I Am The Rain King: The Dead Emcee Scrolls

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"Before you know it as the years go by, you're just like other people you have seen, with all those peculiar human ailments. Just another vehicle for temper and vanity and rashness and all the rest. Who wants it? Who needs it? These things occupy the place where a man's soul should be." -- Henderson the Rain King

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

The Dead Emcee Scrolls

Book #40 on my reading list this year was Saul Williams' The Dead Emcee Scrolls. I picked this one up as I'm a fan of a lot of Saul's previous work, including his first album Amethyst Rock Star, a genre bending masterpiece that would easily make my list of desert island hip hop discs.

The Dead Emcee Scrolls is a collection of Saul's poems and a biting critique of the blinged out rap game that has come to dominate MTV over the last few years. It's smart and screams out with an urgency that demands attention. The poems are solid throughout and at times spectacular, but they're even better when performed live (see links below).

"Most of my conversations with men seem to revolve around music." -- Saul Williams

Performing part of "Amethyst Rock" in Slam
"Telegram"
"Coded Language" at MOCA
", Said the Shotgun to the Head" excerpt
An extended review of The Dead Emcee Scrolls

Labels: books, saul williams

1 Comments:

Jamie said...

The s/t disc is pretty solid, but I didn't think it lived up to the first one.

I'll definitely check out the KEXP stuff, thanks for the pointer.