The Dead Emcee Scrolls: The Lost Teachings of Hip-Hop (Paperback)

by Saul Williams (Author)
Key Phrases: sha clack clack, Boom Bap, African American

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Williams is not the first to take hip-hop diction and rhyme to the page and make beautiful stanzaic poetry (see everyone from Gil Scott-Heron to Thomas Sayers Ellis), but he creates, in this third book, a kind of "In Memorium" for hip-hop's redemptive promise, trying, as Tennyson did, to find light shining through the wreckage of hope. If this effort falls short of that great poem, the ambition behind it is not the less for it. Skip the self-mythologizing intro and launch right into the long opening serial poem, "NGH WHT": "BCH NGH. Gun trigga. Dick's bigga. Why/ fuck? Killer. Blood spiller. Mack/ truck. Bad luck, fuckin with this black buck./ Bigger Thomas, I promise. Leave a corpse in/ the furnace." The sly way in which the speaker simultaneously inhabits and repudiates male rap clichés and effects sonic sneak attacks (one hears "kill her" in "killer") gets worked out over 33 "chapters" of anywhere from three to 10 stanzas, giving a fierce, assured tour of hip-hop history and contradiction. There are six other, shorter serial poems, and the book's last third consists of verse "Journal Entries." Williams, who starred in Slam, has authored two previous books, s/he and said the shotgun to the head; both are uneven and contain long, ambitious pieces, but neither has a poem like "NGH WHT."
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From Booklist
Williams is the guy. He has chosen a sublime path in the hip-hop world: yes, a "road less traveled." He is the prototype synthesizer between poetry and hip-hop, stage and page, rap and prose, funk and mythology, slam and verse. He is one of spoken-word poetry's most charismatic performance poets alongside Regie Gibson and Patricia Smith. Williams opens for rock bands and appears in films and records with the legendary producer Rick Rubin. Avoiding classification, The Dead Emcee Scrolls is unique in voice, daring in its trust to chance, and more concerned with wordplay than grandeur. It is strongly musical, uncorrupted, raw, and challenging. These writings span Williams' artistic life since 1994, including journaling that charts his experiences in a clear, truthful hand, in spite of some metaphysical wanderings. Williams chose to preserve the passion and immediacy of his inspiration, but some reworking would clarify his vision. As it stands, this collection is frustrating and engaging, although there is a definite payoff for those who stick with it. Mark Eleveld
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: MTV (January 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416516328
• ISBN-13: 978-1416516323
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,331 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can feel the beat pulsating from the page..., January 28, 2006

By	Lhea J. Love "www.lheajlove.com" (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews

I had the pleasure of seeing Saul Williams perform poetry from The Dead Emcee Scrolls a few days ago. A problem that many spoken word artists encounter is that their poetry sounds great on stage and does not stand confidently alone on the page. Saul doesn't have this problem. His style is so pronounced that it encompasses many forms... you can hear his voice when you read the page, you can see his words when he speaks. The book is truly a treasure... you can dig, and dig, and dig... discovering new truths each time you pick the book up. He was asked by someone in the audience, how long did it take to write this book. His response was, ten years.

Saul also spoke about how academians must study hip hop in order to truly understand modern poetry, because emcees are creating new forms of meter.

This book is a testament to that.

Enjoy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Saul Williams is amazing, February 23, 2006

By	Sage Grass "To be great is to be misunderstoo... (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

Saul Williams paints a picture in every poem he writes. Over that picture he paints another, and another, untill the original takes so long to uncover through the layers of symbolism. He brings emotions over a bridge to a new world and he does not just tell us to be individuals, he shows us how to see ourselves as independant, free thinking beings. He is an amazing poet and this new book is genius, as can be expected.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hip Hop and Poetry, April 27, 2006

By	Guiseppe - See all my reviews

I first heard about this book on a message board (I think it was the one from DaveyD.com) and I really enjoyed reading the publisher's excerpt, and it was just the introduction. With it, I didn't know how to take it. Whether it was truth or just a very well worded story from Saul Williams. Either way, I could feel the vibe of Hiphop Kulture coming from it. So of course, I went out and bought it.

I was blown away.

I first heard of Saul from the book ", said the Shotgun to the Head." So I already thought I knew what to expect. But I was completly blown away by the deepness of these poems. Whether really taken from a strange manuscript in an old spray can or just a way to publish his own poems about Hiphop's preservation of love, peace, and unity, this was great. I recommend it for anyone who like poetry, spoken word, rap music, or just books. Very good.