By 
It was in 1999 that we first heard about Superhead and the sexual favors he performed for various rap acts. After an article was published in Vibe magazine, he stopped being an enigma and became a household name. People were eager to learn more about this Superhead. Exactly who was she? Why were members of the Hip-Hop community looking for her? The public got the answers from her through Confessions of a Video Vixen. The autobiography shot straight to the top of the New York Times bestseller list and introduced us to Karrine Steffans, the phenomenon known as Superhead. The novel, while naming names sparingly, not only mines the details of how she worked her way up the Hip-Hop food chain, but also gave readers a glimpse into her life and showed them who she was her and how she got her. be so infamously known. Sure, the public was eager to know what Hollywood gossip he had up his sleeve. Still, it was her personality that drew her the most, giving her a readership that catapulted her next two novels, The Vixen Diaries and The Vixen Manual, to the top of the New York Times bestseller list as well.
Her success as an author drew the attention of publishers to a new market. An audience for the revealing book. Unlike Steffans, most of her predecessors are virtually unknown. Authors never seen or heard of until they started selling their books filled with one-night stands and tidbits of celebrity experiences. While Steffans enriched her career based on her sexual exploits, her media called her out, not the other way around. Suddenly, anyone who wanted to make a quick buck, gain instant fame, or promote her various endeavors started posting their D-list celebrity horror stories.
Carmen Bryan, the mother of rapper Nas’ first child, also released an autobiography after intimate details of her relationship with rapper Jay-Z were used in a battle between the two icons. Although she didn’t ask for attention, no one knew her name or could care less until she published her novel with the two rap stars fronting her material. She was more of a joke thrown in a few verses of a song to gain publicity than someone who deserved public attention. What she asks to ask the question, or rather answers it. Would anyone care to read the novels of these strangers if they didn’t mention already famous characters? Are their lives so exciting that the public would care enough to spend $29.95 for a glimpse into their lives?
Natasha “Tajah” Burton surely expects it. The amateur novelist hopes to deliver the goods when she publishes her book, Low Down Dirty Shame. The ‘model’ in the video who claims to have rubbed elbows with athletes and members of the entertainment industry claims her story needs to be told to ‘warn’ others about the pitfalls the celebrity life can lead you into. The fact that her novel offers some of the most depraved experiences the author claims to have had with celebrities is an added bonus for those she hopes will buy her book. It remains to be seen if she, too, can enjoy the level of success that Steffans enjoys, or if her novel will suffer the indignity of slowly dying in the bin of $0.99 bargains.
There are also a number of self-published nightmares with similar content solicited from the public. Poorly written, unedited, newly discovered authors are everywhere hoping to make a quick buck from their tales of woe experienced at the hands of a celebrity. The books they sell, if any, seem to do more to increase celebrity fame than to line their pockets. The satisfaction gained lies in whatever boost they can give their egos, the chance to have the same money, fame and power enjoyed by the celebrities they write about. Every entrepreneur has a vision of success, but how many seek success based on what someone else has achieved, rather than their own merit?
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