Root For The Villain: Rap, Bull$hit, and a Celebration of Failure [Paperback]

J Zone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2011

Yawn. Another book from another musician. Let's guess: He rose from the depths of hell with his talent and went big time. He changed the face of music and made millions. Yeah, a few drug addiction, arrest, and STD stories are sporadically sprinkled throughout for excitement and authenticity, but at the end of it all, he finished his ride a musical legend. He finally gave up dressing room groupies and nose candy; he currently resides with his wife and the children that aren't illegitimate in Calabasas, CA. [Insert snoring] Who the hell can really relate to that besides other prestigious, millionaire musicians? My name is J-Zone. If you actually know who the hell I am, either you listen to way too much rap music, you're a Tim Dog fan, or you stood outside my distributor's warehouse the day my CDs and records were destroyed. I was on the hip-hop come-up, then I came down - hard. Splat. Some critical success, incessant praise from pop stars and hip-hop legends alike, and then...abysmal commercial failure. I did tours on Greyhound buses filled with wide-bodied, Jheri curled women and knife-wielding gang members. I witnessed my life-long passion for music dissolve in 12 hours and my final album sell a whopping 47 copies in its first month for sale. I left my little-known spot in a small, niche quadrant of the hip-hop world and joined my fellow overqualified stiffs with useless college degrees in the world of dead end jobs. For some sick reason, I find all of the above hilarious and have made an omelette out of any egg that wound up on my face. I pin my cross-hairs on everyday bullsh*t just as accurately as I do the dysfunctional ways of the music biz. I ask the public at large questions like “Are men the new women?” and “Is going out on Friday night worth it when you're a socially homeless man in a deceptively segregated New York City?” Chapters dedicated to cassette tapes, defunct record stores, the SP-1200 sampling drum machine, hip-hop recording studios of the 1990s, and overlooked rap artists like The Afros, Mob Style, and No Face all point to my fascination with the obscure. The annoyances of a cell phone-driven society, dating in America, and Facebook are also explored. A collection of memoirs and think pieces written by a curmudgeonly commercial failure who is somehow laughing hysterically at both himself and the stupidity of the world large probably won't become a New York Times best-seller, either. Be honest though, you need something to place drinks on when you have company; at worst, my book is a perfect cocktail coaster. 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

J-ZONE is a connoisseur of humbling reality checks, lesser-known rap albums from the early ‘90s, self-deprecation, and full-fledged lampoonery. His primary hobby is assailing our daily acts of bullshit. Throughout his decade and change in the music business, he’s worked with the likes of Gnarls Barkley, The Lonely Island, Biz Markie, E-40, and Prince Paul, to name a few. As a writer, his work has been published in the Common Culture pop culture textbook series, SLAM Magazine, The Source, and London’s Hip-Hop Connection (HHC), among others. He’s a regular contributor for ego trip NYC and moonlights as a high school sports reporter in the New York Metropolitan area. J-Zone has also taught music classes in the SUNY (State University of New York) system. He’s an insubordinate curmudgeon and a New York native who will invoice you if you send him emoticon and acronym-laden text messages. He lives in Queens, New York with his beloved grandmother, “Evil E.”

Product Details

• Paperback: 206 pages
• Publisher: Old Maid Entertainment (October 3, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0615532276
• ISBN-13: 978-0615532271
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,735 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Poor Zone March 9, 2013

By Cap'n Stoob

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I used to listen to this guy a lot back in my college days and it was so cool that a guy could put out a record without going mainstream back in those days. But, when you read this book, it's as depressing as it is funny. Here is a whip-smart kid with a talent for beats that got educated the street way in hip hop and took his knowledge into the studio where he made AWESOME records that both got away from the thug nature of hip hop and more into satire and intelligent rhythmic flow....and he didn't make ANY kind of living from it. Now he's a high school sports reporter.

What kind of industry do we have in hip hop when a guy like L'il Wayne or 50 Cent that can't rhyme and just say the same thing (guns and guns and drugs and money and cars and guns!) over purchased beats can make MILLIONS and guys like J-Zone and Freddie Foxxx can't get airtime on anything.

This book is both a result of and warning to the sick, self-destructive industry hip hop has become and J-Zone's story, as amusing as it may be, is really a call for true fans to get off the corporate label and start backing independent productions.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars J-Zone Review June 17, 2012

By Phil Bigsby

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is an excellent book, my man goes over the span of his life and describes his love for hip-hop. I am a true fan of his music and i wasn't sure how his book writing skills would be. He spent a lot of time perfecting this book and i would have to say he is definitely a great writer as well. I await his future books to come out, he could write another dozen and i would buy them. He goes over some of the best first hand stories of being around celebrities and rap moguls over the past 20 years, I could not put the book down!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Banging like J-Zone beats!!!! December 14, 2011

By Haji Outlaw

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

a rare glimpse into the real side of the music business and what really happens to most everybody not named Jay-Z, from the honest perspective of a real artist.