Georgetown professor and New York Times best-selling author Michael Eric Dyson is examining JAY-Z’s status as a cultural icon. The NAACP Image Award winner will do so in a new book titled JAY-Z: Made In America, which features a forward written by Pharrell Williams.
“I thought this was the perfect time to take a look at JAY-Z’s career and his role in making this nation what it is today,” Dyson told Entertainment Weekly. “In many ways, this is JAY-Z’s America as much as it’s Obama’s America, or Trump’s America, or Martin Luther King’s America, or Nancy Pelosi’s America, or Maxine Waters’ America.”
He continued, “JAY-Z has given this country a language to think with and words to live by, and his lyrics have shaped the self-understanding of a culture that grapples with race and injustice and inequality everyday. He’s an important thinker and artist, and my book tries to measure his impact and acknowledge his greatness.”
Dyson’s book is scheduled to released on November 26, just a few days before Hov turns 50. For Dyson, the upcoming literary work is the culmination of years of analyzing and teaching about the Roc Nation boss.
“This book is the fruit of a decade of teaching about one of the greatest poets this nation has produced,” he said. “JAY-Z is not only a remarkable recording artist and ingenious businessman, but he is one of our most gifted wordsmiths whose language drips with all the poetic tricks and skills you’ll find in Walt Whitman, Robert Frost and Rita Dove. But as a rapper, he’s sometimes not given the credit he deserves for just how great an artist he’s been for so long.”
He added, “This book wrestles with the biggest theme of his career, hustling, and what it looks like when it shows up illegally in the underground and how it looks when it’s part of legitimate society.”
Pre-orders for JAY-Z: Made In America are available now.
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I hate to say it but he’s right. I remember how much of the youth dressed differently after the black album. Hella people were rocking long sleeve button down shirts with fitted hats. Jay was the first NY rapper to shout out No Limit and the first to do a song with Cash Money. He was the first rapper talking about Cristol and the first to wear tennis bracelets. People unfamiliar with the culture have no idea how many things he influenced.
Raekwon and Ghostface were the first rappers talking about Cristal.
THANK YOU. THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW THE STORY AS TO HOW THEY EVEN STUMBLED UPON CRISTAL. PERIOD!
Tupac talked about chrystall in 96 on thug passion off of all eyes on me album
Michael Eric Dyson is a Holywood puppet that is supposedly a Black intellectual. He reminds me of Neil Tyson. They are more inclined to pop culture than anything. This is a hiphop site, why is he even being talked about? Black people should think as individuals and we don’t need so called leaders and representatives to project our views.
He’s writing a book about the biggest, most influential rapper of all time. Why wouldn’t a hip hop site cover that? Also, what’s the name of your book so I can check out how much better you write than MED?
HOV is def One of the GOATS BUT even die hard jay fans will tell you he’s NOWWHERE near as influential as PAC and Em is the biggest artist of all time as far as sales those are the facts.Who the best rapper is a matter of opinion
99 problems but the bitch ain’t one eh!
Most overrated artist of all time ! He’s just an opportunist who took advantage of the void left by some of the greatest in the game (dead, retired or inactive). Back in the 90’s jay-z was not even considered in the top four. 2pac, biggie, nas and dmx were running the game.
I ain’t buyin this hardcore dickridin that is going for more then a decade now.
Don’t get me wrong. Jay-z is a good artist. But he’s definitely not the goat with the cultural impact the medias and all the sheep are portrayin him to be.
Your mother wishes you were more like Jay Z.
Jay-Z’s cultural impact is a big zero. He’s a good businessman and an overrated rapper. Nobody wanna flow like him, nobody wanna make music like him, so his cultural imact is zero.
Not in my top 10.
I’m a fan of Dyson and Jay-Z but Nas is the “important thinker.” Dyson chose Jay to sell books.
Dyson been a wave riding “clout chasing” apologist for years. Making excuses for Black dis-function and writing butt kissing patty cake write ups like he’s on the payroll…
Yep building your empire off selling crack to your own people making their suffering worse and feeding the epidemic and suddenly being so concerned about them is really worthy of putting into a book fuck this weird crossaint lipped bitch