Synopses & Reviews
His name is Touré just Touré and like many of the musicians, athletes, and celebrities he's profiled, he has affected the way that we think about culture in America. He has profiled Eminem, 50 Cent, and Alicia Keys for the cover of
Rolling Stone. He's played high-stakes poker with Jay-Z and basketball with Prince and Wynton Marsalis. In Touré's world, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. sits beside Condoleezza Rice who sits beside hip-hop pioneer Tupac Shakur, and all of them are fascinating company.
Never Drank the Kool-Aid is the chronicle of Touré's unparalleled journey through the American funhouse called pop culture. Its rooms are filled with creative, arrogant, kind, ordinary, and extraordinary people, most of whom happen to be famous. It is Touré's gift to be able to see through the artifice of their world and understand the genuine motivations behind their achievements to see who they truly are as people. This is a searingly funny, surprisingly unguarded, and deeply insightful look at a world few of us comprehend.
Review
"Touré's an exceptional journalist....He is if you can imagine it Oscar Wilde as a street thug. This is the marvelous tone he's been able to achieve." Tom Wolfe, author of I Am Charlotte Simmons and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
Review
"Not only is he one of the most gifted writers of his generation, but his sharp insight, poetic phrasing, and biting humor...make his dazzling performance on page a sheer joy to read. Never Drank the Kool-Aid is a Touré-de-force!" Michael Eric Dyson, author of Holler if You Hear Me and I May Not Get There with You
Review
"Touré came to Rolling Stone as an intern in 1992. He was a lousy intern we fired him but a great writer and we soon hired him back....His work is like his subjects: stylish, vivid, and burning with energy." Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone magazine
Review
"In the end, this book is less about any subject than it is about the author himself. The selections are arranged thematically, so you slowly become immersed in his world through his interviews before encountering more personal thoughts." San Diego Union-Tribune
Review
"Fascinating bits of off-the-cuff sociology abound....[T]his is a wholly involving and piercingly intelligent examination of contemporary popular culture." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
His name is Touré--just Touré--and like many of the musicians, athletes, and celebrities he's profiled, he has affected the way that we think about culture in America. He has profiled Eminem, 50 Cent, and Alicia Keys for the cover of
Rolling Stone. He's played high-stakes poker with Jay-Z and basketball with Prince and Wynton Marsalis. In Touré's world, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. sits beside Condoleezza Rice who sits beside hip-hop pioneer Tupac Shakur, and all of them are fascinating company.
Never Drank the Kool-Aid is the chronicle of Touré's unparalleled journey through the American funhouse called pop culture. Its rooms are filled with creative, arrogant, kind, ordinary, and extraordinary people, most of whom happen to be famous. It is Touré's gift to be able to see through the artifice of their world and understand the genuine motivations behind their achievements--to see who they truly are as people. This is a searingly funny, surprisingly unguarded, and deeply insightful look at a world few of us comprehend.
About the Author
Touré is the author of the novel Soul City and the story collection The Portable Promised Land. A contributing editor at Rolling Stone, his writing has also appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Tennis Magazine, The Best American Essays, and Da Capo Best American Music Writing, among other publications. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1. I'm AudiIt Was a Wonderful World (Biggie Smalls,
The Village Voice) 2. Sensitive ThugsThe Family Man (Eninem,
Rolling Stone)The Life of a Hunted Man (50 Cent,
Rolling Stone)DMX Drives Crazy, but He Loves You (
Rolling Stone)I'm Scared to Death, but I Gotta Live (Biggie Smalls,
Rolling Stone)The Toughest Record Exec Ever (Dick Griffey,
XXL) 3. Big WilliesBest Rapper Alive (Puff Daddy,
The Village Voice)Hiphop's Biggest Kid Grows Up (Russell Simmons,
Playboy)The Power of Radio (Andre Harrell, unpublished)Al Sharpton Has a Dream (
Playboy)Ships Passing in the Night (Barack Obama and Colin Powell,
Suede magazine) 4. IcarusesInvincible Man (Tupac,
The Village Voice)The Ivy League Counterfeiter (Cliff Evans,
Rolling Stone)The Greatest Tennis Player You've Never Heard Of (Al Parker, Jr.,
Tennis magazine)Inherit the Wind (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.,
Rolling Stone)The Mystery of Lauryn Hill (
Rolling Stone) 5. Almost FamousA Woman Possessed (Beyoncé,
Rolling Stone)The Next Queen of Soul (Alicia Keys,
Rolling Stone)Lauryn in Love (Lauryn Hill,
Rolling Stone)Kurt Is My Copilot (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.,
Rolling Stone) 6. Get Up, Get Out, and Get InvolvedJay-Z Has Got Guts (
Rolling Stone)Do You Like My Jesus Piece? (Kanye West,
Rolling Stone)You Can Call Him Prince (
Icon Magazine)Wynton Marsalis Wants to Kick Your Ass (
Icon Magazine)Just Jen (Jennifer Capriati, unpublished) 7. Microphone Fiend"Crack Is Responsible for Hiphop" (Ahmir Thompson, aka ?uestlove,
The Believer) 8. Strange FruitCondoleezza Rice Is a House Negro (
Suede magazine)Show Me the Money (Michael Jordan,
The Village Voice)The Five-Mic Personality, or Why I Hate Mary J. Blige (
Vibe) 9. Somehow, There's Love in the Hiphop NationI Live in the Hiphop Nation (
The New York Times)Love Your Niggas (
The Village Voice)Are Gay Rappers Too Real for Hiphop? (Caushun,
The New York Times)Hiphop Famiglia (Junior M.A.F.I.A. and the Wu-Tang Clan,
The Village Voice)No Drinks in '96! (Funkmaster Flex,
The New Yorker) 10. Boys Will Be BoysTrainspotting (
The New Yorker)Night Moves (
The New Yorker)Bling-bling Makes the Dictionary! (unpublished)An Invitation to Carnal Russian Roulette, or Memoirs of a Sexual Desperado (
The Bastard on the Couch) 11. Who Do You Think You Are?What's Inside You, Brother? (
The Best American Essays 1996)A Funky Fresh Talented Tenth (unpublished)The Blackest Tennis Club in the World (
Tennis magazine) 12. I Can't Take ItAt Jam Master Jay's Funeral (unpublished)