reported by Jeremy Polin, FictionFanatic.com

Fox News Fox & Friends announced yesterday that music and fashion mogul Russell Simmons is leading an effort to eliminate the "n-word, h-word, and b-word" from hip hop and rap music. This raises the question if urban fiction will be impacted by the controversy centered on hip hop language. Author Kevin M. Weeks found himself in the middle of this national controversy after releasing in September 2006 his debut Urban Fiction novel titled: "The Street Life Series: Is It Suicide or Murder?" A contributor to Wikipedia.org defines Urban Fiction as "a literary genre set, as the name implies, in a city landscape; however, the genre is as much defined by the race and culture of its characters as the urban setting." Urban Fiction is also known as Hip Hop Fiction or Street Lit.

Unfortunately over the last six months, media coverage of the negative aspects of Hip Hop language has overshadowed the praises of those urban artists and urban authors who deliver positive messages. Will their words be lost because of the controversy surrounding Hip Hop language in the Music Industry? Kevin M. Weeks believes Urban Fiction and Hip Hop will continue, even if the name of the genre changes, because Urban Life itself will continue and because there will always be a story to tell. Therefore, Kevin M. Weeks is doing everything he can do as a self-published author to bridge the literary gap between urban fiction and general fiction readers.

So what does Author Kevin M. Weeks really think about Michael Richards' use of the "n-word" and Don Imus' use of the "h-word?" Is this free speech? This question has spawned heated debates in regards to Hip Hop language in the Music Industry with special guests appearing on Fox News The O'Reilly Factor and the Oprah Winfrey Show.

In mid-December of last year, Kevin M. Weeks announced on PRWeb.com that he omits the "n-word" in his Urban Fiction novels. Today, Kevin M. Weeks announces that his novels do not include the "h-word" or "wh-word" in reference to women. Mr. Weeks decided during the editing phases of his debut novel that the main character, Teco Jackson, would address this derogatory terminology towards women in the first 10 pages. An excerpt from "Is It Suicide or Murder?" on page 9 reads, ". . . If Teco ever heard a dude calling his sisters these names, he would knock them out." Can Teco's position be any more direct? There is no question that Kevin M. Weeks wants to tell his Urban Fiction stories in a refreshing way. While several Urban Fiction authors stray away from having a moral to the story, Kevin M. Weeks also includes old school wisdom to provoke thought about living a lifestyle of drugs, money, and sex. A strong African-American male character in the novel tells Teco, "Always do what you always did; and you will always get what you always got?" These are a few reasons why Kevin M. Weeks is receiving great media press from literary organizations.

Heather Covington, Best-selling Author and Founder of YOUnity Guild of America, states: "The Street Life Series may very well be a novel capable of drawing even the most resistant reader of urban lit to take a peek inside. . . . the literary world may very well have a new "Connoisseur of Urban Lit" about to take over." In January of this year, The YOUnity Guild Top Advisory board inducted Kevin M. Weeks as The Best New Urban Author of the Year. Book Reviewers say that "Weeks has a great concept with this series" and that "Kevin's originality bursts through the pages of 'The Street Life Series: Is It Suicide or Murder?'"

Will Urban Fiction be impacted by the controversy centered on Hip Hop language? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure, Kevin M. Weeks wants the literary world to know that he will follow suit with music and fashion mogul Russell Simmons by continuing to omit these words in his upcoming Urban Fiction novels.

For more information about Author Kevin M. Weeks and The Street Life Series, visit: The Street Life Series by Kevin M. Weeks