Born in Southern California and raised in Middle Tennessee, John Lee Smith followed his childhood dream of becoming a star. While he never set out to become the Boss of the Sticks, he created a style of music for people like himself, earning the title King of the Kuntry. Nicknamed Smo by his childhood buddies, he grew up to become a pioneer in the country rap genre. A captivating tale of coming-of-age, Smo shares his heartaches and successes from signing with a major record label to having his own hit reality tv show. He even includes stories from his loyal fanbase he calls his “Kinfoke”. My Life in a Jar: The Book of Smo is a story of one man’s dream turned reality and why he's still the Boss of the Sticks.

My Life in a Jar: The Book of SMO

Brown, Jake

Smo, Big

Humor & Entertainment

SMO-MOTION Publishing

Given his tragic recent passing, Prince's fans are clamoring for new books, and this is the most out of the box of all of them, focusing exclusively on the creation of the hits that made him a legend over nearly 40 years as an icon.Newsweek reported in the wake of Prince's passing that the Purple wunderkind "expanded the realm of what is or might be possible for a pop star to accomplish -- and he made it look easy." Accomplishing this feat musically above all other due recognitions, Prince was without a doubt the Mozart of his time, and one whose catalog will no doubt be studied and celebrated by musical generations to come for the simple truth that, as Time Magazine has so eloquently noted, "at his best, Prince has always been...far ahead of his time." Working with his musical imagination as a canvas and the 35+ musical instruments he played as his brushes, each and every one of the Purple pioneer's albums -- from "1999" and "Purple Rain" to "Sign O'the Times" and "Batman" and beyond -- were not merely works of art, but galleries with each song a portrait opening our ears to new sounds and possibilities realized, often for the first time. Now, for the first time, in the pages of "PRINCE IN THE STUDIO: The Stories Behind the Hits 1977-1994," the creation of this multi-instrumentalist's timeless catalog is chronicled in a front-row seat for readers that takes them deeper inside the heart of Prince's rare creative process than ever before!!This is the first time Prince fans can read about the making of every one of his greatest hits, including "Little Red Corvette," "1999," "Kiss," "Batdance," "Purple Rain," "Raspberry Beret," "Sign O'the Times," "Cream," "Seven," "Pop Life," "Let's Pretend We're Married," "Take Me With U," "Alphabet St.," "Diamonds and Pearls," "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man," "The Beautiful Ones," "U Got the Look," "D.M.S.R.," "I Wanna Be Your Lover," "I Feel For You," "When U Were Mine," "Delirious," "When Doves Cry," "Sexy M.F.," "Get Off," "Money Don't Matter 2nite," "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World," "Somebody's Somebody," "P. Control," "Crazy Relationship," and "I Would Die 4 U!"

Prince in the Studio: The Stories Behind the Hits - 1977-1994

Music Square Media

Author Jake Brown has woven a tale of intense drama that paved the way for some of the world’s biggest stars, including: Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog. The Suge Knight and Death Row Story details the visionary entrepreneur’s life story, encompassing his meteoric rise to the top of the charts after partnering with Dre to found Death Row Records. It tells you where Suge intends to take Hip Hop in the new millennium and features insightful interviews with business associates, family members and artists who speak candidly about his life.

Suge Knight: The Rise, Fall, and Rise of Death Row Records: The Story of Marion "Suge" Knight, a Hard Hitting Study of One Man, One Company That Changed the Course of American Music Forever

Amber Communications Group, Inc.

'Behind the Boards Volume One: The Best Kept Secrets and Untold Stories of Rock N' Roll's Hit Records (Told by the Producers Who Created Them)'

Rock N' Roll Books

Behind the Boards: The Best Kept Secrets and Untold Studio Stories of Rock & Roll Hit Records (Told by the Producers Who Created Them)

Literature & Fiction

Classics

According to Billboard Magazine, "in many ways, Alice in Chains was the definitive heavy metal band of the early '90s," while MTV.com has "placed them among the front ranks of the Seattle-based grunge bands." All Music Guide would further add that "Alice in Chains were arguably the most metallic of grunge bands, which gave them a definite appeal outside the underground." As the band grew overnight into Grunge superstars from their initial signing to Columbia Records in 1990, Rolling Stone Magazine would further report that "Alice in Chains was among the biggest to emerge from the grunge scene that spawned Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden." Now, for the first time, within the pages of 'Alice in Chains: in the Studio,' fans get the first-hand account of how their favorite AIC hit albums- including 'Dirt', 'Alice in Chains,' 'Jar of Flies,' and others within the original line-up's catalog- were written and recorded, recounted via exclusive interviews with band producers including Dave Jerden and Toby Wright, engineers Bryan Carlstrom and others, and interview material with band members, etc. A sure-fire hit with AIC listeners old and new, 'Alice in Chains: in the Studio' is truly one of a kind, and a must-have for any true AIC fan!

ALICE IN CHAINS: IN THE STUDIO

Arts & Photography

Rolling Stone Magazineâ€™s review of the Janeâ€™s Addictionâ€™s debut album, â€˜Nothingâ€™s Shocking,â€™ hailed both the band and their ground-breaking musical epic as â€œthe latest great hope of the Los Angeles club scene, a product of a city whose often overlooked hard-rock scene has long been every bit as successful and commercially productive as its more heralded punk and post punk scene...Jane's Addiction, young and restless, makes music that scrapes against the smooth surfaces of commercial pop.â€Janeâ€™s Addictionâ€™s instantly-legendary catalog of albums would spawn a generational movement that would change the face of Rock nâ€™ Roll forever, giving way to the mainstream advent of alternative rock in the 1990s. Following up 1988â€™s â€˜Nothingâ€™s Shockingâ€™ with the album that revolutionized the aforementioned genre, â€˜Ritual De Lo Habitual,â€™ which Billboard Magazine hailed as â€œone of rock's all-time sprawling masterpiecesâ€¦and one of alt-rockâ€™s finest moments,â€ cemented the bandâ€™s status as the genreâ€™s most iconic rock â€˜nâ€™ roll band. Now, for the first time in the pages of â€˜Janeâ€™s Addiction: in the Studio,â€™ fans are taken behind the scenes and quite literally in the studio for a V.I.P. access inside the writing and recording of such legendary classics as â€˜Jane Says,â€™ â€˜Coming Down the Mountainâ€™, â€˜Three Days,â€™ â€˜Been Caught Stealing,â€™ â€˜Stop,â€™ and a host of others. Chronicled via exclusive interviews with lead producer Dave Jerden, engineer Ronnie S. Champagne, legendary Pink Floyd producer Bob Ezrin, as well as early players in discovering the band, including former Triple X Records A&R head Charlie Brown, and members of Perry Farrellâ€™s first L.A. band PSI COM (where the sonic foundations of Janeâ€™s experimental sound were first discovered/fine-tuned), this is by far the most definitive study of Janeâ€™s Addictionâ€™s legendary musical legacy.

Jane's Addiction: in the Studio

The embattled R&amp;B star R. Kelly was arrested on a fugitive nationwide warrant issued as he was preparing to leave a rented vacation home where he had lived for more than a year with his wife and three children charged with 21 counts of child pornography. In Your Body's Calling Me: Music, Love, Sex and Money - The Story of the Life and Times of "Robert" R. Kelly, author Jake Brown explores the past to uncover the truth behind the crooner's celebrated, yet conflicted life, including: His childhood and impoverished upbringing, His abuse as a child, Experiences that molded him into both the man and celebrity, His collaboration with and marriage to Aaliyah, Child porn allegations filed against him, His haunting past and God-fearing, Soul, and Rhythm and Blues sounds that led him to a chart-topping career. R. Kelly's distinct sound has an ability to blend cutting edge, street-wise Hip-Hop music and storytelling with smooth love songs. His role as collaborative composer and producer with other artists expanded outside of his R&amp;B genre, reflecting the diversity of his talents, as he crafted hits for many of the world's biggest Pop stars, including Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Notorious BIG, Puffy, Janet Jackson, Toni Braxton, Mary J. Blige, NAS, Maxwell, Kirk Franklin, and KC &amp; Jo Jo. R. Kelly, musical genius, racked up numerous Top 40 and Top Ten smashes hits in Billboard's Top 200 list. R. Kelly's music has topped Billboard's R &amp; B Album, Adult Contemporary, Hot 100 Singles, Top 200 Album and the R &amp; B/Hip Hop Charts. R. Kelly has been nominated for and received numerous awards including: Grammys for Best Male R&amp;B Vocal Performance, Best R&amp;B Album (R.), and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group; Soul Train Music Awards for Best R&amp;B/Soul Album, Male (R.); NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Male Artist and Music Video, and was the American Music Award's Favorite Male Soul/R&amp;B Artist and Sammy Davis Jr. Entertainer of the Year. In an instant, R. Kelly would go from a revered global superstar to a man" whose freedom and security..whose very foundation. was being threatened. Your Body's Calling Me reveals all the details about how R. Kelly became the 'Prince of Pillowtalk' and how that title would come back to haunt him.again.and again

Your Body's Calling Me: Music, Love, Sex & Money: The Life & Times of "Robert" R. Kelly

Colossus Books

In Jay Z and the Roc-A-Fella Dynasty, author Jake Brown has chronicled the Hip Hop icon’s legacy. As Hip Hop's prodigal son, Jay Z is truly the pinnacle of where Hip Hop has come in its short but extraordinary life time. Among the detailed and explicit chapters, the story includes: “The Hustlin Years”, “Shawn Carter Becomes Jay Z”, “The Birth of Roc-A-Fella Records and Brooklyn’s Finest-Jay Z and Biggie Smalls”.

Jay Z and the Roc-A-Fella Records Dynasty

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

While many considered Biggie ahead of his time, author Jake Brown clearly cites why it was his time . He didn't live in or up to the moment ?he actually created it. Biggie controlled his time, by the very nature of what he achieved in it. When his time was up, he had done what he set out to do, and it was historic ! Biggie Smalls' life was lived in the fast lane. - The Notorious B.I.G. quickly became a household name among hip hop fans and all responsibility would rest on him as he made his way up hip hop aisles to center stage. What took hip-hop by storm with the debuts of the Notorious B.I.G. was his candid rapping style. He seemed to welcome the challenge, as if he was already resigned to his fate, hence, ready for death, or whatever the world could throw at him . In Ready to Die: The Story of Biggie Smalls ? The Notorious B.I.G . author Jake Brown reveals Biggie's sensitive side as well as his hard-core media stance; it explores his motivations, his loyalties and his roots. In a true sense, it strips away the media frenzy and sheds light on the truth, bringing you upclose and personal into the rise of Bad Boy Entertainment which would make Sean Puffy Combs (Puff Daddy) a mogul in his own right; Tupac Shakur; Faith Evans; Lil Kim and the Junior Mafia.

Ready to Die: The Story of Biggie Smalls--Notorious B.I.G.: Fast Money, Puff Daddy, Faith and Life After Death

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Books by Brown, Jake