Psalms of My People: A Story of Black Liberation as Told through Hip-Hop

Psalms of My People: A Story of Black Liberation as Told through Hip-Hop

by duncan, lenny

4.3 (9)
289 pages~4.8 hr readPublished by Broadleaf Books

$3.9785% off peak

Last checked: Apr 18, 2026

Price history: $3.77 $25.99

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Fans of these authors will like this...

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Fans of these books will like this...

  • The Souls of Black Folk
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Perfect for you if...

  • You want to understand hip-hop culture beyond the surface and see how artists responded to centuries of systemic oppression.
  • You're interested in Black history and activism but find traditional academic approaches too distant from lived reality.
  • You appreciate art criticism that treats popular culture with the same reverence as classical literature and religion.

Maybe not for you if...

  • You're looking for a chronological hip-hop history book with production details and industry gossip.
  • You're uncomfortable with direct discussion of racism, police violence, and American structural inequality.
  • You haven't engaged with hip-hop music and don't want to start learning the genre through a scholarly lens.

About this book

Understanding hip-hop is essential to understanding the Black experience in the United States. Drawing on James Baldwin's assertion that artists are the ones who know the truth about us, lenny duncan argues that modern hip-hop artists serve as contemporary Black poets whose work reveals the history of Black peoples in America. In Psalms of My People, duncan examines hip-hop artists from recent decades—including N.W.A, Tupac, Biggie, Lauryn Hill, Jay-Z, and Kendrick Lamar—as if their work were sacred scripture. The songs and lyrics receive detailed critical and contextual interpretation, accompanied by illustrations that blend ancient and modern art styles throughout the book. Duncan traces hip-hop's history as a vehicle for telling the modern story of Black liberation in America, spanning from the end of the Civil Rights Era through the death of George Floyd. The book explores how hip-hop artists have given voice to the experiences, suffering, and resilience of Black Americans across four centuries of history.

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Free$12.99$25.99Aug '23Nov '24Jul '25Apr '26
$3.77$25.99

Currently on sale at $3.97 — 85% off peak. Price has dropped 13 times over the last 3 years. Goes on sale roughly every 55 days. Typically stays discounted for 12 days.

Sales Rank

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#214,453#1,515,625#2,816,797Oct '23May '24Aug '25Mar '26

Currently around #2,817K in the Kindle store — a niche title.

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3.5★4.3★5.0★Oct '24Jun '26RatingReviews

Currently 4.3★ from 9 reviews

Review activity has been quiet recently. Rating has remained stable at 4.3 over the tracking period.

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Free$12.99$25.99Aug '23Nov '24Jul '25Apr '26PredictedApr '26

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This book is currently discounted at $3.97. It typically returns to around $25.99.

Prices shown in USD from Amazon US. We continuously pull new data to improve tracking. If dates look old, it usually means there has been no significant change since the last data point.

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duncan, lenny

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