Urban fiction, also known as urban lit, gangsta lit, street lit, or hip hop lit, is a genre of American literature set in metropolitan areas and characterized by recurring themes, racial leanings, and cultural similarities. It typically features African-American characters in dark plots involving urban violence, poverty, and other aspects of inner-city life. The genre was popularized by works from Iceburg Slim, Malcolm X, and Claude Brown in the 1960s and 1970s. Mainstream publishing has viewed urban fiction as a fringe genre, but the growing popularity of self-publishing has led to a resurgence of interest. Latino urban fiction has also emerged, focusing on the darker side of downtown life as told by a particular demographic of the community.
Urban fiction is primarily an American literary genre centered on stories set in metropolitan locations, predominantly US cities. The genre is also referred to as urban lit, gangsta lit, street lit, or hip hop lit. In addition to the city settings, urban fiction is also characterized by its recurring themes, racial leanings and some cultural similarities. Typically, urban fiction features African-American characters caught up in dark plots involving sex, profanity, urban violence, poverty, and other aspects considered by some to be the underbelly of inner-city life.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the published works and novels of Iceburg Slim, Malcolm X, and Claude Brown provided an insider’s view of real life for inner-city African-American men. Essays appeared during this period, discussing how only those living in inner-city conditions could truly capture the essence of urban life. Thus, urban fiction has become indelibly associated with autobiographical accounts and fictional depictions of those who lived in predominantly African-American urban communities.
In the publishing industry, street lighting is often viewed as a genre written by African Americans for African Americans, based on stereotypes. Mainstream publishing, since the 1970s, has viewed urban fiction as a fringe genre, with few major publishing houses printing or promoting such novels or writers. As such, most urban fiction is produced by small independent publishing houses or through self-publishing and word of mouth. The growing popularity is gradually changing traditional views on urban lighting.
African-American novels aren’t the only form of urban fiction. In the late 1990s, Latinos also began contributing stories, novels, and prose in a similar urban narrative form. Like African-American urban fiction, Latino urban fiction typically involves the darker side of downtown life as told by a particular demographic of the community. The stories are typically dark in nature and mood, with a heavy focus on Latino culture, beliefs, and experiences. Neither African-American nor Latino urban fiction seeks to alienate readers based on race, but rather show an accurate portrayal of inner-city life and culture.
The growth in popularity of street lighting hasn’t been steady since the 1960s and 1970s. As music became the primary voice of urban life in the 1980s, interest in fictional books based on urban life waned. As the popularity of self-publishing grew in the late 1990s into the 21st century, the genre has experienced a resurgence of interest. Much of the culture of urban living places more emphasis on word-of-mouth advertising than commercial marketing, providing an ideal match for self-publishing options. Just as musical artists have been distributing urban music close to close, separate from an organized commercial outlet, downtown fiction writers follow a similar path through novels, ebooks, and other self-published media.
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