Little known hip-hop fact #3:

Wendy Day, the head of the Rap Coalition, worked for free for the better part of the 1990s helping rap artists out of bad deals and helping them negotiate good ones. But the first time she charged a fee for her services, she got stiffed. And that’s when things got complicated…

For the complete story, see The Big Payback, pages 522-528

The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop by Dan Charnas—coming out December 2010 on New American Library/Penguin—is the first-ever definitive history of the executives, entrepreneurs, hustlers and handlers to transform hip-hop from an obscure street phenomenon into the world’s predominant pop culture and a multi-billion dollar industry. Order your copy here.