The first publication of play texts by Conrad Murray and his collaborators in the Beats & Elements theatre company complete with supplementary essays, interviews and a glossary.

This collection of three hip hop plays by Conrad Murray and his Beats & Elements collaborators Paul Cree, David Bonnick Junior and Lakeisha Lynch-Stevens, is the first publication of the critically acclaimed theatre-maker’s work. The three plays use hip hop to highlight the inequalities produced by the UK’s class system, and weave lyricism, musicality and dialogue to offer authentic accounts of inner-city life written by working-class Londoners. The plays are accompanied by two introductory essays: The first gives a specific social and historical context that helps readers make sense of the plays, the second positions hip hop as a contemporary literary form and offers some ways to read hip hop texts as literature. The collection also includes a foreword by leading hip hop theatre practitioner Jonzi D, interviews with the Beats & Elements company, and a glossary of words for students and international readers.

"A show with something to say, and a stylish way of saying it." - The Stage (on High Rise Estate of Mind)

"If there were thousands more like Murray who managed to ‘breakthrough’ from a working class background to the mainstream Arts, the landscape would be very different to what it is today." - Breaking the Fourth Wall

"Its dramatic authenticity is pitch perfect." - Exeunt