Hip Lit, Hooray!

I call what I write, Hip Lit. And yes, I know, making up my own literary genre is arrogant in a Michael Jackson, self-proclaimed King of Pop way.

But I didn’t make it up to be arrogant. Honest.

My novels just feel like Hip Lit to me.

Apparently, the publishing industry has this burning need to categorize everything. Teen Lit, Chick Lit, Urban Lit, Gangsta Lit etc... So, when I started SO NOT THE DRAMA it didn’t seem to have a true home among the already established “lits.”

Yeah, it’s Teen Lit. But even within categories there are...you guessed it, more categories.

I have lots of author friends who write Chick Lit. But if I go by the “definition” of Chick Lit, my book doesn't fit. So, I decided to call what I write, Hip Lit. It’s a nod to Hip Hop. The culture, not the music.

Hip-Hop is lots of things to many people. And I’m not trying to start a war on what it is or isn’t. What it is to me, is a culture of fashion, music, slang and style that has bridged a very large gap between a thousand other cultural differences. Basically, Hip-Hop brought the urbz to the ‘burbs.

Surfer white dude blasting T.I. from his car. Hip-Hop.

Black dude leaning and rocking in his stunna shades. Hip-Hop.

Asian dude sporting corn rows. Oh, mos’ definitely Hip-Hop.

Young girls singing Cherish's Do it To It into air mics, holding up the A-town symbol (even though they’re from like Boise, Idaho)…right, Hip-Hop.

The characters in DRAMA are the result of Hip-Hop’s impact worldwide. Because multi-culti is very hot. And it’s not weird anymore (as weird) to see teens of all races slingin’ the same slang and bumpin’ the same music.

That’s Hip-Hop and that’s Hip Lit!