K’wan
K’wan is a multiple literary award winner and bestselling author. Born and raised in New York City, he’s best known for his cinematic writing style, colorful characters, and witty dialogue. He has authored more than thirty titles, collectively selling over one million copies, including his debut novel, Gangsta, and the widely popular Animal series. He has been featured in Vibe, Library Journal, Entertainment Weekly, and Time and is a two-time recipient of the Street Lit Book Award Medal (SLBAM) in adult fiction. K’wan currently resides in New Jersey where he is working on his next novel.
All Books By K’wan
K’wan delivers his bloodiest story yet.
“One bullet changed everything.”
Three years after narrowly escaping a one-way trip to the gas chamber, the fugitive known only as Animal finds himself drawn back to the scene of the crime: Harlem.
Throughout his entire time in exile, the only thing that kept Animal going was the thought that he would one day be reunited with his soul mate, Gucci–but one bullet changed everything. When his enemies tried to murder Gucci, they crossed the line, so he vowed to cross them all.
While Gucci teeters between life and death, Animal sets out on a bloody mission fueled by love and orchestrated by bullets. There will be no more innocents. Alliances are formed and secrets uncovered while Animal wages his personal war on the streets of Harlem, with the end result revealing one great truth: he is only a small piece in a much larger puzzle.
... Read moreSecrets are revealed, sides are chosen, and bodies are dropped–it’s on!
After being thought dead, Animal resurfaces on the streets of New York to keep true to his promise and make it rain blood over Harlem. All those who had wronged him would feel his wrath, including Shai Clark, boss of the New York underworld. But touching a man like Shai Clark proves easier said than done. Using Animal’s soul mate, Gu+!cci, as bait, Shai sets a trap for the young killer.
Once again Animal finds himself captured, but this time there will be no trial. He is sentenced to die at the hands of Shai’s executioner, a man known only as Priest. The assassin is ordered to kill Animal, but instead of death he gives him the truth of his shadowed past and how their des+!tinies are intertwined. The man ordered to take Animal from the world is also the man who brought him into it.
Animal finds himself torn between his hatred for the father who had abandoned him and the man who had taken everything from him. An uneasy truce is formed between father and son to take down a common enemy and finally grant Animal his freedom from the blood debt he’s carried for so many years, but when the ghosts of Animal’s past catch up with him, he learns that nothing is what it seems, and everything is subject to corruption–even his love for Gucci.
... Read moreAfter making a promise to leave the street life behind, a shocking revelation forces Animal back into the game to face his greatest opponent yet.
When Animal’s former lover, Red Sonja, shows up on his doorstep with a little girl, claiming Animal is the father, he and Gucci immediately fear it’s a ploy for money. But Red Sonja has come to collect a debt of a different kind, one that can only be paid in blood. A powerful man is hunting Red Sonja and her daughter, and she calls on Animal to stop him–permanently.
Animal is forced to break the promise he made to his wife upon his release from prison and once again picks up his guns. To keep his daughter and her mother safe, Animal sets out on a mission of murder, but this isn’t just any man Red Sonja has sent him after; it’s one of the most powerful drug dealers in the country: her father.
... Read more#1 Essence bestselling author K’wan returns with the explosive fourth installment in the Animal saga.
Animal, the gentle and kind-hearted family man, is still infamous for turning at any moment into a cold-blooded killer. Animal is the product of ruthless abuse and the unforgiving streets–he is the product of the world we all live in.
Is there anything that could push you to the breaking point of murder? Are you absolutely sure there isn’t? After all, there’s an Animal in all of us.
... Read moreAnimal 4.5
- By: K’wan
- Narrator: L. Steven Taylor
- Length: 6 hours 35 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2017
- Language: English
Animal 4 reissue featuring bonus material. Also includes a sneak peek at Hoodlum 2: The Good Son.
From the moment Animal’s former lover Red Sonja showed up on his doorstep, he knew trouble wouldn’t be far behind. It wasn’t because the last time he’d seen her, he had been fleeing for his life from a strange island. Nor was it because of the little girl she had in tow, claiming Animal was the father. It was because women like Red Sonja carried trouble around with them like designer purses. He knew getting involved with Sonja again would come at a price, but he had no idea how steep the price would be until it was too late. With his wife gone and his children abducted by a ruthless drug cartel, Animal must lead a suicide mission into the lair of one of the most dangerous assassins in the world, a woman who calls herself Tiger Lily. To go against Tiger Lily and the cartel Animal would need an army, so the call to arms is put out and the streets readily answer. Leading a handful of loyal souls against seemingly insurmountable odds, Animal races against the clock to save his children and put a stop to Tiger Lily and the cartel’s plans, while trying to stay one step ahead of the two detectives following the trail of bodies. Things take an unexpected turn when Animal learns a dark truth hidden beneath what he had been led to believe that changes everything, including who can be trusted. When the Grand Design his father had always spoken of is finally revealed Animal will be forced to make the hard choice between love, loyalty, and vengeance.
... Read moreWhen the Grand Design is finally revealed it will spell the last ride for Mr. Armed and Brokenhearted.
In this final installment of the widely popular Animal series, we find our anti-hero on a hunt for the woman who forced him to pick his guns back up when she burned his entire world down. The traitorous Red Sonja. She alone holds the key to saving his children and
avenging his murdered wife, Gucci, but first he has to find her.
To do this, Animal reassembles his old gang: The Dog Pound for what will prove to be their most dangerous mission yet. The stakes are higher than ever and not everyone is expected to make it, but the members of the Pound readily accept the task and the risks that come
with it. With his old friends, and a few new ones, Animal is on the hunt for his elusive prey.
Then the unthinkable happens and there is an earth-shattering discovery that will change everything, including loyalties.
Meanwhile, the Black Lotus finds herself a prisoner in a place she had once called home.
Having been branded a traitor by the Brotherhood of Blood, she is remanded to the mountain fortress while awaiting trial for the crimes she stands accused of. Unbeknownst to her, there are some within the Brotherhood who would rather see her dead than
exonerated. Kahllah has unearthed a dark conspiracy which could clear her name, but at the cost of destroying the Brotherhood of Blood, which makes her a threat to the conspirators and a moving target. The hunter finds herself the hunted and her only chance
of surviving the mountain will be to place her fate in the hands of an unlikely champion.
Black Lotus
- By: K’wan
- Narrator: Cary Hite
- Length: 3 hours 34 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2014
- Language: English
Detective James Wolf earned the nickname Lone Wolf from his inability to work with a partner. He’s a hard cop who doesn’t mind bending the rules to the breaking point to make a case, which is why Internal Affairs is digging in his backyard, looking for buried bones. People are starting to wonder which side of the law the Lone Wolf really hunts for. With his career hanging by a thread, he needs a major show of good faith to stay employed and out of prison. That’s when he gets the call.
From the moment he arrives at the crime scene, Detective Wolf knows he’s in over his head. He’s a narcotics detective called in to consult on a homicide, but this is no ordinary homicide–a priest was butchered in his own church, the body left behind with a promise of more to follow. The only lead is the killer’s calling card: a black lotus flower. Detective Wolf now has the opportunity to wipe his service record clean, in exchange for tracking and stopping the Black Lotus before the next victim is claimed.
Accepting this assignment was Wolf’s attempt to get Internal Affairs off his back. But when his hunt for the Black Lotus leads him to a cold case from his past, it becomes personal.
... Read moreBlack Lotus 2
- By: K’wan
- Narrator: L. Steven Taylor
- Length: 4 hours 38 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2021
- Language: English
After the death of a police officer, assassin Kahllah (a.k.a. the Black Lotus) is forced out of retirement in an attempt to clear her name while outrunning a mysterious enemy.
It’s been months since Kahllah El-Amin, aka the Black Lotus, hung up her pistols, retired from the murder-for-hire business, and finally found peace. But when a police officer is murdered and a familiar flower is left at the crime scene, all signs point to it being the work of the Black Lotus. Someone is trying to frame her. Things get more complicated when the case is handed to Detective James Wolf, a former adversary who has since become a friend.
To clear her name, Kahllah is forced out of retirement and once again must don the mask of the Black Lotus. She races against time to catch the real killer while trying to outrun her most formidable rival. Their deadly game leads to a shocking truth buried under a mountain of lies, as Kahllah attempts to find justice in a world devoid of light.
... Read moreDiamonds and Pearl
- By: K’wan
- Narrator: Cary Hite
- Length: 13 hours 13 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2016
- Language: English
Diamonds and Pearl is a gritty, compelling novel from #1 Essence bestselling author K’wan.
They say that good girls like bad boys, and this was especially true for Pearl Stone, a child born of privilege to a drug baron and reputed killer known in the streets as Big Stone. Although the flashy, fast-paced nature of the streets calls to Pearl, she’s been brought up to look but not touch. Yet when a young hustler named Diamonds crawls up from the swamps of Louisiana and sets up shop in New York City, everything Pearl was taught flies out the window.
Raised in the wild and schooled on the mean streets of New Orleans, Diamonds is no stranger to hard times and is willing to do whatever it takes to stay above the poverty line, including kill. When an armed robbery turns into mass murder, Diamonds is forced to flee New Orleans and lands in New York where he meets Pearl and, for the first time, finds something he craves more than wealth and power–love.
As the stakes get higher, Diamonds has to push away his past if he’s to grab hold of his future. But by doing so, will he show Pearl that not all that glitters is gold?
... Read moreFrom the bestselling author of Hoodlum comes a novel about one of the deadliest women to ever grace the streets of Harlem–Eve.
The only family Eve Panelli has ever known is the infamous Twenty Gang. Orphaned as a small child, Eve quickly learned the art of the hustle, and by age seventeen she had spent two years in prison. But now Eve is eighteen, back on the streets of Harlem with her gang, and up to one of her old tricks: strong-arm robbery. Despite her edge, she’s got a soft spot for Felon, the up-and-coming street king.
Eve’s life takes a serious turn when the powerful DeNardi family, the city’s biggest drug supplier, tries to tighten its hold on Harlem. And when Eve’s best friend, Cassidy, is murdered in the crossfire, Eve seeks revenge–starting all the way at the top.
... Read moreEviction Notice
- By: K’wan
- Narrator: Cary Hite
- Length: 13 hours 9 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2011
- Language: English
From #1 Essence bestselling author K’wan comes the next installment in his bestselling Hood Rat series.
Porsha, the ghetto princess; Boots, the scandalous baby mama; Frankie, a.k.a. Francine, the con artist: these three girls live in one apartment and are into all kinds of hood foolishness while having fun—until the day they find an eviction notice taped to their door. Now they have seventy-two hours to come up with all the money they owe in months of back rent.
Of course Don B. is still up to his old tricks with Big Dawg Ent. and is trying to find an artist to replace Animal. He comes across Lord Scientific, a rapper from Newark who proves to be much more than even Don B. can handle. Meanwhile, the police and Gucci are still searching for Animal, and they’ll uncover something about him and his abduction that no one was prepared for.
There goes the neighborhood again!
... Read moreFrom Harlem with Love
- By: K’wan
- Length: 1 hours 58 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2016
- Language: English
Harlem had always lived by the code of the streets and respected the rules that governed them. But when his enemies break those rules and bring drama to his family, Harlem comes up with a plan to send them a very clear message: all is fair in love and war!
... Read moreFor years Lou-Loc, an efficient assassin and OG of the Crip organization, did dirt. After dancing on the razor’s edge, he has become weary of the street life that has consumed him during his service to his set and begins to wonder if there’s a better way to make a living.
Lou-Loc and his sociopath counterpart, Gutter, leave Los Angeles for the colorful streets of New York, where Lou-Loc has dreams of becoming a writer, Gutter a kingpin.
Conflicting, intriguing, and suspenseful, this novel will keep you on the edge of your seat—once you start it, you won’t stop.
... Read moreGhetto Bastard
- By: K’wan
- Narrator: Cary Hite
- Length: 7 hours 36 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2015
- Language: English
What happens to the children that the world throws away? They become animals.
Tayshawn Torres is a child born in the slums and cursed by the sins of his parents. His mother is a notorious drug addict and whore who’s more concerned with getting her next high than she is with Tayshawn’s well-being. His stepfather hates him so much that he literally treats him like an animal, forcing him to sleep in a cage and scavenge for scraps of food wherever he can find them. Because of his squalid appearance, he is also an object of ridicule by all of the neighborhood kids, who have given him a nickname–Animal. The only person to ever show him even the slightest bit of kindness is his older brother Justice. And when Justice is taken from his life, Tayshawn finds himself alone in the streets. His guardian angel gone, he is now at the mercy of the world his brother tried to protect him from. Tayshawn quickly learns that if he is to survive the jungle, he will have to adapt. Love and companionship constantly elude Tayshawn, but death and heartache cling to him like a second skin. Gradually, the layers of the frightened child he had once been are stripped away until there is nothing left–nothing but Animal.
... Read moreThe explosive sequel to Gangsta has finally arrived!
Blood answers for blood on the streets of Harlem. It’s been months since Lou-loc was brutally murdered on his way to freedom and the pain is still fresh. Gutter, Lou-loc’s best friend, finds himself on a path to self-destruction, vowing to eradicate the entire Blood faction in New York City in the name of his fallen comrade. Sharell urges him to abandon the suicide mission, but his oath won’t allow it. Not even for the child they are expecting. But as Gutter slips further into madness, a shocking revelation brings Satin out. In the middle of all this is a man named Major Blood. He has been flown in from Cali with two very simple instructions. Shut down Harlem Crip, and execute El Diablo’s murderer. Walk back into the mouth of madness in this not-to-be-missed sequel to Gangsta.
... Read moreHood rat: a woman of questionable repute, one who has been known to “get around” in the ‘hood
Yoshi is young, fine, and larcenous. She lives her life playing on men’s hearts as well as their pockets. But she learns the hard way that all that glitters isn’t gold.
Billy, a former high school basketball star, is at the end of her rope with the opposite sex. To her, all men are dogs, so she secretly seeks comfort in the arms of women–until she meets a man who makes her reevaluate her feelings.
Reese is an around-the-way chick trying to keep up with the Joneses. There’s a revolving door on her bedroom as she searches for the love she always felt was missing. When her promiscuity leaves her pregnant after a one-night stand, Reese is faced with the task of breaking an age-old cycle, passed down from mother to daughter in her family, and standing on her own.
Rhonda is twentysomething with three kids from three different men, and she’s riding the system all the way to the bank. To her, work is a dirty word; between the multiple checks she gets from the government and the games she plays with men, she’s living the life of a ghetto superstar. But the game soon turns ugly when one of her “sponsors” decides to get some payback.
Harlem has never seen four friends as scandalous as these. The neighborhood will never be the same again.
... Read moreHe set out to be the good son, but the streets had a different plan.
Born to one of New York City’s most notorious crime families, Shai Clark has always managed to be a good kid. A college hoops star, Shai shunned the world that his father had created and focused on his dreams of going pro. Tommy, Shai’s trigger-happy older brother, is next in line for the throne and rules under his father through brute force. But Poppa has bigger plans for Shai.
The situation soon turns ugly when Poppa is murdered and Tommy is removed from the equation. Suddenly Shai finds himself at the head of his father’s empire, and the streets are thrown into chaos. Unable to sit idly by while the Clarks’ underworld empire is pillaged, Shai takes up his father’s mantle and brings his game to the streets. He quickly learns that there are two sides to every coin, and the streets hold no mercy for the weak.
... Read moreAll he ever wanted to be was a good son.
Shai Clark was an all-American basketball player with aspirations of one day making it to the NBA, but that all changed when his father was viciously murdered and he found himself thrust into the role of the new head of his family’s criminal enterprise.
After waging a war on the streets of New York that lasts nearly three years, it seems like peace is finally being restored to the land and Shai can get back to focusing on continuing his father’s mission to legitimize the Clark family– but little does he know it was only the calm before the storm. Not everyone respects his claim to the Clark empire, and when new and old enemies start to come out of the woodwork, Shai will find that inheriting the throne was one thing but holding onto it will prove to be a far more difficult task.
... Read moreBernadette “Bernie” Hunt prides herself on never settling. In school, she was always at the top of her class, and after graduating from Spellman with honors she landed a job at one of Atlanta’s top marketing firms. She lives by her father’s motto: the best of everything, or nothing at all. Bernie excels in life, but love is another story. Being gorgeous, smart and from a well-to-do family, she has no shortage of high society suitors vying for her attention, but when measured against her father, none seem good enough. This changes when she meets Keith Davis, a hot shot lawyer recently hired at her father’s firm. Keith is handsome, financially stable, and as skilled in the bedroom as he is in open court, with an infectious personality that draws people, including Bernie, to him. Being new to Atlanta from New Orleans, Keith’s past is somewhat of a mystery, but that doesn’t stop Bernie from falling head over heels for him. The day Keith gets down on one knee and proposes to Bernie is one of the happiest of her life. She has found a kindred soul who seems to bring everything to the table… including a dark secret. When Keith is unexpectedly summoned back to New Orleans to attend the funeral of a relative killed under questionable circumstances, Bernie insists on being by his side. Their trip to the Big Easy will find the couple in the middle of a murder mystery that Keith has been reluctantly charged to solve. During the investigation into the slaying, secrets will be unearthed about Keith’s past that cause Bernie to question everything she thought she knew about the man she’s agreed to marry.
... Read moreLove & Gunplay
- By: K’wan
- Length: 2 hours 40 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2016
- Language: English
After news of the attempted murder of his estranged fiancee, Gucci, Animal has two things on his mind: love and gunplay.
With the help of his mistress, the deadly Red Sonja, Animal manages to elude his captors in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, and washes up on the shores of Miami, Florida. He’s one step closer to home, but it may as well have been a world away. Animal is still a wanted fugitive, and getting to New York undetected proves to be trickier than he thought. This all changes when he meets an old friend of Red Sonja, a New Orleans refugee named Diamonds.
Diamonds promises to provide Animal with safe passage from Miami to New York and all the firepower he will need to settle his blood debt, but he also brings something far more valuable to the table, the name of the man who shot Gucci. Diamonds holds the key to unlocking the mystery of what really happened that tragic night in Harlem, but the information comes at a price.
Animal finds himself swept up into a deadly game of cat and mouse set in the glamorous Miami underworld of sex, drugs, and violence, where cash is king and death is always lurking. His only ally is a mysterious stripper named Reign, who harbors a secret of her own that threatens to change everything.
... Read moreNo shade means no offense (as defined by the Urban Dictionary).
Example: Don’t tell her I told you, but your little cousin is a ho. No shade.
Every little girl dreams of a happy ending to her story; a home, children, and a man who loves her enough to share his life and last name. When Billy’s longtime boyfriend Marcus finally pops the question, it’s one of the happiest moments of her life.
Billy calls on her childhood friends Reese and Yoshi to stand with her on her special day. Several years have passed since they’d last come together, and unresolved issues have driven a wedge between the women. Nevertheless, they agree to put their differences aside for the sake of Billy’s wedding. But the truce is a short one when Billy has to decide on a maid of honor. Just when things seem to be coming together, they quickly begin to fall apart. At a time when Billy is supposed to be basking in the sunshine of her approaching wedding, she finds herself the target of shade being thrown from the most unlikely places.
While Billy is going through her drama, Marcus is dealing with issues of his own. An old crime partner of his blows into town unexpectedly, and his presence threatens to destroy the legitimate life Marcus has worked so hard to build.
Even with the universe seemingly working against them, Billy and Marcus are determined to have their dream wedding. But first they have to survive the nightmare of planning it.
There goes the neighborhood … again.
... Read morePromise Broken
- By: K’wan
- Narrator: Honey Jones
- Length: 8 hours 27 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2022
- Language: English
Beware of the company you keep.
K’wan’s urban fiction coming-of-age novel, Promise Broken, is set in the gritty streets of Newark, New Jersey. The story follows seventeen-year-old Promise Mohammed as she attempts to uphold friendships and new relationships–even if they lead to her demise.
After Promise’s mother dies in a tragic car accident, it leaves a void in Promise’s life that she is yearning to fill. This titular novel finds Promise spiraling into a life of crime and drug affiliation by the company she chooses to keep.
Also coping with abandonment and a lifelong broken commitment from her biological father, Promise ultimately has two goals: to graduate from high school and to be loved. But can she find the love that she seeks from her aunt Dell, two best friends, Mouse and Keys, or drug-dealer Asher–the man who captivates her–despite the fact that each relationship will lead to life-altering events? Only time will tell.
... Read morePurple City
- By: K’wan
- Narrator: Kim Johnson
- Length: 9 hours 27 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2016
- Language: English
#1 Essence bestselling author K’wan presents three explosive stories in one collection.
Love & Gunplay
After news of the attempted murder of his estranged fiancee, Gucci, Animal has two things on his mind: love and gunplay.
With the help of his mistress, the deadly Red Sonja, Animal manages to elude his captors in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, and washes up on the shores of Miami. He’s one step closer to home, but it may as well be a world away. Animal is still a wanted fugitive, and getting to New York undetected proves to be trickier than he thought. This all changes when he meets an old friend of Red Sonja’s, a New Orleans refugee named Diamonds.
Diamonds promises to provide Animal with safe passage from Miami to New York as well as all the firepower he will need to settle his blood debt, but he also brings something far more valuable to the table: the name of the man who shot Gucci. Diamonds holds the key to solving the mystery of what really happened that tragic night in Harlem, but the information comes at a price.
Animal finds himself swept up into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse set in the glamorous Miami underworld of sex, drugs, and violence, where cash is king and death is always lurking. His only ally is a mysterious stripper named Reign, who harbors a secret that threatens to change everything.
Purple Reign
Don B is the owner and headliner of a successful yet notorious record label called Big Dawg Entertainment, whose stars all seem to meet with unfortunate ends under mysterious circumstances. Don B made his fortune off music and his name from the trail of broken lives he’s left in his wake. He is a predator in every sense of the word. Don B’s wealth and power make him believe he’s untouchable, but all this changes during a business trip to Miami and a chance meeting with a stranger who calls herself Reign.
Little Nikki Grind
After years of work on the streets, Felon has finally saved up enough money to retire from the illegal life and pursue a legitimate career in the music industry. Having just inked a distribution deal for his fledgling entertainment company, Freak Show, Felon and a few of his closest friends decide to go out and celebrate at a new gentleman’s club in New York called Purple City. It’s at Purple City where he meets a young dancer named Nikki, who has a story to tell that will turn Felon’s world upside down. When Felon is sucked into Nikki’s web of sex, deceit, and murder, it threatens to ruin everything he’s worked so hard to build and to take him out of the game permanently.
... Read moreRoad Dawgz
- By: K’wan
- Narrator: Cary Hite
- Length: 10 hours 34 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2014
- Language: English
“It’s the penthouse or the morgue.”
This is the philosophy adopted by Keshawn Wilson, a.k.a. “K-Dawg,” self-proclaimed lord of the streets. K-Dawg is the youngest of five kids and one of only two that doesn’t belong to his mother’s husband. As a little boy he feels the distance between him and his stepfather, and life becomes increasingly difficult as time goes on; his childhood and young adult years are spent in a home for boys and state prison, where he serves time for manslaughter. It is during his time behind bars, among hardened criminals, that the seeds of evil take root in his life and mercilessly transform him from an innocent child to a heartless, conniving menace.
K-Dawg decides that the world owes him something, and when he is released from prison, he intends to take it. He comes up with the ultimate power move that is sure to put him on top of the game–or under the earth. He wants it all, and he is dead set on having it no matter what the cost. He has nothing to lose … and everything to gain.
... Read moreTionna’s on-and-off addicted mother has always taught her to get hers by any means necessary. Tionna’s heart is cold, but she holds a warm place in it for Duhan, the father of her two sons and her on-again-off-again boyfriend since they were teenagers. Duhan becomes her knight in shining armor until the government turns their dream into a nightmare. With Duhan behind bars and everything she loves seized, she finds herself starting over in the same neighborhood that she swore she’d never return to. With two kids, a man in prison, and no back-up plan, Tionna is once again living by her wits in order to maintain the lifestyle she’s become so accustomed to. Back in the thick of things with her best friends Gucci, Boots, and Tracy, she finds herself rediscovering her old life and suddenly begins to wonder if she’s really cut out to be a prisoner’s wife.
... Read moreStill Hood
- By: K’wan
- Narrator: Cary Hite
- Length: 12 hours 41 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2015
- Language: English
Only the strong survive on the streets of Brooklyn.
While Dena Jones definitely has what it takes to succeed, she wants out. She’s determined to make it out of “Crooklyn” by any means necessary and doesn’t have a problem manipulating men to get what she wants.
True has finally made it. His debut album has the streets going crazy and is threatening to spill over into the mainstream. After the murder of his group, his jump-off, and almost his dreams, True’s life is finally starting to look up–until karma catches up with him. Somebody wants him dead, and he doesn’t know why. Or does he?
Jah and Yoshi were supposed to have a romance straight out of a story, but there are no such things as fairy tales in the ghetto. Her position as a stylist keeps her in the mix and in the company of some industry heavyweights. Jah tries to be understanding, but he can’t help but wonder just how much he can trust his girlfriend. He had promised to love her regardless of her past. But in addition to wondering whether his girlfriend is creeping with her clients, Jah has a bigger problem: someone is trying to kill True, and it’s his job to make sure that doesn’t happen.
... Read moreStreet Dreams
- By: K’wan
- Narrator: Cary Hite
- Length: 12 hours 40 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2015
- Language: English
Love, betrayal, and loyalty on the streets of Harlem
Darius, a.k.a. Rio, the only child of a singer turned alcoholic, feels he has nothing to hold on to except the idea of escaping the ghetto. Years ago he took a gun charge for a friend and did some prison time. Unable to find a job when he gets out, Rio turns to hustling and finds escape in the arms of his soul mate, Trinity.
When Trinity’s mother dies, her abusive father looks to her to play the role of housewife and bedmate. Trinity finds strength to endure in Rio’s arms, and together they vow to do whatever it takes to make it out of the ghetto. But soon they find their backs against the wall when the streets come to claim their due.
... Read moreThe Diamond Empire
- By: K’wan
- Narrator: Cary Hite
- Length: 7 hours 20 minutes
- Publisher: Macmillan Audio
- Publish date: December 05, 2017
- Language: English
-
4.39(227 ratings)
#1 Essence bestselling author K’Wan returns with The Diamond Empire, the explosive, hard-hitting follow-up audiobook to the street love story Diamonds and Pearl.
It’s about to be an all-out war. While an ambitious rival has taken over Diamonds’s crew, Diamonds lies in wait in exile, carefully planning his next move to comeback and reclaim his position as king of the streets of New York for good. But when an unexpected enemy from the past one-ups Diamonds and beats him at his own game, Diamonds needs to dig deep into his bag of tricks–and make an unlikely alliance–in order to climb back to the top.
After opening her heart to Diamonds and then having him disappear, Pearl lives her days in a very dark place. But when her father’s empire is toppled and a gaping power vacuum needs to be filled, Pearl is drawn into the very life her father so desperately wanted to shield her from. Pearl needs to fight tooth and nail to become queen of her father’s kingdom, as Diamonds claws his way back to Pearl.
... Read moreWhat would you do if you felt like you were dying and the only thing that could save you was the very thing that was killing you? Persia Chandler doesn’t know the meaning of the world struggle. After the arrest of her notorious father, she is whisked away from Harlem, the only place she has ever called home, to be raised in an affluent neighborhood in Long Island City. Her mother and stepfather shower her with the best that life has to offer. During her senior year in high school, she convinces her parents to let her transfer from Catholic school to attend public school. That is the start of her problems-but it’s hardly the end. In her new school, Persia is reunited with the friends she was forced to move away from, and starts to drift further and further from the life her mother and stepfather have built for her. To the sheltered Persia, the Harlem underworld is like one big adventure. Things promise to get even more interesting when she starts dating a dealer named Chucky. He introduces her to his world of sex, money, and drugs, dragging Persia along with him on a long and bitter ride into the bowels of addiction.
... Read moreTwo lives . . . two paths . . . one tragic outcome. The Fix 2 is in and the game is afoot! The past few months have been a living hell for Persia. Seemingly overnight, she has fallen from grace and found herself scraping rock bottom, all in the name of two lovers-Chucky and cocaine. One was supposed to love her and the other take away the pain, but they’ve both fallen short on their promises. The last time she saw either one of them was the night she almost lost her life. It has taken a bout of physical therapy and a stint in a rehabilitation center for Persia to be able to start pulling together the pieces of the life she almost ruined. She’s living at home with her mother and stepfather and is refocused on school. For the first time in what seems like forever, she is finally able to enjoy life as an average teenage girl trying to graduate from high school. That’s when they get the phone call that sends everything to the left. As Persia struggles with her demons, her childhood friend Li’l Monk is embracing his. Under the tutelage of the vicious crime lord Ramses, Li’l Monk is quickly making his way through the ranks of the Pharaoh’s army and creating a name for himself on the streets as a ruthless killer. Just as his father, Big Monk, had always predicted, he is walking a mile in his daddy’s bloody shoes. As cold as Li’l Monk’s heart is, however, he still has a soft spot for his old friends. When a childhood pal comes to him for a favor, Li’l Monk finds himself with blood on his hands and dirt on his name. When the double cross knocks him out of favor with Ramses, Li’l Monk is left with two options: kill or die. K’wan delivers another instant street classic that is sure to keep him at the top of the charts.
... Read moreIn the third and final installment of The Fix Trilogy, two worlds that have been running parallel finally collide. Persia Chandler has managed to get her life back on track. Things are calm at home, she’s preparing to leave for college, and she is even feeling confident enough to start dating again. More importantly, she’s drug free and plans to stay that way-until Chucky slithers back into her life. He’s determined to make Persia his again, and he isn’t willing to take no for an answer. When trying to woo her doesn’t work, Chucky plays hardball and gives Persia an ultimatum: go along with his latest twisted plot, or have her junkie past exposed to the new man in her life, Philadelphia Eagles rookie quarterback Vaughn Tate. Fearing that her dirty laundry will damage not only Vaughn’s reputation but also their budding romance, Persia agrees to Chucky’s terms. Chucky thinks he’s got Persia right where he wants her, but little does he know that she isn’t the same naive little girl he remembered. There is no way Persia is going to allow him to make her a slave again, even if she has to see him dead to prevent it. In another part of town, Li’l Monk is discovering that a friend in need isn’t always a friend indeed. After helping his old running buddy, Charlie, out of a jam, he finds himself the victim of a triple-cross when a prominent mobster is found dead and all signs point to Li’l Monk as the murderer. To prevent a war with the Mafia, Pharaoh has passed a death sentence on to his young lieutenant, but he will soon learn that killing the monster he helped to create is easier said than done. The cards have all been dealt, and now it’s time to play the last hand.
... Read moreThe Reluctant King
- By: K’wan
- Narrator: Matthew J. Harris
- Length: 6 hours 21 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2021
- Language: English
The King family is on the political rise in New York City, but must weather the violent storm wrought by their darkest secrets.
Meet the Kings, one of the most influential families in New York City. In the power circles of the movers and shakers, they are regarded as modern-day royalty. A politically connected father, a socialite mother, and three promising children: they look every bit the all-American family … but every family has secrets. Some darker than others.
Of all the children, Shadow is the least like the rest of the Kings. To call him soft wouldn’t be quite accurate, but he lacks the leadership qualities of his older brother, Ghost, or the ruthless tendencies of his sister, Lolli. Shadow is just … Shadow. Instead of accepting his role in the “Monarchy” created by his father, Shadow would rather spend his days chasing women and hanging out in the hood with his best friends, Fresh and Pain. He is totally oblivious to the perils that come with his last name–until danger introduces itself.
On the night of their mother’s fiftieth birthday gala, their father, Chancellor, is set to announce his plans to turn his political focus beyond his current position as a member of the city council. He has tasted the benefits that come with holding office and has the power and influence to make a serious run at climbing the political ladder.
The future is looking bright for the King family. That is, until the devil comes to claim his due and threatens to destroy everything Chancellor has worked to build. To survive the coming storm, each member of the royal family will have to make a sacrifice–even those who are reluctant to wear the crown.
... Read moreWelfare Wifeys
- By: K’wan
- Narrator: Cary Hite
- Length: 11 hours 17 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2010
- Language: English
In the Frederick Douglass Housing Projects, the name of Jada Butler is synonymous with drama. But there is about to be a new contender to the throne of ghetto antics.
Malika is a young, single mother trying to make a life in public housing. When she meets Teddy, she has new hope for the future. The only problem is, he’s already married.
Gucci’s fiancé is now a rising star in the music industry. She’s thrilled when his tour brings him to New York. But she doesn’t know it’s more than music bringing him back.
After her apartment mysteriously burns down, Tionna is relocated to a plush high rise in Upper Manhattan. She is pulling her life together when a ghost from her past appears.
Don is making money hand over fist with the artists he’s signed to Big Dawg Entertainment. Just when he thinks his life can’t get any sweeter, someone tries to take it.
... Read moreIn the history of New York City’s underworld, there have been a host of criminal figures whose exploits have gone on to inspire. Their stories are told on street corners and in back alleys. One of them is Jonas Rafferty, known among friends and enemies alike as Wrath. Jonas, the only boy in a family of four children, came into the world under less than favorable conditions, and he has always been a fighter. From the neighborhood bullies to the stepfather who uses him and his siblings as punching bags, his life has always been one battle after another. At night, he would lay awake and dream of rising above his circumstances, and when he crosses paths with rogue homicide detective Louis “Lou” Ceavers, he’s offered a bargain that will change the course of his life. Detective Ceavers becomes like a guardian angel and surrogate father to Jonas, teaching him the game and guiding him in his quest for power. In a short time, Jonas goes from errand boy and street muscle to one of the most dangerous young men in the city, dubbed Wrath because of his violent exploits. His dreams are finally becoming reality, and Wrath feels like he’s on his way to having everything he’s ever dreamed of, until Alex, his childhood crush, comes home on break from college and gives him a glimpse of the one thing he’s always craved more than money and power: love. Wrath begins to question himself and his decisions as he’s drawn further away from the world he’s created and deeper into the stable life he believes he could have with Alex. When Alex becomes pregnant, Wrath decides that being there for her and his unborn child are more important to him than power or money, but when he seeks to end his arrangement with the detective, he’s taught the final lesson in his education: no bargain comes without a price.
... Read more