Jay-Z's successful 'Decoded' book marked another big step in hip-hop's legitimacy as an art form with the general public. Now, another book is on the way that explores how the genre went from a DIY form of expression in New York's rough neighborhoods to a global business phenomenon that rakes in millions of dollars every year. Entitled 'The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop' and written by Dan Charnas, the 638-page book paves a path from the manipulative business practices of Sugar Hill Records to the revolutionary expansion of Wu-Tang Clan to Jay-Z's rise as a respected worldwide business leader.

According to the New York Daily News, who got a preview of the text, the books also explores how, for many years, radio stations, record companies and the majority of the media strove to undermine the genre by limiting airplay and lobbing destructive campaigns against artists such as Ice-T. The author posits that the genre's obsession with money goes far beyond jewelry and cars. It's what turned hip-hop into an accepted global form of business rather than an outsider art form.

The book will be officially released Dec. 7 -- just in time for a holiday purchase. "Don Charnas captures an epic story full of joy and pain, triumph and failure, grace and greed with the skills of a journalist, the wisdom of an insider, and the passion of a microphone fiend," says Jeff Chang, author of 'Can't Stop, Won't Stop,' the gold standard hip-hop history book.

You can pre-order 'The Big Payback: the History of the Business of Hip-Hop' here.

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