My Fine Lady: A Hip-Hop Novel - Softcover

Joe, Yolanda

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0452286182 ISBN 13: 9780452286184

Publisher: Plume, 2005

Synopsis

A talented and ambitious young singer, Imani finds herself surrounded by men with their own interest in her singing career--including her father, who sees in her a chance to fulfill his own failed dreams; her boyfriend, Taz, who is determined to become a mega-producer; and Professor Orenthal Hopson, who has made a bet that he can transform her from a hip-hop diva to a traditional jazz singer. Reader's Guide available. Reprint.

About this title

About the Author:

Yolanda Joe is the author of The HatwearerÂ's Lesson and the Essence bestsellers This Just In; BebeÂ's By Golly Wow; and He Say, She Say. A graduate of Yale University and of the Columbia University School of Journalism and a former news producer, she lives in Chicago.

From Publishers Weekly:

Bestseller Joe's latest gives a nod to My Fair Lady—and, like the musical, it's predictable but plenty of fun. Imani Holland has a voice like "velvet on fire," and she raps the lyrics her boyfriend, Taz, writes; together they're gonna make it big. At an unofficial competition at the local college campus, Imani catches the attention of Orenthal Hopson, a gifted young musician and academic. Hopson's been butting heads with department chair Perkins over his theory of music's transformative powers, and Imani's raw talent makes her the perfect test—Perkins will give Hopson three months to make Imani into a jazz diva. "Mother Nature had just been darn right good to the brother" Hopson, but Imani dismisses him as too "uptown"—that is, until she catches Taz getting a lap dance from a groupie and decides to give the professor a call. Hopson exposes her to new music, offers elocution and singing lessons and gives wardrobe advice. In turn, Imani's uninhibited spirit helps the uptight Hopson loosen up. Meanwhile, Imani's dad is in trouble with the local loan shark and his strongman, Biggie (who's also Taz's best friend and Imani's best friend's older brother). Imani feels pushed and pulled—she's still got a thing for Taz, but he keeps misbehaving. When she finally falls for Hopson, it turns out that he's capable of betrayal, too. Joe (The Hatwearer's Lesson) is prone to pseudo-profundities ("Where do we flee when something we trust breaks?"; "The essence of love can't be penetrated because it's too deep"), but it's impossible not to root for spunky, ambitious Imani. The inevitable happy ending is the perfect finale.
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About this edition

• Publisher: Plume
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0452286182
• ISBN 13: 9780452286184
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240