by DAMON “AMIN” MEADOWS and JASON POOLE, ESSENCE BEST-SELLING author of LARCENY; buy it today!!! Available at B. Dalton, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Borders Express, Waldenbooks, all African-American bookstores and everywhere else where books are sold. ISBN 0-9742982-2-0.
Heavily distributed through A & B Books, African American Images, Afrikan World Books, Afri-Ware, Inc., Afro Books, Alkebu-Lan Images Bookstore & Gift Shop, Afrocentric Bookstore, Baker and Taylor, Bestseller Books, Biblio, Black & Noble, Black Art Plus, Black Images Book Bazaar, Black Star Music & Video, Book Beat, Bookman—Washington, DC, Books For Thought, Brownstone Books, Clark University Bookstore, Community Book Center, Conquering Books, Diana’s Books Plus, Dorothea’s African-American Books & Gifts, Dynasty Books, Empire Books, Esowan Books, Expression Books, Fashion Institute of Technology Bookstore, Giovanni’s Room, Hakim’s Bookstore, Howard University Bookstore, Hue-Man Bookstore, Ingram, It’s A Mystery To Me, Jokae’s African-American Books, Karibu Books, Ligorious Bookstore, Marcus Books, Massamba—Queens, NY, Khalil—Philadelphia, PA, Medgar Evans College Bookstore, Medu Books, Mejah Books, Mood Makers Books & Art Gallery, Morehouse College Bookstore, Morris Brown College Bookstore, Nubian Bookstore, Nubian Heritage, Nu-Xpression Books, Oasis Books, Our Black Heritage, Outwrite Books, Positive Vibes, Powells, Pyramid Books, Robin’s Bookstores, Sepia, Sand & Sable, Shades of Nubian, Shrine of the Black Madonna, Sisters Space & Bookstore, Sisters Uptown Bookstore, Soul On Wheels, Source Of Knowledge, Spellman College Bookstore, Temple University Bookstore, The Black Library, The Book House Café, The Cultural Connection Bookstore, The Readers Choice, Trazar Bookstore, Tru Books, Under One Roof Afrikan American Bookstore, University District Bookstore and Urban Knowledge.
Order it today on aalbc.com, amazon.com, b-dalton.com, bn.com, bookhousecafe.com, GHETTOHEAT.COM, qbr.com, soulonwheels.com and theblacklibrary.com. You can also order CONVICT’S CANDY by mail by simply sending a check/money order for $15, plus $4 for shipping and handling (Add an extra dollar for each additional book ordered. CONVICTS GET FREE SHIPPING) to:
GHETTOHEAT®
P.O. BOX 2746
NEW YORK, NY 10027
Please be sure to make payments out to GHETTOHEAT®. Also receive FREE SHIPPING when ordering on GHETTOHEAT.COM. Thanks in advance!!!
ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THE PEOPLE:
1. “O-O-O-O-O-O-H OOH, HOW YOU D-O-O-O-O-O-O-I-N’?” Shout out to the Queen of all media: WENDY WILLIAMS!!! Trouble-making, gangster-shaking, bejeweled crown-taking, radio personality, WENDY WILLIAMS actually chose CONVICT’S CANDY, the new controversial book written by DAMON “AMIN” MEADOWS and JASON POOLE, for her new book club pick for the month of March, and we give much thanks to the royal one!!! We love us some WENDY WILLIAMS here at GHETTOHEAT®, so much that the boom box is always locked to her radio station, WBLS, weekdays from 2pm-7pm. To find out what’s going on with WENDY WILLIAMS and to review her scandalous shenanigans, log on to THEWENDYWILLIAMSEXPERIENCE.COM.
2. “YOU WANNA RUMBLE WITH THE BEE, HUH? Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z: THROW A HEX ON YA WHOLE FAMILY!” Great big hugs and kisses to my newfound friend, rap superstar, Hip-Hop phenomenon, LIL’ KIM!!! Even from a damn federal correctional facility, the “Big Mama Queen Bee” continues to be ever so fabulous. Hello, Kim, darling… Thanks again for all of the love you’ve given me personally, and for supporting my artists here at GHETTOHEAT®…Love-to-love you, see real you soon...(More kisses!!!)
3. Looking for a great poetry book to read this Poetry Month? Pick up GHETTOHEAT®, the hardcore collection of thought-provoking poetry and powerful prose that focuses on the inner-city voices of Ghetto-America; written by myself, HICKSON. (Smile). To order an autographed copy, send a check/money order for $15, plus $4 for shipping and handling to the GHETTOHEAT® P.O. Box address, or order today on GHETTOHEAT.COM.
4. Did you know that GHETTOHEAT.COM now has a new look? Log on today! See all the faces of the new artists and read their bios, check out the latest news and happenings, marvel over the great excerpts of the upcoming projects and see how you can actively be a part of THE GHETTOHEAT® MOVEMENT!!! GHETTOHEAT.COM, baby!!!
5. “GETTIN’ PAID, COOLIN’ IN THE SHADE, ROCKIN’ MY HARLEMADE!” Spring time is here, you know what that means, time to re-up on fresh gear from HARLEMADE, the official platinum sponsor of GHETTOHEAT®. You know you need the new sexy this season, so what are you waiting for? Pump on over to HARLEMADE’s style shop at 174 Lenox Avenue, located between 118th and 119th Street, for the tight gear and accessories, tell them “HICKSON” sent you, or log on to their web site at: HARLEMADE.COM.
6. GHETTOHEAT® is always interested in reviewing new manuscripts of all genres. Send all works with a cover letter containing background information of yourself and a snapshot photo to:
GHETTOHEAT®
P.O. BOX 2746
NEW YORK, NY 10027
Please allow at least 60 days for the review process. Thanks!
People, did you enjoy the latest newsletter? Let me know by sending in your comments to me, as I do what I can to entertain you all while keeping you abreast to what’s going on; all in between my hectic schedule: Mi Vida Loca! (My Crazy Life) And how about that SHA: The First Lady of GHETTOHEAT®, isn’t she something? The best is yet to come, as SHA is about to make history, playing her position well at GHETTOHEAT® while producing great Black literature—in addition to keeping it real with the folks.
I guarantee that you’re going to love SHA as she’s an absolute delight! A young, dear, darling diva-in-training from the block who’s smart, sincere, soulful, and might I add, sexy, (fellas, SHA’s a brick house, you’ve been warned!!!) who’s producing amazing material, while being a responsible writer; a trend not savored my many today, as “tricksters” continue to cash in heavily on creating an abundance of works having great emphasis on sex, drugs and violence. “Yo, I’m tryna get paid, son,” is what I often hear and read when writers submit there works to me most times. What I often never hear is “HICKSON, I’m tryna make a difference!”
Please don’t take me the wrong way, I’m not hating on any other writer/publisher, or knocking the next hustler’s hustle, because that’s truly not my style, yet, as I peruse over the many explicit book covers and raunchy titles that’s in the stores and street vendors’ tables, it’s clear to see why most urban writers/publishers are not highly respected within the publishing arena, even with having the fame and large sums of money, made from the art form. But I won’t dwell on this topic in this newsletter, but I will in the next one that features me, HICKSON.
Right now it’s a-l-l about SHA: The First Lady of GHETTOHEAT®, a serious sister who’s definitely about making a difference. Hello!!!
HICKSON
CEO of GHETTOHEAT®
Publisher of GHETTOHEAT®, CONVICT’S CANDY, BIG PIMPIN’, SKATE ON!, HARDER & SONZ OF DARKNESS
GHETTOHEAT®
P.O. BOX 2746
New York, NY 10027
GHETTOHEAT.COM
GHETTOHEAT®: THE HOTNESS IN THE STREETS!!!™
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