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Summary: have gun will travel the review
Review: "Have gun will travel" written by Ronin Ro is about the infamous Death row records and the rise and fall of the most talented company at the time. The book takes place in the early 1990's after the break up of the world's most dangerous group "N.W.A". It all started with the departure of ice cube. Ice cube was upset because he wasn't getting paid enough for his contributions to the group. After the leave of ice cube Dr. Dre was soon to follow. He hooked up with ex- bodyguard and ex unlv football player Marion "suge" knight to build the best record company of its time. The company started out the label with Dr. Dre's solo album "The Chronic." The record became an instant classic. It was the birth of a new era and it was called "G- funk" A funky new sound that got heads bumping' everywhere you went and go. The labels second release snoop doggy dogg's "Doggy style" proved to all the critics that death row wasn't no quitters and they could make better music than acts of the east coast. It proved that death row could hang with big boys and make outstanding music. It had an all star line up: Dr.Dre, snoop doggy dogg, nate dogg, dr. dre's half brother warren g, singers Jewell and michel'le and lady rapper lady of rage, it also included rappers rbx, kurupt, daz dillinger, and later dj quick and the late great rapper tupac.The book is basically about death rows days as the top record label and it's ups and downs. The company was so street like that the labels and hip hops top producer Dr. Dre wasn't having it. He wanted to be around a positive environment and death row was the total opposite. Dre left label in March of 1996. Snoop dogg was soon to leave the label after the death of his label mate and friend tupac shakur was shot and killed in Las Vegas after a boxing match. After the death of tupac and two of it's biggest stars leaving the label death row was officially over. The record company still exists today but is not as successful as it once was. They come out with old recordings of tupac and make money off him and come out with soundtracks insulting Dre, snoop, and ex death row in mates. It's kind of hard to run a label when your ceo is behind bars for violation of his parole. He is due out in May of 2001. And when Suge Knight does come out there's no telling what's going to happen. All I got to say is that hell is going to break lose and something bad might happen. The book ends with the author talking about court dates and death row being sued by everyone involved with the company at the time. Over all it's a good book especially if you want to read about a record company going from successful to going to being nobody's. I rate this book a 9 out of 10.in my opinion it's a good book with a lot of detail of the company and it's artists with a lot of events that you wouldn't know even happened. Later.
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Summary: This author is not a good researcher at all.
Review: All I have to say, is that if a guy who lives in New York doesn't know that "Dr. J", Julius Erving played for the 76er's not the Knicks(page 23)I can't trust anything else he writes. How did the editor and the publisher, based in New York miss this small detail. If they missed this you can't trust anything this guy writes. I grew-up a stones throw from Compton in Long Beach and this author should have went out and talked to the real OG's if he wanted to be creditable. Mr. Ro needs to really be careful when writing about peoples lives ,this is no joke. It has grown to organized crime and no one is untouchable. END
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Summary: An in depth look into the #1 rap label
Review: anybody who is curious as to how Death row records managed to survive and succed built on criminal and gang links. from an insight into the massive Suge Knight, to early insights into the forerunners of death row The book is fantastic for both hardcore fans to those just curious however it does have one irritating habit, it tends to jump back and forth a little too often, the book would be better in chronological order. the author pulls no punches and this book is certainly not a rose tinted view of the label, what it is however is a very balanced perspective of the ups and downs of the label from early begginings with Dr Dre and the DOC thru to suge knights incarceration. On the whole this book is great for the fans of dre,pac ,snoop etc or those who are intrigued by the labels success, only four stars but definitely worth a read of the 600 or so pages.
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Summary: this book is great
Review: Apart from what I know of the author of this book, I have to say it has got to be the best thing I hav ever read. When I first heard of the book I was expecting a Rap Journal like all the Hip Hop books I have read in the past, and by now I am tired of them. After reading it (all in one night) I have to tell you it goes on like a movie. Ronin Ro put alot of blood and sweat into this book and you can tell. He has been put down (BET), and had threats made by other writers talking about "wait till Suge gets out". Ronin, one question -When is the movie comming out???- another thing, Whats next?
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Summary: story of one of the best rap record labels in the world
Review: great book a must have for any true rap fan this book goes through them at the top and when they fall to the bottom great book
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Summary: I thought this book was rather insightful
Review: Have Gun Will Travel was a easy to read book that keeps the readers attention. ronin ro combines good writing skills with street sense.
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Summary: Hit Men Meets The Godfather. The Result is Terrifying
Review: Have Gun Will Travel: The Spectacular Rise and Violent Fall of Death Row Records-Ronin Ro. Ronin Ro is a bold, bold man. I say this because he had the courage to write a book, a rather unflattering one at that, about Marion "Suge" Knight, the former Los Angeles Ram and towering CEO of Death Row Records. Have Gun, Will Travel chronicles the entry into the music business of a man with no real musical talent. No songwriting or singing skills to speak of. His greatest assets were sheer will and brute force, which he used in abundance, especially when it came to "claiming" artists from the rosters of other labels. Suge envisioned Death Row as a Motown of the '90s, and he apparently carried that wish out to the letter, down to ripping artists out of their royalties. But Death Row was never really about music. It was about power, and a way to legitimize his street thug life. Every story you've ever heard about him, from threatening to throw Vanilla Ice off a balcony to the growing feud between East Coast and West Coast rappers, is contained here, along with a few I never heard before. The book portrays Tupac Shakur as a melodramatic jerk, Sean "Puffy" Combs as a poseur who came from money but was otherwise harmless, and Biggie Smalls as, well, exactly what he seems, a crack dealer who also sold lots of rap records. The theories contained surrounding the hits on both Shakur and Smalls would send even Oliver Stone's head spinning. The book is not very well written: It reads as if it was written in installments for a magazine and then compiled, rather haphazardly, for a book. But the story is equal parts fascinating and terrifying. Assuming half of it is true, that is: There seems to be a rebuttal to nearly every story printed. Whether that was done in the interest of unbiased reporting or Mr. Ro covering his butt, is unclear. But I would certainly understand him doing it for the latter reason. Knight is currently serving an eight year sentence for violation of his parole, and I wouldn't be surprised if the people brave enough to be honest about Knight in this book started disappearing upon his imminent release. Like the book Hit Men with much more Godfather mixed in, Have Gun Will Travel is a cautionary tale of what a little power will do to an already powerful person. It also made me grateful of two things: One, that I'm not a rapper; Two, that I will likely never meet Suge Knight. This man scares me. ***
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Summary: Ronin Ro is a very good tale-teller.
Review: HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL would have received a 10 from me for its in-detail look at Suge Knight and his empire. Although Ro provides a very vivid picture of life in the fast lane of hip-hop, I felt his book was not what it lived up to be. It seems more as if he wrote this book to say everything he COULDN'T SAY about Death Row while Suge was at large. His narrative proves to be one-sided, and all statements from people involved in Death Row have come from magazine articles. Why didn't Ro go to more reliable sources. As I'm sure Ro rushed to make this book in order to reap profits, I will say that he has shown himself to be just another gossip monger, and fails to give the reader a more neutral outlook on the tragedies that have been prevalent in the world of hip hop today. What a shame.
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Summary: Fascinating!!!
Review: I am a white woman in her fifties, who grew up always having a truly deep appreciation for the music from my generation (which was Motown).Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be interested in reading a book about hip-hop culture,but boy- did I thoroughly enjoy this splendid read. It is wonderful to see a book of this topic written with such style and class. Bravo! Hats off to Mr. Ronin Ro. A truly gifted writer.
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Summary: Finally! An unbiased look at the Death Row Empire
Review: I expected Have Gun Will Travel to be another book which denounces Death Row and Marion "Suge" Knight.I was surprised. Author Ronin Ro made this book an objective look at the label, its roster and its CEO. Author Ro also took me behind the scenes, and showed how, were it not for Suge Knight, Death Row would never have been as successful as it became. According to Ro, Suge Knight was a highly-intelligent, handsome, kind and generous person. Ro also notes that Knight was single-handedly responsible for getting the mainstream media, and Middle America, to accept hard-edged rap music. In this book, Knight is presented as a businessman who is as driven as Trump. Ro also details Suge's remarkable life and career with respect, honesty and admiration. Suge Knight, the book repeatedly points out, is not the villain the mainstream media makes him out to be. To Ro, Suge Knight is a decent man with a dream who was led down the wrong path by advisors, some of his artists and producers and others. Knight, this book points out, was only trying to help people out. In the end, the people he tried to help led to Knight's downfall and imprisonment. For his objectivity, Ro is to be commended.
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