Born to Use Mics: Reading Nas's Illmatic - Paperback

by Michael Eric Dyson (Editor), Sohail Daulatzai (Editor), Common (Foreword by)

At the age of nineteen, Nasir "Nas" Jones began recording tracks for his debut album -- and changed the music world forever. Released in 1994, Illmatic was hailed as an instant masterpiece and has proven one of the most influential albums in hip-hop history. With its close attention to beats and lyricism, and riveting first-person explorations of the isolation and desolation of urban poverty, Illmatic was pivotal in the evolution of the genre.

Author Biography

Dr. Michael Eric Dyson is Distinguished University Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies, and of Ethics and Society, and NEH Centennial Chair at Vanderbilt University. He is a New York Times bestselling author of over twenty books, including JAY-Z, Tears We Cannot Stop, What Truth Sounds Like, and Long Time Coming. Dyson is a prominent public intellectual, an ordained Baptist minister, and a noted political analyst. A two-time NAACP Image Award winner, he is also the winner of the American Book Award for Come Hell or High Water. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Dyson currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee.