A valuable memoir featuring surprisingly average social commentary—thankfully, more of the former.
The life and opinions of a hip-hop legend.
“The truth is that most rappers are supernerds,” writes Kweli early on. “While we live at the top of the nerd food chain, we are, without a doubt, nerds who are good with words.” This memoir confirms what his work has communicated for years, demonstrating the sharp, nimble mind of an insatiable cultural omnivore. Unfortunately, there are instances in which he undercuts his obvious intelligence with self-satisfaction, and he slides easily into lecture mode, regularly interrupting his story to inform readers of his political views in ways that don’t always keep the narrative moving. “While I was thirty-nine,” he writes, “I could feel this newfound attitude approaching. I began to question myself less and others more. In most of the rooms I find myself in, I am often the most experienced….I speak not so much from a place of knowledge but from a place of wisdom. And it feels good. Damn good.” Even readers who share the author’s politics will find their presentation intrusive on what is otherwise such a compelling retrospective of an impressive life. Whether discussing how he used to cut school to hone his rapping skills in Washington Square Park or recounting how he took his maternal grandmother, “the Obama Mama,” as his guest to the White House, Kweli turns back the pages of hip-hop history for music fans and has something to offer readers unfamiliar with his work. By the end of the book, even that latter group will appreciate the author’s standing as one of the most respected emcees in hip-hop. This book has been in the works for a long time. Some may wish that Kweli—who is busy with recording, touring, podcast hosting, activism, and prolific tweeting—left himself more time to polish another classic.
A valuable memoir featuring surprisingly average social commentary—thankfully, more of the former.Pub Date: Feb. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-374-28340-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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