Death of a Dynasty (2003)

The line that separates a journalist from the subjects of his stories may be a fine demarcation, but it is best kept intact--or the transgressing scribe might find himself submerged over his head in a subculture that he understands but has no place in. Fledgling reporters should view Death of a Dynasty (2003) as a cautionary tale. Rappers, hip-hop moguls, and the pencil-neck bookworms who write about them are not necessarily the same breed of player. An urban-music scribbler misinterprets his face time hanging with producers and performers as a license to shoot his mouth off. Trouble is, when his newfound boon companions take aim, fueled by the fire of the literary man’s incendiary words, they’re loaded with bullets, not bons mots.