Let me say that I am a huge fan of Angie Thomas and THUG. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you of the struggle to become who you are and not who everyone expects you to be and of the desperate realities of poor and working-class black families. On the Come Up is Angie Thomas’s homage to hip-hop, the art that sparked her passion for storytelling and continues to inspire her to this day. With bills piling up and homelessness staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it-she has to make it.

But now that her mom has unexpectedly lost her job, food banks and shutoff notices are as much a part of Bri’s life as beats and rhymes. As the daughter of an underground rap legend who died before he hit big, Bri’s got big shoes to fill. Or at least make it out of her neighborhood one day. Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. She is repped by CAA and The Gotham Group.Characters: Brianna, Sonny, Malik, Jayda, Trey, … Kahiu is a TED fellow and a World Economic Forum cultural leader. In 2010, the filmmaker’s short science fiction Pumzi premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and also landed Kahiu the Venice Film Festival ‘Citta di Venezia’ award. Kahiu’s first 2009 feature From A Whisper was based on the real events surrounding the 1998 twin bombings of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and won Best Narrative Feature in 2010 at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, as well as five awards at the African Movie Academy Award, including Best Director and Best Screenplay. The movie was nominated for the Queer Palme at Cannes. Kahiu’s feature Rafiki followed two girls who fall in love with each other in Nairobi despite the ever-watching gaze of the neighborhood. The book remained on the New York Times Best Sellers list for more than 100 weeks. The 97% certified fresh Rotten Tomatoes movie tackled socially relevant issues like violence, identity, and injustice. Thomas’ YA novel The Hate U Givesold close to 1M copies and was turned into a Fox 2000 feature two years ago which she executive produced and Tillman Jr. 'On The Come Up': Paramount Sets Theatrical Day & Date With Pic's Streaming Debut After TIFF Premiere - Update

The book on the come up