He may be “Forever Young,” by Hip Hop mogul/rapper Jay-Z is about to turn 50 on Dec. 4. And to mark this personal milestone, St. Martin’s Press will publish “Jay-Z: Made in America” this fall, just days before Hova hits half a century.
Author Michael Eric Dyson wrote “Made in America.”
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“Jay-Z’s body of work charts an artistic and political response to revived racism and renewed hostility to blackness — it is an auspicious time to examine his ideas, gifts, and impact, to take measure of his stride as a cultural colossus,” the publisher said. “And there is no one better suited to the task than Michael Eric Dyson, who has investigated and championed hip-hop, and the work of Jay-Z, as a critical American art form, for decades.”
Dyson, who has authored a number of books including “Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur” and “Born to Use Mics: Reading Nas’s Illmatic,” said in a news release that the Jay-Z book “is the fruit of a decade of teaching about one of the greatest poets this nation has produced.”
He added: “Jay-Z is not only a remarkable recording artist and ingenious businessman, but he is one of our most gifted wordsmiths whose language drips with all the poetic tricks and skills you’ll find in Walt Whitman, Robert Frost and Rita Dove. Jay-Z has given this country a language to think with and words to live by, and his lyrics have shaped the self-understanding of a culture that grapples with race and injustice and inequality everyday.”
“JAY-Z: Made in America” will also feature illustrations from Everett Dyson, the nephew of the author. The book will be available on November 26; pre-order is currently available.
