Darryl James, author, publisher, journalist, and filmmaker, along with Tenacious Books, a boutique warehouse for self-publishing authors, present The Rap Sheet Legacy Collection, an art book featuring the high art covers of Rap Sheet, the world’s first hip hop newspaper.
Styled like the original Rolling Stone Magazine on quarter-fold newsprint, Rap Sheet’s covers were each works of art when released in the 1990s. The logo and the design of Rap Sheet were reflective of the art form — cutting-edge design with high art from true artists, including the designer of this book, Giulio Costanzo, an original designer of the magazine.
James comments, “The plan is to produce a limited-edition of the book that will be signed and numbered, with Rap Sheet covers, rare photos of rap artists, and pictographic memories from events, including the Rap Sheet Conference and the ground-breaking pay-per-view concert. The Rap Sheet Legacy Collection will contain cover stories, selected photos of events, and ephemera from the 1990’s.”
James has curated his collection of Rap Sheet covers to present an art book from Hip Hop, commemorating the most cutting-edge magazine from the 1990s, an era viewed as the Golden Era of Hip Hop.
This art book, The Rap Sheet Legacy Collection, will be signed and numbered, containing covers of Rap Sheet, the world’s first Hip Hop Newspaper. The book will be sold for $75 and will be discounted to $50 upon release. Orders can be made at RapSheet.com or Paypal.com/instantcommerce/checkout/Z9JBX9EPPHEXS
“We’re only producing a small number,” said James. “As items from the Golden Age of Hip Hop continue to grow in value, this edition of The Rap Sheet Legacy Collection will also increase in value, since there won’t be very many produced. I’m only making a few available for $50 and the remainder will be sold for $75.”
James co-founded Rap Sheet in 1992, along with Jeffrey Stern, who had just sold Details Magazine, with the goal of servicing the hip-hop underground across the nation as well as the hottest artists on the cutting-edge of the art form.
He is also producing a documentary on rap music from the 1990s for release in 2024.
For more information, or to place an order for The Rap Sheet Legacy Collection, visit RapSheet.com