They can't kill us until they kill us : essays /
Willis-Abdurraqib, Hanif,author.
"In an age of confusion, fear, and loss, Hanif Abdurraqib's is a voice that matters. Whether he's attending a Bruce Springsteen concert the day after visiting Michael Brown's grave, or discussing public displays of affection at a Carly Rae Jepsen show, he writes with a poignancy and magnetism that resonates profoundly. In the wake of the nightclub attacks in Paris, he recalls how he sought refuge as a teenager in music, at shows, and wonders whether the next generation of young Muslims will not be afforded that opportunity now. While discussing the everyday threat to the lives of black Americans, Abdurraqib recounts the first time he was ordered to the ground by police officers: for attempting to enter his own car. In essays that have been published by the New York Times, MTV, and Pitchfork, among others--along with original, previously unreleased essays-- Abdurraqib uses music and culture as a lens through which to view our world, so that we might better understand ourselves, and in doing so proves himself a bellwether for out times."--Provided by publisher.
I. Chance The Rapper's golden year ; A night in Bruce Springsteen's America ; Carly Rae Jepsen loves you back ; The night Prince walked on water ; ScHoolboy Q wants white people to say the word ; The Weeknd and the future of loveless sex -- II. I wasn't brought here, I was born: surviving punk rock long enough to find Afropunk ; Under half-lit fluorescents: The Wonder Years and the great suburban narrative ; All our friends are famous ; The return of the loneliest boys in town ; Brief notes on staying // no one is making their best work when they want to die ; Searching for a new kind of optimism ; Death becomes you: My Chemical Romance and ten years of The Black Parade ; Defiance, Ohio is the name of a band -- III. Fall Out Boy forever -- IV. Ric Flair, best rapper alive ; It rained in Ohio on the night Allen Iverson hit Michael Jordan with a crossover ; There is the picture of Michael Jackson kissing Whitney Houston on the cheek ; Black life on film ; Tell 'em all to come and get me ; Burning that which will not save you: Wipe Me Down and the Ballad of Baton Rouge ; Rumours and the currency of heartbreak -- V. February 26, 2012 ; On kindness ; In the summer of 1997, everyone took to the streets in shiny suits ; Nina Simone was very black ; Blood summer, in three parts ; August 9, 2014 ; Fear in two winters ; On Paris ; My first police stop ; Serena Williams and the policing of imagined arrogance ; They will speak loudest of you after you're gone ; Johnny Cash never shot a man in Reno. Or, the Migos: nice kids from the suburbs ; The Obama White House, a brief home for rappers ; The white rapper joke ; On future and working through what hurts ; November 22, 2014 ; Surviving on small joys -- VI.
"In an age of confusion, fear, and loss, Hanif Abdurraqib's is a voice that matters. Whether he's attending a Bruce Springsteen concert the day after visiting Michael Brown's grave, or discussing public displays of affection at a Carly Rae Jepsen show, he writes with a poignancy and magnetism that resonates profoundly. In the wake of the nightclub attacks in Paris, he recalls how he sought refuge as a teenager in music, at shows, and wonders whether the next generation of young Muslims will not be afforded that opportunity now. While discussing the everyday threat to the lives of black Americans, Abdurraqib recounts the first time he was ordered to the ground by police officers: for attempting to enter his own car. In essays that have been published by the New York Times, MTV, and Pitchfork, among others--along with original, previously unreleased essays-- Abdurraqib uses music and culture as a lens through which to view our world, so that we might better understand ourselves, and in doing so proves himself a bellwether for out times."--Provided by publisher.
African Americans
African Americans.