''Born to Use Mics: Reading Nas's'' Illmatic, edited by

Michael Eric Dyson Michael Eric Dyson (born October 23, 1958) is an American academic, author, Baptist minister, and radio host. He is a professor in the College of Arts and Science and in the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University. Described by Michael A. Fletche ...

and Sohail Daulatzai is a collection of scholarly essays and historical documents presenting ''

Illmatic ''Illmatic'' (stylized in lowercase) is the debut studio album by the American rapper Nas, released on April 19, 1994, by Columbia Records. After signing with the label with the help of MC Serch, Nas recorded the album in 1992 and 1993 at Chung ...

'' from an academic perspective. The book features contributions from scholars and intellectuals including Adilifu Nama, Guthrie P. Ramsey Jr., James Peterson,

Marc Lamont Hill Marc Lamont Hill (born December 17, 1978) is an American academic, author, activist, and television personality. He is a professor of urban education at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. He is the host of '' UpFront'' on Al Jazeera Eng ...

Mark Anthony Neal Mark Anthony Neal is an American author and academic. He is the Professor of Black Popular Culture in the Department of African and African-American Studies at Duke University, where he won the 2010 Robert B. Cox Award for Teaching. Neal has writt ...

Imani Perry Imani Perry (born September 5, 1972) is an American interdisciplinary scholar of race, law, literature, and African American culture. She is currently the Henry A. Morss, Jr. and Elisabeth W. Morss Professor of Studies of Women, Gender and Sex ...

Kyra Gaunt Kyra Danielle Gaunt is an African American Ethnomusicology, ethnomusicologist, Black Girl studies, girlhood studies advocate, social media researcher, Feminism, feminist Performance art, performance artist, and professor at the University at Alba ...

, and Eddie S. Glaude. It also includes a preface written by

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

. In the introduction, Sohail Daulatzai explains the structure of the book, writing: ''Born to Use Mics...'' attempts to establish itself as a guide for exploring ''

'' and its lessons on race, gender, and hip-hop culture. It includes an interpretive chapter for each song on the album, and features a section devoted to interviews, reviews, and personal reminiscences. The book has been noted as a milestone in hip-hop scholarship, since it is the first to assemble a group of scholars and intellectuals to analyze a singular album within the genre. In a review of ''Born to Use Mics'', Alessandro Porco comments on the significance of this intellectual project: "Given the high volume of books published every year on hip-hop music and culture, it's surprising that ''Born to Use Mics'' is the first book of its kind, one dedicated to a single epoch-defining record."

References

Nas Hip-hop books 2009 non-fiction books {{music-book-stub