From Staircase to Stage. Raekwon with Anthony Bozza . 2021. Gallery Books. 320 pages. [Source: Personal copy.] I’ll be the first to admit that while Wu-Tang Clan is a legendary hip-hop supergroup, I was woefully unaware of their story. I’ve always known a world in which the group is highly respected and lauded for their artistry, but only recently have I had the opportunity to really delve into the group’s origin and overall career arc.  Raekwon’s autobiography, From Staircase to Stage was my first foray into Wu Tang’s story, and I’m ashamed that it took so long. From Staircase to Stage is Raekwon’s story, without a doubt. He provides an in-depth look into his life from his childhood, before he fathomed becoming a musician, to his current life as an established artist renowned for his lyricism. From his early days as a drug dealer, to his antics while on the road with the group, and into adulthood, he shares a lot of himself.  I appreciate that he takes a reflective approach; he’s had a lot of ups and downs but there’s a lot of clarity he shares along with the experiences.  He readily admits his shortcomings without shying away from…

You Are Ketchup: And Other Fly Music Industry Tales. Kokayi. 2022. Backbeat Books. 212 pages. [Source: Public library.] As a longtime DMV* resident and fan of countless musicians originating here, I’m not a stranger to seeing Kokayi’s name, well, everywhere. I wasn’t, however, familiar with the full scope of his career, and when the opportunity came to read his new release, You Are Ketchup, I jumped at the chance.  Y.A.K. is part memoir-part advice manual for up-and-coming musicians/artists, but is filled with career, life, and love lessons for anyone who picks it up.  Using the metaphor of ketchup as a commodity, Kokayi sets artists up for critical thought and planning about their talent, marketability, aspirations, and expectations — nearly every aspect of their career .  He’s not preachy or even “one size fits all,” in his approach, and he doesn’t hold any cards.  The game is the game, and the way he presents his own experiences allows for direct advice to help artists move through their career with intentionality so they can actually enjoy one with longevity and viability. Kokayi is a brilliant storyteller and deftly balances painful memories and honest truths with just enough humor to take the edge…

How to Be Alone: If You Want To, and Even If You Don’t. Lane Moore. 2018. Atria Books. 224 pages. [Source: Public library.] Random scrolling in the Libby app led me to How to Be Alone, written by comedian, writer, and musician Lane Moore. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but the title caught my attention considering I enjoy my fair share of alone time. How to Be Alone, however, is less about the beauty found in solitude, and more about how the author coped with the physical and psychological isolation she has navigated since her childhood. In this memoir, Moore shares vignettes of her life that center her connections with other people — or lack thereof. From friendships, to relationships, and her career, she bares a lot in the name of transparency, and it reads a lot like a cautionary tale. The “how-to” aspect of the book was not prominent until the final chapter. The rest, however, did read like a “what not to do,” though I’m not sure that’s what the author intended. Moore isn’t specific in the book about the nature of what she experienced with her family, but she is clear about its impact on…

Can I Mix You a Drink. T-PAIN, Maxwell Britten. 2021. Kingston Imperial. 144 pages. [Source: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.] Every time I pick up this book, I hear a familiar refrain in my head after reading the title, “… and theeen, I’ma take you home with meee.” (“Buy You a Drank“) I expected nothing less than clever quips and ridiculous stories from T-Pain. It goes without saying that he’s a talented musician, but I’ve always enjoyed his presence which comes across as him just being a really funny, relatable guy who’s here for a good time and wants to pull you in on the fun. The kind person you can’t be around for long before he says something to make you actually laugh out loud. Thus was my experience with Can I Mix You a Drink. From the introduction, in which he shares his own introduction to alcohol with a humorous, yet concerning anecdote, it’s clear this book will take you on a ride that’ll have you laughing all the way to your home bar set-up. Can I Mix You a Drink highlights 50 cocktails inspired by songs from T-Pain’s catalog….

Memorial Drive. Natasha Tretheway. 2020. Bloomsbury Publishing. 229 pages. [Source: public library.] Mother-daughter relationships are so often fraught. Mothers are often entrusted with raising healthy, whole adults and it seems daughters will find themselves raging against the strain of expectation and vicarious dreams. If they’re lucky, time will give them opportunity to reconcile the tension and benefit from an understanding of each other that comes with age. Unfortunately, that’s not the story of Memorial Drive, Natasha Trethewey’s memoir. Instead, Memorial Drive starts off with the hard truth that Natasha and her mother Gwendolyn did not have the benefit of time bringing them closer with a renewed relationship. It starts where it ends, with Gwendolyn’s murder at the hands of her ex-husband when Natasha was a 19-year-old freshman in college. The rest of the book follows as Trethewey, more than 30 years on, reflects on her childhood and adolescence, framed largely around the relationship between her and her mother. She recounts her earliest years with her black American mother and white Canadian father in the relative cocoon of familiarity in Mississippi. Later, when her parents separate, she ends up in Georgia, where the majority of her trauma unfolds during a period…