Never Drank the Kool-Aid

Finally.

I really enjoyed this collection, which is not suprising because I enjoyed his first collection (short stories) when it came out, too. Never Drank the Kool-Aid is a collection of essays written by Toure. Most of the essays were previously published in magazines like Rolling Stones, The Village Voice, or The New Yorker. Most are interviews with hip hop artists, a few are sports figures and one or two are personal essays.

First, the introduction is a great because 1)It's in list form, and I love lists and 2)It includes a brief, brief history of hip hop section (I'm talking less than one page!) which really summarizes it well! The grouping of essays falls under such headings as "Sensitive Thugs" (including Eminem), "Big Willies" (including Russell Simmons) and "Get Up, Get Out and Get Involved" (including JayZ and Kanye) and many others, 12 sections in all.

Since I'm a nursing student in every sense of the word, I don't have time to give the most in depth review. Therefore, I'm giving you the best three things about the collection, and the one thing I hated:

Top 3:

#3. In the "Big Willies" section, the essay "Ships Passing in the Night" (Barak Obama and Colin Powell) printed in Suede. I love it - not just because it's a good essay (it's a basic 4 page overview of how either man could be the first black president) but because it's political commentary in the middle of a collection of black hip hop stars. It's one of those moments when we showcase that "yes we can drop it like it's hot" but we also care who's in office, who might be in office, and who we might not want in office - even if he is a black man. The last paragraph is the best, go read it.

#2. "Jay-Z Has Got Guts" printed in Rolling Stone because I am a Jay-Z fan, as is my husband, and this piece allowed me to be more than a fan. With most rappers, I like what they have to say (Kanye), or I respect the lyricism (Luda and Em), or their struggle (Pac). With Jay-Z I respected the history. The number of albums he has produced is amazing, and I loved him more as he started to get his grown and sexy on with Beyonce (who is also interviewed). He also spoke about giving back and an internal conflict related to giving back that I could relate to (you'll have to read it!) I liked the piece because he lived up to my expectations. Who I imagined him to be is who he is, and that's always great. Then I read this : "In the sixth grade, a test showed he was reading at a twelfth grade level." And he addressed that with this: "I always liked to read. I still do." I fell in love.

And #1. (hands down) A section ("Microphone Fiend") that has only one essay...Crack is Responsible for Hip Hop (this was an an interview with ?uestlove) I don't know why, but this one just got me. Maybe the title. Maybe the little moment of intellectual orgasm I got out of the political + musical commentary, I don't know why, but I loved it most. A lot of the essay was also about D'Angelo. I *so* enjoyed this essay.

Until the last page, when the thing I most disliked about the collection really messed me up:

Question to ?uestlove: "Is there any female MC that you'd F***?"

And *THAT* is what I emailed him about. The only female MC in the collection is Lauryn Hill, so I was really disappointed that he would ask this - especially in the absence of any interviews with Lil Kim, Foxy, Rah Digga, Da Brat, etc. And it just really messed me up because it didn't flow, it was so abrupt! I emailed him about it (kept it light and funny), and he emailed me back immediately (cool points for that, and for being equally personable) and said that he was "sorry it offended" and admitted that it might be "juvenile" but he still thought it was "interesting" and "reasonable."

So there's my little review. (Honorable mentions for the Eminem interview, the Mary J Blige letters, and the Love Your Niggas essay) It's all good, go read it.

Next book review will be "Sister Outsider" by Audre Lorde, but it won't be until this weekend...school has offically started.