How A Gangsta Rapper Made Me A Better Mom

Stephanie Bloom is a forty-something single mom chasing a dream she nearly gave up on-to become a global pop star.

Between raising three kids, fending off nosy school mums, and trying to save the crumbling restaurant left by her late husband, Stephanie is barely holding it together. But when a once-in-a-lifetime chance to record with The Most Famous Rapper in the World drops into her lap, she must decide: keep playing it safe for her family, or risk everything to follow her dreams.

How A Gangsta Rapper Made Me A Better Mom is a laugh-out-loud, feel-everything story about music, motherhood, and second chances. More than a novel, it's a groundbreaking storytelling experience.

This Integrated Musical Edition pairs every chapter with original songs-accessible through eBook links, scannable QR codes in the paperback, or seamlessly within the audiobook. Each track is performed in-scene by the characters themselves. From Stephanie's infectious pop anthems to her kids' rebellious punk riffs, Candice's sultry jazz, and raw hip-hop bars, the music brings each character's voice to life in an immersive way that's emotional, innovative, and unforgettable.

Created and performed by award-winning singer-songwriter and TV personality Stacey Jackson-alongside guest artists from around the globe-this is the world's first "musical novel," where story and soundtrack move together as one.

Advance Praise

"An inspiring path carved out with passion, determination, and heart... Stacey Jackson is fearless when it comes to life and embracing opportunity." - Rolling Stone UK

"Balancing fame, family, and fearless ambition... proves it's never too late to chase your dreams." - OK! Magazine US

"An inspiring debut celebrating transformation at any stage of life... a fictionalised but deeply authentic journey." - Elle Canada

Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, Stacey Jackson is a multi-award-winning singer/songwriter, TV presenter, and entrepreneur. Having sung in bands since the age of fifteen, she also forged a career in TV and entertainment PR in New York for ten years after graduating from university. She now resides in London with her husband and four children.Since putting her musical ambitions on hold to raise her family, Stacey re-entered the music world at the age of forty, when she recorded an album for the UK charity Music for Youth. The album, which raised £20,000 for the foundation, featured rock and Motown tracks she loved as a child and, although well received, it perhaps predictably sank without trace.Except it hadn't.The album was subsequently unearthed online by a DJ, who remixed one of the tracks and released it via the dance club scene. "Band of Gold" became an instant anthem and catapulted Stacey to becoming a dance music icon. With her high-energy sound booming out across the nation's clubs and gyms, Stacey found herself performing on worldwide stages, from London to Las Vegas and Miami, and headlining at Pride festivals across the UK and Europe.She was approached by major record producers to co-write original dance and pop music and has since been enjoying a successful career on the international music scene, with several chart-topping hits, including her original song "Live It Up," featuring a collaboration with the notorious US rapper Snoop Dogg. She also got to perform the song in a cameo appearance in the Hollywood film Reboot Camp ten years later.In 2021, Stacey became the presenter of the nostalgic music series Stacey Jackson in the 80s, where she wrote, produced, and presented fifty-four episodes for three consecutive seasons of the series for the Sky music channel Music and Memories (formerly known as Spotlight TV). The series theme song "Flipside," written by Stacey, garnered the number one spot on the Global Digital Radio Charts in 2022.Stacey is also the founder and chief designer of technical fitness brand Staefit, which includes a patented sports top she created to help large-busted women find the support they need while working out without having to wrestle to get in and out of their fitness clothes. As well as being a voting member of the Recording Academy, a patron of the Serpentine Arts Council, a supporter of numerous charities in the arts and medical fields she is also a co-host The Gen-X-Perience Podcast, where she speaks with inspiring Generation X-ers about their journeys through life - chatting about how growing up in the 80s inspired them to be who they are today. Stacey continues to spread her message, "It's never too late to live your dreams," and, fittingly, was one of the celebrity judges on the esteemed panel for Talent Is Timeless, the global talent competition aiming to discover extraordinary musical artists over the age of fifty.

Ruth Elkins is a British writer, journalist, and editor, most recently at The Times of London and at MailOnline. With over twenty years' experience writing and editing for some of the world's leading publications, including The Guardian and Sky News, she has written on everything from Eurovision to "Environmental Porn" and was once dubbed "The Babe of Berlin" after she wrote in a column that German men couldn't flirt.She spent six years living and working in Berlin, is a Faber Academy "Writing a Novel" graduate, and her short fiction has been published alongside Alain de Botton's. As well as her own fiction writing, she helps others find their own stories and hone them into great, captivating narratives.