Hey, that's a corner right up the street from Dusty Groove – and the book is filled with images of our fair city of Chicago – not just sidewalks, but a host of other important city images too – including portraits of local luminaries, and shots of some great stores, restaurants, and other spots around the city. Photos are all by Charles Osgood – and each gets a full essay by journalist Rick Kogan – which further illuminates the shots of places like Manny's Deli, Twin Anchors, Harold's Chicken Shack, and the Chicago City Council. Book is 245 pages, full color, and hardcover. Book

MC Buddah Monk was a childhood friend of Ol Dirty Bastard, and spent a fair bit of time right alongside him during the glory days of the Wu-Tang Clan – so he's got a pretty great perspective of Dirty's life and music – even though his story is somewhat personal overall! Writer Mickey Hess helps give shape to Buddha's memories, and the book may not be one of the most authoritative reads on Ol Dirty Bastard, but it's certainly one of the more entertaining! 192 pages, softcover, with some color images. Book

One of the most lavish, loving books on hip hop that we've ever seen – a huge volume that manages to be a history of rap music, a photo book, a guide to key albums, and also a personal journey as well – all served up with a vivid, non-stop array of images that make the whole thing even more of a visual delight than digging in the crates! The volume is huge – stuffed with over 1000 images, most in color – photos of album covers, street art, hip hop DJs and MCs, and countless other subjects – all presented in loose chronological order, alongside a history and evolution of the music, plus a timeline of key records and moments – all guided by some personal reflections by the author as well. Chuck D gives the book some huge props in the intro – and this updated volume is a heavy 446 pages, in a softcover edition, filled with images throughout. Book

The biggest book we've ever seen to focus on the photography of Jamel Shabazz – a Brooklyn photographer who was out on the streets in the glory days of the old school – famous for his work capturing key sides of the early hip hop scene, and plenty of other New York culture as well! The book follows strongly from other volumes to collect the work of Shabazz – like Back In The Day and Time Before Crack – but the presentation is a bit different, as each page represents a page in one of Jamel's photo albums – usually with a few different color photographs on each page, often in arrays that bring together images from a single location or which have a way of resonating with each other. Subject matter is similar to other books of the photos of Shabazz – lots of early 80s New York street scenes and street portraits – and the huge book comes with a few essays on the work as well. Hardcover, 320 pages, and full color throughout – with hundreds of images! Book

If you find the image on the cover as striking as we do, wait until you see what's inside – page after page of brilliant black and white photographs, all taken from the long-running Hamburger Eyes publication – still somewhat young when this book came out, but already clearly a leading voice in 21st Century photography! The images vary wildly, but they all have a unifying vibe – material by a range of different photographers who seem to capture a special moment on the street, or an oddity in reality – keen work by a lineup that includes Mark Murrmann, Ryan Furtado, Matt Weber, Ted Pushinsky, Boogie, Vic Blue, and many others – a band of disparate artist who seem to have a great unifying thread in their work. The book is lovingly done in the best tradition of Powerhouse Press – hardcover, very little text, just page after page of explosive images! Book