Are you looking for your next great read? Search no further. We’ve compiled a list of books written by some of our industry experts — Yellowbrook course contributors who are leaders in their fields. Some offer advice and wisdom; others are necessary history lessons of their industries. All featured books are brilliantly written and deserve a place on your bookshelf or Kindle.
Streetwear –
WalkerGems: Get Your A$% Off The Couch by April Walker
April Walker is a featured contributor in Yellowbrick’s Streetwear Essentials course. As the founder of Walker Wear, a lifestyle brand based in her native Brooklyn, New York, Walker has a long history as an entrepreneur and groundbreaker in the streetwear industry, one of the first women to break through in the male-dominated field. Her first book, WalkerGems: Get Your A$% Off The Couch, offers valuable insight to those aspiring to work in streetwear and fashion. It is a handbook that is required reading for anyone pursuing their passion.
Sneaker Law: All You Need to Know about the Sneaker Business by Jared Goldstein and Kenneth Anand
When brands innovate and create classic products, they are bound to have imitators. For example, Nike made a legendary silhouette with the Air Force 1. Many up-and-coming designers have replicated the shoe to find similar success. When Nike started issuing cease and desist letters to multiple designers in rapid succession in 2021, up-and-coming creators openly wondered whether or not their products could be next.
Jared Goldstein and Kenneth Anand saw a chance to impart their collective knowledge to the next generation. So the duo teamed up to release Sneaker Law, a guide to the legal aspects of reselling, design, counterfeits, licensing, collaborations, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, entrepreneurship, branding, and much more. Their backgrounds as lawyers and creatives allow them to provide an honest and informed perspective on an area of the sneaker industry that rarely gets attention at the educational level. Goldstein and Anand are contributors in the Sneaker Law module for Sneaker Essentials.
Fashion –
More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say) by Elaine Welteroth
Part memoir and part advice book, Elaine Welteroth’s More Than Enough is a New York Times Bestseller and winner of the 2020 NAACP Image Award For Outstanding Literary Work.
The former Teen Vogue Editor-In-Chief and Fashion Industry Essentials contributor talks about her upbringing as a biracial woman. She also delves into tough topics like misogynoir and burnout in the work environment. More than Enough is a lesson in finding your voice against all odds.
Music –
God Save the Queens: The Essential History of Women in Hip-Hop by Kathy Iandoli
Kathy Iandoli is a professor-in-residence of music business at New York University and a contributor for Music Industry Essentials. Her knowledge of the music industry and hip-hop history is unrivaled. God Save the Queens was released in 2019 and selected by NPR as Best Book of the Year. The work is an in-depth look at the women who paved the way in hip-hop and continue to be pioneers today. Iandoli also authored Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah, an exploration of the life and death of late R&B star Aaliyah.
The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop by Dan Charnas
From hip-hop’s fledgling beginnings to its growth as a billion-dollar industry, The Big Payback takes a total stock of 40 years worth of development and growth of the industry. Dan Charnas, journalist and Music Industry Essentials contributor, leaves no story untold in this epic historical account of hip–hop. Featuring interviews with Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons and countless hours of research, The Big Payback is a must-read for any fan of hip-hop.
Cool Jobs in the Music Business by Jeffrey Rabhan
So you want to work in music and don’t know where to start? Sit down and open Cool Jobs in the Music Business by Jeffrey Rabhan. The chair of NYU’s Clive Davis Recorded Music program and Music Industry Essentials contributor interviews music’s best engineers, executives, journalists, managers, music supervisors, producers, promoters, publicists, and publishers. The book extensively examines the music industry’s job market and career paths.
Want to enforce your learning and watch industry lessons from our industry experts to help navigate your career? Check out our courses to find your favorite industry expert teaching lessons in Music, Fashion, Streetwear, Sneakers, and more.
