Where I disagree with Ye, however, is in his total dismissal of reading books, which he likens to “ eating Brussels sprouts.” Rap music is a lot of things, but it includes quite a bit of reverence for literature.īooks have a high place in hip-hop. In some ways, you might say Kanye West and I are on the same page.
I think that performing a freestyle – that is to say, writing and reciting seemingly spontaneous rap lyrics on the spot – requires levels of intelligence that are often overlooked or racistly cast off as “ natural talent” that don’t require studying or practice.įor instance, the mind-blowing 10-minute freestyle that rapper Black Thought performed live on New York radio station Hot 97 in 2017 is a master-class demonstration of brilliance that is a result of years of study and practice. CarsonĮven as a former high school literature teacher, I never believed the only way – or even the primary way – for people to demonstrate intellect was through reading books. Owning My Masters: The Rhetorics of Rhymes & Revolutions by A.D. For my doctoral dissertation in 2017, I made a rap album and resisted any calls to submit a formally written explanation of the work.
Those questions took on more importance in light of the fact that Ye recently launched Donda Academy, a private educational venture named after his late mother, Donda West, who was herself an English professor.Īs a rap artist, author and academic, I would never argue that reading lots of books is the only path to gaining knowledge or showing intelligence.Īfter all, I created the first-ever peer-reviewed hip-hop album published by a university press. When Ye – the artist formerly known as Kanye West – stated during a recent podcast that he doesn’t read books, some people questioned whether he was sending the wrong message to children.
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