ChickenBones: A Journal

for Literary & Artistic African-American Themes

   

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VIRGINS IN THE BEEHIVE". . . the story of three beautiful black girls

who become superstars by forming a Hip Hop singing group is . . . .

a "pop novel", a "departure" and "pure escapist fun". I call the book fierce

 

 

Books by Kola Boof  

 

Nile River Woman (Poems, Feb. 10, 2004)  / Long Train to the Redeeming Sin-Stories About African Women (April 6, 2004)

 Flesh and the Devil: A Novel (May 11, 2004)  /   Diary of a Lost Girl (2007)

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"Virgins in the Beehive" by Kola Boof

Release Date: To Be Announced
Reviewed by Miss Egypt

XM-Radio Morning Drive
*Revised version

Hey kiddies,

Kola Boof sent me a special preview copy of her upcoming novel "VIRGINS IN THE BEEHIVE", and I just had to tell you about it now!OK, I'm going to start this review by just calling a spade a spade. "VIRGINS IN THE BEEHIVE". . . the story of three beautiful black girls who become superstars by forming a Hip Hop singing group...IS THE SHIT 

But a fair warning to those high brow Kola Boof literary fans who will be expecting the serious "literary novels" that you're used to reading by her (Flesh and the Devil, Long Train to the Redeeming Sin)—this ain't that type of book. She calls this one a "pop novel", a "departure" and "pure escapist fun". I call the book fierce, because despite what Kola said in her letter, she still brings up some very serious issues (the explosion of white women getting "butt implants" is covered in grim detail through blond bombshell Koko-Tee for instance), the only difference is that for this novel, she used the breezy back drop of hip hop, glam life and the bling bling set. Everybody's here—even the Joss Stone/Black Cherry types "doing you know what for beats", LOL!                                                                                                 

I loved the book's insistence that Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain was murdered and I loved the way the book salutes Cobain, Kurtis Blow, the Mary Jane Girls, Diana Ross and so many others—I also love how the characters featured in the book are obviously based on real life superstars.

Like I'm sure DESTINY MATTHEWS is really Buffie the Body and Kola Boof combined into one character, I'm sure JENNASET JONES, the stunning leading lady of the book, is really Whitney Houston (maybe with some Courtney Love traits) and I'm positive that the group's sensitive but gifted songwriter, DARLING NIKKI, is based on Alicia Keys (Every story in here is the bomb, but I loved Darling Nikki's story).

Back to characters I think are based on celebrities. I'm not even going to name who the Super-Bitch of the story "Athena Hornet" is supposed to be, but I do wish the book's sexy LEADING MAN, chocolate fine ass "too good to be true" STEVEN FRAME would come to life so I could rock his world. The way Kola writes, she makes you dream about that man! He's like a Spike Lee filmmaker in the book only he's SUPER FINE (in more ways than one—wink*). If they ever do a movie of this (which they really need to), then Idris Elba or Morris Chestnut should play STEVEN FRAME.  

Which reminds me . . . the "sex" in this book is obscene!

Not since Sister Souljah's The Coldest Winter Ever has there been a "street-lit" hip hop novel this exciting, this original and this DARING (in fact add some "bold" and some "no she didn't!" to the DARING part). This book is off the chain, and though I haven't been enthused by the various controversies surrounding Kola Boof's personal life the last few years, I have to give her props on writing "VIRGINS IN THE BEEHIVE"—it's a classic.

The girl can write.—Miss Egypt, XM radio morning drive

*Reprinted by permission.

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updated 24 March 2008

 

 

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