Ride or Die is the Black Woman’s callout to the idea of riding with someone regardless of what may come or cost us. It is an eye-opening dive into the ride-or-die concept and the culture that manifested its creation.

It is an argument FOR women to take care of self, not just their family, man, and community. It is a “come to Jesus” moment calling on Black women to choose themselves. To show them that it’s okay to be there for those you love but not at the expense of yourself. While it may be a hard pill to swallow, many women probably need to hear it, and Hubbard is here to speak on it.

Voluntarily reviewed after receiving a free copy courtesy of NetGalley, the Publisher, and the author, Shanita Hubbard.

Black women are often given the burden of being what's called the ride or die, a woman that will do anything at the expense of her own sanity and possibly her own detriment to further along someone else, whether it's a partner, family or the church. Not only was it an informative read, it gives us as black women the why we're conditioned to be like this. This is something that we as black women really need to hear so that we can begin to heal and change things so that we can have a better life. This was a phenomenal and such a great read.

Shanita Hubbard uses this book to explain how the concept of being a Ride or Die is harmful to Black women. The book breaks down the many ways that being a Ride or Die causes pain and suffering for Black women and provides ways in which Black women, and the Black community as a whole, can better protect and appreciate Black women.

This was a great read for Black women. The author tackled so many important topics such as: medical racism, homophobia, police violence against Black women, and the responsibility of Black men to do better by us. I feel like a lot of BLACK MEN need to read this book! Black women too obviously because the book was written for us, but it would be especially insightful for Black men who want to do better by Black women. With an easy flow to the writing, this book touched on a myriad of topics that need to be talked more openly about in our community.

I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to recommend it to other people within our community. Black women are the most disrespected group in the world and anyone who wants to see our point of view and do better by us should read this book!

Thank you Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own.

Special thanks to the author, grandcentralpub & netgalley for my advanced copy.

This was a pretty quick read. The author dives deep into how the “ride or die chick” analogy continues to negatively impact black women. Addressing how it’s so widely accepted because society has normalized this mentality. She uses various concepts from her personal life, church, community and the hip-hop culture to analyze how it all plays a role in the lives of black women. We’re always forced to do and take care of others before ourselves.

I feel this was a ploy to help us realize how much being a ride or die has placed pressure and stress on black women to remain loyal in situations that do not benefit us. We’ve been required to uphold this standard no matter the cost. I did like that she used hip-hop culture as the forefront to show how this narrative is continuously praised. We don’t realize how much music really impacts society.

Women have been faced with this same narrative generation after generation to the point it’s been instilled in us to always do the impossible. We take on the ride or die role autonomously because we’ve seen so many women before us do it. We have to always be this superwoman at work, with family, friends, and in our community too.

The author does well intertwining her own personal experiences into the book. I was able to connect with a few of the situations. She discussed a lot of heavy topics and things we experience as young black girls that nobody talks about.

I feel this was more informative than entertaining but still worth recommending!!!!!

Shanita Hubbard has created a space for Black women to reclaim our narratives and heal from the unconscious trauma that hip-hop and rap have dealt us. She accomplishes this by pairing songs from the past 30 years with her personal experiences and analytical research. Each chapter in Ride or Die is a mirror that invites us to see ourselves without judgement so that we can rewrite the problematic narratives that have defined us.

Hubbard connects us to a variety of songs in her manifesto—such as the titular “Ryde or Die, Chick” by The Lox—to expose how a lack of thoughtful representation in music can create and perpetuate stereotypes that negatively impact the communal well-being of Black women. One treatise that particularly resonated with me was her exploration of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. This album played like a one-hour song for countless Black girls becoming women at the turn of the century due to Hill’s women-centered hip-hop anthems that spoke to our collective unconscious. Hubbard unpacks for us that what we were internalizing through tracks like “Doo Wop (That Thing)” was what we now call respectability politics. Black women only hurt ourselves by “othering” and choosing who among us deserves love, protection, and respect. The healing that we all deserve is in acknowledging that we are each worthy for no other reason than because we exist.

Ride or Die’s format is approachable for all readers, even those who are not familiar with the music or the experience of Black women in urban America. She explains the songs and the environments that spawned them. And her personal experiences are engaging stories that draw you in. The research she is integrated with the two in a way that validates your reactions to her songs and stories.

Music is a powerful, culture defining tool. With the insight we gain from Shanita Hubbard’s Ride or Die, we are equipped to be more thoughtful and intentional about the songs that we allow to shape our narratives and our well-being.

Reviewer note: Thank you NetGalley and Legacy Lit for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This is the book that everyone should read. Hubbard's flow throughout the book is well organized, well structured, and very informative. I

The author digs into the origins and definition of ride or die. For years I’ve seen it as a problematic term and title to place on a black woman so it was interesting to read her take. I connected to the personal stories and examples throughout the book. It’s a must purchase for me.

If Church Girl by Beyonce had a companion novel, it would be this book. Hubbard delves into the origins and definition of “ride or die” and how it transcended hip-hop in the black community. She critically analyzes how the black cishet men’s perspective in hip-hop has often ignored black women, black queer, and nonbinary folks.

Hubbard masterfully “calls-in” as we are not beyond reproach and criticism by the marginalized groups that have been harmed. I really connected to her personal stories and examples throughout the book. She also examines the black church, misogyny in hip-hop, black motherhood, sexual freedom, and more.

I will immediately purchase this book once released. Thank you to the author and publisher for the ebook copy.

In this book, author Hubbard explores that ethos around the concept of a "ride or die" woman and how it negatively impacts Black women through extended mental effort, the myth of the Black superwoman, and many more ways detailed throughout. The text reads as part memoir, part nonfiction essay and I personally liked the flow. I thought the chapters were well organized and her analysis of her personal experience and outside documentation got her ideas across very effectively. I love a good memoir and this one did not disappoint. I'd absolutely recommend this book!

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC.

Shanita Hubbard captured my attention from the moment I read her introduction: "I am who I am because of other Black women so I wrote this book to focus on us and our well-being." This is a book in celebration of Black women and all of the aspects of Black culture that inform who we are and how we are.

I really appreciated her take on patriarchy in the Black church and how it cannot be viewed as separate from racism in the United States. She breaks down the reasons why so precisely and manages to do so without taking away from the good parts of the church and other aspects of its contribution to our well-being and sense of community.

I also enjoyed the honest way Hip Hop is presented and deconstructed both as an art form and almost as a sometimes unreliable narrator throughout the text not just the homage she pays but also the ways she holds space for some of the harm that it causes, particularly for Black trans women.

This is definitely a book I cannot wait to add to my personal collection. Thank you to the author and publisher for the E-Arc copy.