We spent a big part of our lives driving up and the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago – and we still do now, as we circle the city looking for records, books, and food – given that the roadway is the main gateway to the city's south side! So maybe we're a bit biased, but we love this book of photographs snapped on and around the famous freeway – some at night, some on the go, and all of them a pretty illuminating portrait of this road that's forever changed the shape of the city. The range of images is great – not just the concrete pictured on the cover, but also shots of cars, drivers, workers – and then some surprising interiors that even include apartment views of the expressway, and the Expressway Lounge on the south side. There's a few historical images, too – and despite the comparison with Blade Runner on the back cover, we find the book to be a pretty great portrait of a side of Chicago we know and love. 88 pages, hardcover, and full color. Book

Screamin Jay Hawkins is best-remembered for his crazy R&B tune "I Put A Spell On You" – a wild track from the postwar years – and it turns out that the man himself has had a life that's equally wild over the years, served up here by author Steve Bergsman, pulled from hundreds of interviews with Hawkins, bandmates, and family members too! Screamin Jay would often spin plenty of tales about himself – which can make telling the truth a difficult task – and rather that completely focus on that challenge, the book instead enjoys the play between fact and fiction, life and legend, and really revels in the larger-than-life quality of Hawkins! Book is 252 pages, softcover, with some color images, and a lot more black and white images. Book

A really no-holds-barred look at contemporary hip hop – one that focuses on the way the music continually deals with topics of death, and in a way that's very different than more mainstream concepts that would be found in white America. The author uses Afropessimism and black moralism to focus his concepts – but also brings them down to earth through an examination of the music of Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, and other artists – showing the way that in contemporary hip hop, the line between death and life often becomes blurred. The book is highly theoretical, but in a way that really opens up the music – and is definitely not your typical book on hip hop! Softcover edition is 229 pages. Book