Born to Use Mics

Reading Nas's Illmatic

By: Michael Dyson, Sohail Daulatzai

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Paperback | 1 December 2009 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
320 Pages

Age
18+

Dimensions(cm)
2.3 x 14 x 20.9

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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

Industry Reviews

Booklist "A vital book for readers eager to understand the history of the genre."

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Foreword: Common	p. ix
Introduction: Illmatic: It Was Written	p. 1
40Th Side North
It was Signified: "The Genesis"	p. 13
A Rebel to America: "N.Y. State of Mind" After The Towers Fell	p. 33
Time Is Illmatic: A Song for My Father, A Letter To My Son	p. 61
"It's Yours": Hip-Hop Worldviews In The Lyrics Of Nas	p. 75
Critical Pedagogy Comes At Halftime: Nas as Black Public Intellectual	p. 97
41St Side South
"Memory Lane": On Jazz, Hip-Hop, and Fathers	p. 117
"One Love, " Two Brothers Three Verses	p. 129
"One Time 4 Your Mind": Embedding Nas and Hip-Hop Into a Gendered State of Mind	p. 151
"Represent," Queensbridge, and The Art of Living	p. 179
"It Ain't Hard to Tell": A Story of Lyrical Transcendece	p. 195
Remixes
The Second Coming: An Interview	p. 213
5-Mic Review	p. 223
Streets Disciple: Representing Queensbridge, New York, and The Future of Hip-Hop, Nas Is In His Own State of Mind: An Interview	p. 225
An Elegy for Illmatic	p. 237
Born Alone, Die Alone	p. 241
All The Words Past the Margins: Adam Mansbach and Kevin Coval Talk Understandable Smooth Shit	p. 245
Nighitime Is More Trife Than Ever: The Many Misuses of Nas	p. 255
"Genesis": In The Hall of Mirrors	p. 261
Break (Is This)	p. 265
I Reminisce on Park Jams: An Interview with Bobbito Garcia	p. 267
Notes	p. 279
Contributors	p. 291
Acknowledgments	p. 294
Index	p. 295
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Born to Use Mics

Reading Nas's Illmatic

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

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