Press

FELICIA & BACKLIST IN THE NEWS

AALBC.com on THE MESSAGE NYC Launch party
Troy Johnson created a dope photo slide show from the party.
Allhiphop.com
Great profile on me and THE MESSAGE penned by the very dope Biba the Diva: "Every page is another surprise as she dissects your favorite rap songs and infuses them with stories of her life and times."
AOL Black Voices
Don't Believe the Hype: We Can Learn From Hip-Hop I had to write a blog entry about THE MESSAGE on my book blog on AOL BV.
APOOO
"I recommend The Message: 100 Life Lessons from Hip-Hop's Greatest Songs to all who enjoy the musical genre. However, it is an entertaining, well-written book that can be enjoyed by all who enjoy biographical sketches written to an internal soundtrack."
Atlantic City City Beat
"I enjoyed The Message! because I remember where I was the first time I heard these 100 songs, and it's nice to share in someone else's experience through music. On top of that, The Message! is a great book to teach and take lessons from.
Baltimore City Paper
Excerpt of THE MESSAGE
Baltimore Sun / Unisun
First Person Essay about THE MESSAGE and the power of hip-hop.
Black Artemis
Black Artemis hails THE MESSAGE as "Chicken Soup for the Hip Hop Soul."
Brooklyn Bodega
"If you all do not know about the book The Message: 100 Life Lessons from Hip-Hop's Greatest Songs, you need to. Felicia Pride examines her favorite hip-hop songs while incorporating her own personal reflections on life. She found that many hip- hop lyrics spoke directly to what was going on in her life, an aided her journey."
Campus Circle
"...one of the greatest feats of these pages is that by sharing and explaining her picks, she makes you want to recount and relive your own." Grade: A
Clutch Magazine
Q&A with me about the writing life.
DC Book Examiner
"Pride gives of herself, while holding up a mirror with her words to make you see yourself too. She will have you looking back with each turn of the page, saying to yourself 'I feel you Felicia...I remember doing/feeling/saying that when I heard (fill in the blanks) too.'"
GIANT Magazine
Q&A with me about hip-hop and THE MESSAGE.
Go and Do Michigan
"...this hand-sized collection of essays about "The Message," "Jesus Walks," "Planet Rock" and 97 others makes a literate case for lyrical import and can be used to whack over the heads of all those gratuitous hip-hop haters who diss the music without even hearing a note."
"Hip-Hop Connection" Voice of America
Rod Murray interviews me about what we can learn from hip-hop.
Idolator
"...self-help skills exchange for the fat beats generation."
Lynne d Johnson
Lynne writes some crazy kind words about the book on her very popular blog.
Marc Steiner Show, WEAA 88.9, Baltimore
Felicia talks about the literary world, getting youth to read, and hip-hop.
Minneapolis/St. Paul CityPages
"Writer Felicia Pride offers a twist on the self-help genre: She compiles words of wisdom by old-school rap giants like Public Enemy ("Fight the Power") all the way up to reigning chart king Kanye West ("Jesus Walks"). Don't go looking for nuggets like Eazy-E's "Nuts on Ya Chin," however; The Message stays positive."
Morphizm
Q&A with me.
"Felicia Pride's book The Message: 100 Life Lessons from Hip-Hop's Greatest Songs is about living culture, incorporating its vivid soundtrack into every facet of your Everyday Life. It's for music fans and hip-hop heads, as well as self-help fans looking to put a little love into their hearts. We could use the love, considering the way hip-hop has been living lately, which is to say quite large. And like other multinational monoliths, the culture has lost its way in the new millennium, embracing bling when we should all really be ringing the alarm on literacy and more. Pride grabs the bell by the horns below."
Mosaic Books
Ron Kavanaugh reviews THE MESSAGE launch party held at Negril Village. He also comments on the food.
Nat Creole
"The Message: 100 life lessons from hip-hops greatest songs speaks to that part of us that is always unsure of who we are or what we believe. It is not the voice of your parents. It is more like the musings of your older sister who is cool and listens to hip-hop. This older sister (see Felicia Pride) listened to hip-hop ever since she was young and, in that, realized that some of these hip-hop cats knew what they were talking about, whether it was way back when or just last year. From "Express yourself" by NWA to "Spaceship" by Kanye West, Felicia Pride details her lessons learned from the lyrics of hip hop wordsmiths in six main sections. Do not be surprised if you find yourself somewhere in there agreeing with her. You probably thought the same thing when you heard these songs too."
NPR's Talk of the Nation
Host Neal Conan interviews me about the inspiration in hip-hop songs and invites callers to talk about songs that hold meaning in their lives.
Ocean County Public Library Blog
The library system did a writeup of the teen workshops and librarian professional development workshop that I facilitated. Here's a snippet:
"Hip hop also lends itself as a tool of engagement for libraries looking to include teens in its programs. She pointed out that hip hop was started by young people for young people, it is global and crosses ethnic cultures, and it is one of the most dominant aspects of youth culture."
PopMatters
"Instead of analyzing the songs or critiquing hip-hop in general, she uses them as literary cliffs, going to the edge of each song's subject matter and then jumping off into the memories and musings suggested by the music. She accomplishes this, without rambling or going on tangents, because the chapters are short but densely packed with ideas, kind of like when you read haiku. When a good haiku poem ends, your mind keeps riding along."
Press of Atlantic City
"Pride offers her interpretation of what the songs mean and what lessons can be learned from them. By reading the book, a person learns as much about Pride as they do about the songs. That's because she incorporates many of her own experiences and reflections with the rapper's message."
Publishers Weekly
Essay by me about writing THE MESSAGE.
Publishers Weekly
Article highlighting a BEA panel I participated on.
Real Talk NY
"Very good idea to look at what lessons can be learned from Hip Hop instead of always focusing on the negative effects. I'm sure we have all learned a lot from Hip Hop, good and bad."
Rhymes, Views & New
"Within the pages of The Message: 100 Life Lessons From Hip Hop's Greatest Songs, author Felicia Pride shares similar memories with us and invokes our hip hop laced past. Not only does Pride break down the meaning of each of the songs represented within The Message, she also provides inspirational anecdotes from her life. The author shines a light on what is positive about hip hop so that we too can absorb valuable insights from these songs. Readers of all ages will be able to get something meaningful from The Message."
Sac City Express
Article about the use of THE MESSAGE in a classrooms at Sacramento City College.
Sacramento City College Newspaper
Article about the use of THE MESSAGE in a "Human Career Development" course at the college.
Scheme Magazine
Scheme interviewed me about books, publishing, hip-hop and THE MESSAGE. Dope indie mag.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Excerpt from THE MESSAGE.
"Strictly Hip-Hop" WEAA 88.9 FM Morgan State University
The Baltimore hip-hop institution interviews me about THE MESSAGE.
TheGrits.com
Marlive Harris talks with me about THE MESSAGE, hip-hop, and literature. Ebony Farashuu reviewed THE MESSAGE.
"In a society where Hip-Hop is often placed on trial for misogynist lyrics that glorify violence and degrade women, it's nice to see someone praising the songs that are often overlooked as critics overzealously condemn an entire genre of music without actually hearing the variety of lyrics contained within. Felicia Pride's message is a well- written foray into music, moods, and the life lessons we all stand to learn if only we will listen." Read entire review.
theHotness
"Felicia really did a supa fly job at picking lyrics that resonate on a historical, err nostalgic level, but by using personal anecdotes as a backdrop she also creates these mini "life lessons" that reminded me of the importance of partnership ("It Takes Two") and self-esteem ("Brown Skin Lady"). The Message is sorta like Chicken Soup for The Soul but it bounces and sways."
The Signal Radio Show (WYPR 88.1/Baltimore)
Listen to me read an excerpt from THE MESSAGE (The entry for Me, Myself & I)
UpFront with Tony Cox
10.09: Talkin' books
11.09: Talkin' books
Uptown Magazine
"Throughout this innovative text, Pride proves that hip-hop is more than just catchy verses laid over tight beats-if you listen hard enough, you can also find kernels of wisdom as you bob your head."
USA Today
"In her recent book The Message, Felicia Pride sets out to "extract motivational mantras" from 100 favorite hip-hop songs. Wu-Tang Clan's Tearz reminds Pride that "our time here is short," while The Notorious B.I.G.'s Things Done Changed prompts musings on the unrealized dreams of the civil rights movement. Dialing the seriousness down a notch, USA TODAY asks Pride to decode the messages buried deep within some of pop music's more enigmatic hits."
VIBE Magazine
VPicks Book selection for holiday reading in December 2007 issue
Vocalized Ink Radio
Dean Russell interviewed me about hip-hop, publishing, and the writing game.