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claude gray and giuseppe pipitone - no half steppin': an oral and pictorial history of new york city club the latin quarter and the birth of hip-hop's golden era - wax poetics - books

No Half Steppin' � An Oral and Pictorial History of New York City Club the Latin Quarter and the Birth of Hip-Hop's Golden Era​ is 212 pages with over 175 color photographs and flyers from the greatest period in hip-hop history. Oral history by participants Special K and Teddy Tedd, KRS-One, MC Shan, Eric B., DJ Kool Red Alert, Fab 5 Freddy, Just-Ice, Positive K, DJ Clark Kent, Kid, Dana Dane, TR Love, MC Serch, Chuck D, Grand Puba, Sadat X, Pete Nice, Prince Paul, Kurtis Blow, Mike Gee, Daddy-O, Wise, Ced Gee, Big Daddy Kane, Queen Latifah, Kool G Rap, and many many more.

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In the mid-1980s, DJ duo the Awesome 2, along with hip-hop impresario Paradise Gray, helped transform Manhattan salsa club the Latin Quarter into an iconic hip-hop institution.

Legends were born in that bustling Times Square club�from Stetsasonic, KRS-One, and Eric B. & Rakim to Queen Latifah, Public Enemy, and A Tribe Called Quest. Unsigned artists could drop a hot set and score a record deal�or get booed off the stage like Amateur Night at the Apollo.

You could walk into the club a nobody and come out a star.

A musical incubator of hip-hop�s Golden Era, the Latin Quarter was also pivotal in the creation of the the Stop the Violence Movement.



About the authors:

Claude �Paradise� Gray was raised in the South Bronx. He was cofounder of the X Clan, whose 1990 album To the East, Blackwards is an Afrocentric and socio-politically conscious Golden Era hip-hop classic. Prior to that, he was host and entertainment manager for the Manhattan nightclub the Latin Quarter where he was a key figure in transforming it into an historical hip-hop venue. Paradise is also a noted writer, photographer, and hip-hop historian/archivist, as confirmed with this book, No Half Steppin', where his personal collection of photographs and memories�paired with an oral history from some of the club's most famous patrons�tell the story of the most important incubator of talent for the Golden Era of hip-hop.

Giuseppe �u.net� Pipitone is an author and an activist; a lover of hip-hop culture and Black history; and a believer in the power of oral history. His previous books include Bigger than Hip Hop (2006), Renegades of Funk (2009), Louder than a Bomb (2012), and Don�t Believe the Hype (2016).