Thursday, February 24, 2011

On Urban/Street Lit Novels


On Urban/Street Lit Novels

Okay, what am I missing? Why would a man want to make a woman who has more men in her than a New York subway car his wifey? Beauty, a crazy body, and good sex? Is that really what would blind a man to what and who a woman really is? It seems in urban/street lit novels that is all the dudes want. Then as soon as the chick flip on him (like her back warned him of) he wants to freak out. Hello! She was all about money when you met her and you knew it.

Then the women in these novels always have impossibly perfect curvy bodies. The men are always chiseled. The drug dealers always have bank and power. Both are shallow and only care about the materialistic aspects of life. I know drug dealers, their wifeys, their kids, their families, and drug users. Not every crack head is noticeable from across the street and for every kingpin you have a hundred low-level, making end meet hustlers. And the wifeys are in all shapes and sizes.

What I want people to understand about these novels is that there is truth in it. People are that shallow. People are that grimy. But at the end of the day these books are fiction. Life is not this way for many people in the hood. Not every little girl is abused. Not every little boy wants to be a pusher. Not everyone is out for money and clothes. And not every man is criminal. These books are entertainment, simply an action movie in a book.
I got this picture from here

1 comment:

  1. You are right in many aspects. I've been writing an urban fiction novel for over five years now and once I sit and think about it, most of the women are gorgeous,most of the men are pushers or killers, and the main character is out for one thing, obtaining power; power tripping. I still, till this day, consider my urban fiction novel quite different, yet, it's formed around the same thing as others. Greed, sex, murder, girls, cars, money, drugs, etc. It's entertainment! :)

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