- Cassie G.
- Thursday, June 23, 2022
Let Me Hear a Rhyme, written by Tiffany D. Jackson, takes place in Brooklyn, New York in 1998 after the death of the Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie Smalls). Steph, a teen from Bed-Stuy (Bedford Stuyvesant) is one of the hottest rappers in the projects, at least that's what his best friends think. Does he have what it takes to make it big in the music industry? Does he have the potential to be the next Biggie?
Spoiler Alert Ahead
First let me start by saying, it took me almost a year to finish reading this book! Now, I know your probably asking yourself, "well why did it take her so long?" Here's why:
It takes place after the death of rapper Christopher " The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace. I remember what that felt like and how it stunned the world. It was like finally, someone out the projects just like mine made it big in the world. He accomplished his dream. But he was murdered before he could show the world how dope he really was. This book took me back to that time, but once I really got into it, it was a GREAT read! I would highly recommend this to any teen or young adult who is looking for a suspenseful story on friendships, loyalty and love.
Let Me Hear a Rhyme takes three friends, Jarrell, Quadir and Jasmine on an adventure to get their friend and Jasmine's brother, Steph's music heard. They go through all of Steph's notebooks with lyrics and his random tapes and cd's that he made himself. They pick what rhymes they think are the hottest and could easily be turned into a mixtape. They ask around the neighborhood to find out who knows the best studio and producer and get referred to Kaven. Before the boys head to the studio, they along with Jasmine come up with the perfect rap name for their friend, Architect. Once Kaven hears the voice come out of the speaker he automatically knows who it is but doesn't say a thing and agrees to help Quadir and Jarrell by creating a double feature CD. Jasmine has an associate who then makes tons of duplicates of the CD for them to sell. They scout out some street vendors and find one who’s willing to sell the CD and split the profit with them. Before long they hear Architect’s music on the radio. "Architect's" music spreads so quickly through the streets that the hottest record label, Red Starr, along with the hottest producer, Pierce Williams, catches wind of it and wants to meet him.
Have Quadir, Jasmine and Jarrell done it? Have they helped Steph become the next big thing out of Brooklyn? Guess you'll just have to read it to find out.
Oh. Right... Did I mention Steph died?