The Thousands

I’ll be honest. I got about a quarter of the way through this and very seriously considered looking for crib notes on the web. It’s not so much a biograpy as an encyclopaedia you see, and fuck me if I need to know the name of every single rapper to come out of New York, who his aunty was, how he did at school, and how Public Enemy once saw him at a cook-out. Especially since this comprehensive history is written with about as much flow as a dry river bed.

But don’t fret you guys. I’m a dedicated reviewer, and I love the shit out of Public Enemy, so I persevered. And now I know everything there is to know about the boys who renamed Long Island ‘Strong Island’, thereby wiping forever its reputation as the wussy girl’s cardigan of the East Coast.**Dubious? Test me. I dare you. I’ll take you down like Flavor Flav took down the Keith and Hank in a game of dozens in 1982; like a Rebel Without a Pause. Because while this book might lack the storytelling panache of The Dirt or Please Kill Me, it’s an amazing education in the DNA of hip hop and the group that brought pride and intelligence to the ghetto. Get schooled ya’ll.