Books published by Superchamp Books

Samir Cinema is a film criticism journal with academic and pop culture appeal. It features everything from rigorous investigations of common film aesthetics to clever film retrospectives to extended film reviews to interviews with filmmakers, and more. As it is a journal, Samir Cinema is meant to represent standards of a traditional academic journal, but it''s geared towards be more accessible to the general public.  Unlike traditional academic journals, which tend to be written only by and for academics, Samir Cinema features a mix of writers and guest editors from around the world with various backgrounds, including cinephiles, journalists, professors, and other proven experts in the field.

Best Damn Hip Hop Writing: The Book of Dart encapsulates one of the defining voices in hip hop music criticism today. Each essay in this collection is written by Dart Adams, a writer whose work has been featured in various leading hip hop publications, including Okayplayer, DJBooth, Mass Appeal, and Hip Hop Wired.  Dart’s writing, which takes a laser sharp focus on history, is engaging and always highly informative.  Edited by Amir Ali Said and Best Damn Writing series creator and BeatTips founder, Amir Said (Said), this collection of essays speaks to the heart and evolution of hip hop, and it offers an intimate look at the world’s most powerful music culture. 

Hip hop is the heartbeat of 2018. Musically, culturally, and artistically, no genre has been as gigantic or significant to the pulse of pop culture this year. The 45-year old art form has achieved a presence in the mainstream that umbrellas the world. It is the soundtrack to lives, the language on tongues, the voice of vibes, and the centerpiece of influence extending across our planet. Hip hop is no longer a ripple in the underground, but an all-encompassing, massive tidal wave.Music journalism is an essential form of historical documentation. Music, but especially hip hop in 2018, moves to a robust rhythm that's ever-changing. There is no stillness; social media's impact on the music industry is evident by how much and how fast new content is released. The task of a journalist isn't solely reviewing albums and interviewing artists, but living within the never ending flood of music and events to find, examine, dissect, and analyze.Hip hop is a culture that challenges. The best journalism mirroring the medium must also challenge. Writing that inspires the reader to consider possible harsh truths and uncomfortable subjects about some of the world's most famous entertainers. There's an insatiable hunger for information in 2018. The world wants to know why as much as when and how. Thus, creating a need for journalists who are able to play the role of educator, along with historian, investigator and critic. In the space of music, this quaternary is most important in hip hop. The words pushed to hip hop's forefront are think-pieces, op-eds, interviews, and critical observations feeding the culture a wealth of knowledge. Without the writers there would be a disconnect between the audience and how the industry is evolving.'Best Damn Hip Hop Writing: 2018' is an anthology that promotes some of the finest hip hop related writing of the year. Less awards show and more voice amplifying, the yearly 'Best Damn Hip Hop Writing' series aims to tap into the collective psyche of hip hop culture for a given year and showcase a variety of defining voices in contemporary hip hop music journalism.

Benjy Melendez, founder of the Ghetto Brothers street gang, social activist, and lead singer of the Ghetto Brothers band, now tells his story: a memoir of life as a late 1960s/early 1970s street gang member, of a musician on the cusp of stardom, a fighter for peace, and a man on a quest to reclaim his Jewish roots. With chilling detail and candor, Benjy Melendez opens up as never before in ''Ghetto Brother'' (Benjy Melendez with Amir Said). Telling the story of his family, growing up first in the West Village in in the ''60s, his family''s forced move to the South Bronx, his life in a street gang, and his transformation to a peace ambassador, ''Ghetto Brother'' is a riveting memoir that explores the human condition.Melendez takes us back to the forgotten New York of the late 1960s and early 1970s that gave rise to New York''s infamous street gang era. But at its core, Ghetto Brother examines the route from boy to man in uncharted territory, and it renders a vivid portrait of what identity means and what happens when that identity dissolves and grows anew. Evocative and filled with the sights and sounds of a changing New York and a transformative life, ''Ghetto Brother'' is the fascinating chronicle of a remarkable journey and an extraordinary leader.