Dan Charnas’ The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop (New American Library, December 7, 2010) is already getting big love from critics:

Charnas’ “exhaustive, engrossing history of the genre” is #8 on the “Must List” — Entertainment Weekly

“A classic of music business dirt-digging as well as a kind of pulp epic.” [FOUR STARS] — Rolling Stone

“Essential…The Big Payback focuses not on the beefs you know but on the back-room battles you don’t.” [from “Five Things We Emphatically Endorse”] — Details

“Pulitzer-level reporting…in this absorbing account of hip-hop’s transformation from South Bronx cottage industry to multi-billion dollar global business” — Spin, December 2010

Charnas “writes with the authority of an insider, the passion of a fan, and the cool eye of someone who has maneuvered through the day-to-day workings of the business.” [STARRED REVIEW] — Publishers Weekly

“As gripping and dense as a prime Jay-Z rhyme…Charnas has done a real service to pop history.” — New York Daily News

“In a year that has seen plenty of hip-hop books, The Big Payback stands out as a must-read for any fan–or detractor–of the genre.” — Forbes

“The riveting dialogue culled from more than 300 interviews makes it seem as if Charnas was in the room for every deal that ever went down in hip-hop, and sometimes he was.” — Austin Chronicle

More media:

The Big Payback was recently featured on NPR’s Fresh Air. To hear Dan Charnas’ interview with Terry Gross, click here.

In the coming weeks, The Big Payback will be featured on NPR’s Weekend All Things Considered, PRX’s Sound Opinions, PRI’s Marketplace and WNYC’s Soundcheck.

Yes, it’s a big book!

“Sent copies of your book to all my prison friends. A North Carolina prison returned it because it was ‘too thick/possible weapon.'” — Wendy Day, founder, Rap Coalition
“Can’t take it on the plane without paying extra luggage fees.” –Davey D., blogger, radio personality and activist
“It’s enormous!  If I read it, it will be the largest book I’ve ever read.” —Cory Robbins, founder, Profile Records