Off to the Races
Art by SaffyCreatives
We’re back it and I’m slightly high as I write this week’s newsletter. Kanye’s acting a little crazy again, but he’s great at curating outrage and controversy. Maybe a new project’s coming out, but I feel like there is a hidden purpose behind the chaos. I still want to cop the Yeezy Foam Helmet and some Yeezy shades. And God’s Leftovers wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Kanye. So shoutout to him and Virgil.
Welcome to Literary Loud.
Apparently, Reddit was playing guess my ethnicity and completely making up my birth state. It’s funny, but this is the strange thing I have to deal with being mixed. People love telling me what I am as if they grew up with me or they were in a lab conducting a DNA test for me. People say I’m Persian, Native American, Puerto Rican, Armenian, Egyptian, Indian, almost everything under the sun…I was born in Jacksonville, grew up in Chicago, and I’m a black person writing about black characters in Black Gypsies.
And I’m planning to write more books with a diverse cast of characters since that’s what I know. People want to talk about diversity; I really am diversity. In my first two books race and ethnicity isn’t overt, but I had some talks with some people years ago who encouraged me to write more POC into my books. I see more and more of this in the writing world, but it’s still somewhat underrepresented. When it comes to attending book conventions, I can usually count the number of POC on my fingers and it’s only 2022. I have to do my part.
Cool review of God’s Leftovers here.
And this is the first time I’ve been reviewed on Booktok. Pretty cool experience. Not much else to report on.
Next weekend, I’m reading at Stories Books and Cafe in LA. This will be my first reading since 2016, back when I was stationed in Seoul, Korea. You used to be able to find me reading poetry, short stories, and rapping out there. I’m excited to come off my reading hiatus. Plus, James Nulick hasn’t done a reading in 15 years so I’m hyped to see my fellow Capricorn do a reading. This is a big deal. Goats recognize goats…
On the writing front, still making leeway on Project Bullet Baby. I’m tinkering with a short story and it’s really business as usual. I did mess around with the prequel to God’s Leftovers too. I need to come up with a cool project name for the newsletter’s sake.
Currently Watching: Moon Knight & Ozark Season 1 & House of the Dragon Season 1 & Atlanta Season 4
Currently Reading: Ill Behavior by M. Steven S. & God Damn Chainsaw Murderer by Sean M. Thompson & Nudes by Elle Nash & Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto & Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Currently Smoking: 3C Farms
Currently Listening to: Black Tapes Podcast & The Danny Brown Podcast
“Wonder if I'm headed for hell and my soul obliterated…”
The Skinny Suge Knight delivers 40 bars of pain over his introspective single “Space Rabbit.” This video has some conspiracy theorists going crazy with the rabbit symbolism, but they never look into gang symbolism. Gibbs is a well-known Vice Lord, and the rabbit represents status. It’s good to see this man rapping his ass off the older he gets. You should cop his album if you haven’t already.
I love Ab-Soul. He’s one of the best artists on TDE’s roster who’s often overlooked, but he hasn’t released an album in a long ass time. “Moonshooter” drops some great bars over the soulful production. I hope this is a sign of an album coming soon.
“All about the commas like I’m standing mid-sentence…”
Don Trip is back with a new album-Christopher Season 2 and he’s baring his soul on “Trapped Inn.”
If you’ve been an OG reader of this newsletter, you know Coi Leray is one of my few celeb crushes. I’m shooting my shot if I ever meet her. “Fly Sh!t” is a hypnotic single in which Leray floats on the beat. It feels good to hear Coi talk her shit.
Until next time…I’ll be watching the new Hellraiser this week so I can let y’all my thoughts on that film.