Description

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Raw and true to the street, no one portrays the underground like the godfather of urban lit, Donald Goines.
 
Trapped in jail for a petty crime, Prince hatches a scheme from his cell to make it big. Once Ruby, the only woman worthy of his brutal ambition, joins him on the outside, they take down Detroit one hustle at a time. Dealers, pimps, police and politicians—in the blink of an eye the hood is theirs. Now, the only thing certain is the cold hard truth of the streets—because with enemies waiting behind every corner, there’s only one way to stay on top of the world . . .
 
“He lived by the code of the streets and his books vividly recreated the street jungle and its predators.”
—New Jersey Voice
 
“Machiavelli was my tutor, Donald Goines my father figure.”
 —Tupac Shakur

About the Author

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Donald Goines was born in Detroit, Michigan. He joined the U.S. Air Force instead of going into his family’s dry cleaning business. Following his service, he entered into a life of drug addiction and crime. He received seven prison sentences, serving a total of over six years. While he was in prison, Goines wrote his first two novels, Dopefiend: The Story of a Black Junkie and Whoreson: The Story of a Ghetto Pimp. Goines was shot to death in 1974.

Praise For…

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Praise for Donald Goines:
 
"Machiavelli was my tutor, Donald Goines my father figure." —Tupac Shakur

"The voice of the ghetto itself." —The Village Voice
 
“Donald Goines, a brilliant writer of street literature captures the pain of addiction perfectly.”
—Black Enterprise, The 18 Best Books of All Time on Dopefiend
 
“Goines’ influence on hip-hop, pulp-fiction, movies, and scores of authors deserves as much praise as a James Baldwin or Richard Wright, who also wrote about Black life in the ghetto.” 
—Darryl Robertson, Hip hop journalist
 
“A true master at depicting street life in it rawest, most authentic form, Mr. Goines mastered the art of storytelling from the darkest corner of America: the ghetto. His brilliance still shines through and touches the soul of modern black culture.”
—JaQuavis Coleman, New York Times bestselling author

“Donald Goines is the most iconic voice in urban fiction. His masterful pen is timeless.”
—Ashley Antoinette, New York Times bestselling author

"I learned to read on Donald Goines. His books are classics." —Carl Weber, New York Times bestselling author and founder of Urban Books

"A timeless writer, Donald Goines laid the foundation for all who came after. Fifty years later, his novels continue to inspire urban fiction from one generation to the next.”
—Wahida Clark, New York Times bestselling author
 
“He lived by the code of the streets and his books vividly recreated the street jungle and its predators.” —New Jersey Voice

“Donald Goines is one of Hip Hop’s Greatest Inspirations.” —The Source Magazine

"The godfather of black pulp fiction." —Salon.com

“Goines put you right there in the action.” —AllHipHop.com

“Donald Goines was for the streets [in the 70s] what the rappers are today...He was in the streets, of the streets and spoke for the streets.” —Chaz Williams, CEO of Black Hand Entertainment

“Donald Goines has become, decades after his death, one of the most influential African-American authors in the African-American literary canon.” —Thumpers Corner