Born to Use Mics : Reading Nas's Illmatic

Product Description At the age of nineteen, Nasir “Nas” Jones began recording tracks for his debut album—and changed the music world forever. Released in 1994, Illmatic was hailed as an instant masterpiece and has proven one of the most influential albums in hip-hop history. With its close attention to beats and lyricism, and riveting first-person explorations of the isolation and desolation of urban poverty, Illmatic was pivotal in the evolution of the genre. In Born to Use Mics, Michael Eric Dyson and Sohail Daulatzai have brought together renowned writers and critics including Mark Anthony Neal, Marc Lamont Hill, Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., and many others to confront Illmatic song by song, with each scholar assessing an individual track from the album. The result is a brilliant engagement with and commentary upon one of the most incisive sets of songs ever laid down on wax. About the Author Michael Eric Dyson is the author of seventeen books, including Is Bill Cosby Right?, April 4, 1968, and Holler If You Hear Me. Currently University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University, he lives in Washington, D.C. Sohail Daulatzai is an assistant professor in African American Studies and Film and Media Studies at the University of California, Irvine. He lives in Los Angeles, California. At the age of nineteen, Nasir'Nas'Jones began recording tracks for his debut album -- and changed the music world forever. Released in 1994, Illmatic was hailed as an instant masterpiece and has proven one of the most influential albums in hip-hop history. With its close attention to beats and lyricism, and riveting first-person explorations of the isolation and desolation of urban poverty, Illmatic was pivotal in the evolution of the genre. In Born to Use Mics, Michael Eric Dyson and Sohail Daulatzai have brought together the best and brightest writers of the hip hop generation to confront Illmatic song by song, with each scholar assessing an individual track from the album. The result is a brilliant engagement with and commentary upon one of the most incisive sets of songs ever laid down on wax.Featuring: Adilifu Nama • Guthrie P. Ramsey Jr. • James Braxton Peterson • Marc Lamont Hill • Mark Anthony Neal • Kyra D. Gaunt • Eddie S. Glaude Jr. • Imani Perry • Jon Shecter • Matt Life • Bobbito the Barber • Greg Tate • Dream Hampton • Adam Mansbach • Kevin Coval • Jon Caramanica • Charlie Ahearn • Suheir Hammad It Was Signified : The Genesis / By Adilfu Nama -- A Rebel To America : N.y. State Of Mind After The Towers Fell / By Sohail Daulatzai -- Time Is Illmatic : A Song For My Father, A Letter To My Son / By Guthrie P. Ramsey Jr. -- It's Yours : Hip-hop Worldviews In The Lyrics Of Nas / By James Braxton Peterson -- Critical Pedagogy Comes At Halftime : Nas As Black Public Intellectual / By Marc Lamont Hill -- Memory Lane : On Jazz, Hip-hop, And Fathers / By Mark Anthony Neal -- One Love, Two Brothers, Thre Verses / By Michael Eric Dyson -- One Time 4 Your Mind : Embedding Nas And Hip-hop Into A Gendered State Of Mind / By Kyra D. Gaunt -- Represent, Queensbridge, And The Art Of Living / By Eddie S. Glaude Jr. -- It Ain't Hard To Tell : A Story Of Lyrical Transcendence / By Imani Perry. Edited By Michael Eric Dyson And Sohail Daulatzai. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. It was signified / Nama NY state of mind / Sohail Daulatzai Time is illmatic : a song for my father, a letter to my son / Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr It's yours : hip hop worldviews in the lyrics of Nas / James Peterson Critical pedagogy comes at halftime : Nas as black public intellectual / Marc Lamont Hill Memory lane : on jazz, hip-hop and fathers / Mark Anthony Neal One love / Michael Eric Dyson One time 4 your mind : embedding Nas and hip-hop into a gendered state of mind / Gaunt Represent, Queensbridge, and the art of living / Eddie S. Glaude Jr It ain't hard to tell : a story of lyrical transcendence / Imani Perry. Academic essays reflect on the 1994 album Illmatic by Nasir "Nas" Jones, covering topics ranging from jazz history to gender. The best and brightest writers of the hip-hop generation reflect upon the era's landmark album: Nas's Illmatic