Welcome to Litsy!

Williams takes an out-there conceit about indecipherable scrolls found abandoned beneath the subway which he claims he transcribed in a series of meditative trances and received all sorts of spiritual insights about, and crafts it into a cohesive collection that‘s lyrical, rhythmic, and brimming with insights about hip-hop‘s music and culture. He‘s biting, compassionate, and funny in turns as he thinks about politics, economics, and history.

“Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete? Proving nature's laws wrong, it learned to walk without having feet. Funny, it seems to by keeping it's dreams; it learned to breathe fresh air. Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else even cared.”

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#Dream
#newYearNewBooks

This was an interesting overview of the start of the hiphop music genre. I learned a bit, but so much went over my head due to constant name-dropping with little to no explanation of why that person is important. If you aren‘t already familiar with all of these music artists and DJs, you won‘s get as much out of this book. It wasn‘t as good of an introduction as I had anticipated. #MusicHistory #NonfictionComic #Comics

I had such high hopes for this book, but instead of weaving together one cohesive narrative it‘s like 80% just a series of quotes from interviews. I wanted the content, but was too annoyed by the format to stick with it. Maybe it would be better as a physical book than on audio.

Am I listening to the Spotify playlists I found for the nonfiction comic I'm reading right now? Yes. Is it the most 70s music I've ever heard? Also yes. #BookPlaylist #MusicHistory #Nonfiction

Im not a poetry reader, but this was a book club pick and I‘m so glad it was picked. His poems are beautiful.

These poems reflect a driven, contemplative, loving, and insightful young man before his big rap career took off. He was obviously still growing into himself when he wrote these poems. They are heartbreaking, some amateur, sweet, and even naive, but always, he was thinking about the world around him and what justice meant. I wish he'd had the chance to say more.

When I first read this book, Hip-Hop, the music and culture, was in its late teens. It‘s the late 90s & George documented the socio-political environment that created the perfect storm for the creation of a new, black cultural movement. Inner-city poverty, gangs, drugs and a need to escape and party gave us Rapping, DJing, breakdancing & graffiti. This is as powerful & “real” a study as you could get at the time & is still an important commentary.

If you love hip hop this is a must read! Be warned it‘s a BAB (big ass book) but it‘s a great, detailed walk down memory lane for those of us that have hip hop as our life‘s soundtrack. #Blitsy