So it’s done.

After almost two years of relative radio silence on this here blog, I’ve just completed the last edits to the text of a book that I began writing almost four years ago.

It’s called The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop, the first-ever definitive narrative—spanning an epic 40 years—of the executives, entrepreneurs, and hustlers who fought to transform hip-hop from a street phenomenon into a multi-billion-dollar global industry. It’s due to be released by New American Library/Penguin on December 7.

For the book, I conducted over 300 interviews. Almost everybody’s in here—folks most of you know—like Rick Rubin, Russell Simmons, Lyor Cohen, Steve Rifkind, Chris Lighty, Damon Dash—and some unsung heroes of hip-hop’s journey into the mainstream as well, like Keith Naftaly, Darryl Cobbin, Ann Carli, and Wendy Day.

The book, around 650 pages long, is separated into eight “albums” covering the years 1968 through 2008; from the first time DJ Hollywood picks up a microphone; to the election of Barack Obama.

The Big Payback is not just a book about the growth of the hip-hop business. It is, by extension, about a true American success story. It’s not just a book about business, either, but about how hip-hop changed American society. Hip-hop was a turning point in America’s central narrative—race. For its role in fostering a multiracial generation, hip-hop itself is worthy of an elevated position in the grand, centuries-long history of America.

That, friends, is why I wrote the book.

The table of contents is as follows:

ALBUM ONE: Number Runners
Hip-hop’s earliest entrepreneurs
(1968–1981)

ALBUM TWO: Genius of Rap
Creating hip-hop’s first superstars
(1980–1984)

ALBUM THREE: The Beat Box
Def Jam fosters a revolution in hip-hop art and commerce.
(1984–1988)

ALBUM FOUR: Hip-Hop Nation
Rap traverses the continent
(1988–1991)

ALBUM FIVE: Where Hip-Hop Lives
Rap Conquers Corporate Radio
(1991–1994)

ALBUM SIX: Cops & Rappers
Time Warner and corporate America grapple with gangsta rap
(1991–1995)

ALBUM SEVEN: Keeping It Real
The branding of hip-hop and the rise of the superempowered artist
(1993–1999)

ALBUM EIGHT: An American Dream
Hip-hop cashes out
(1999–2007)

EPILOGUE: Harlem, November 4, 2008

Also coming: A redesigned dancharnas.com, which will serve as the online home of The Big Payback, with sections devoted to the characters, businesses, and key events in the book; plus special features and bonus material.

Looking forward to sharing all of this with you very soon.