G’Ra Asim is a writer and musician, and an assistant professor of Creative Writing at

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. He is the author of ''Boyz n the Void: a mixtape to my brother'', published by

Beacon Press Beacon Press is an American left-wing non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is known for publishing authors such as Jame ...

. Asim has served as Writing Director at the African American Policy Forum, a gender and race justice think tank at

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

and a graduate teaching fellow in Columbia University's Undergraduate Writing Program. He sings, plays bass, and writes lyrics for DIY pop punk quintet, Baby Got Back Talk.

Early life

Asim was born in St. Louis. He is the son of author, poet, playwright, and professor of writing, literature and publishing at

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...

Jabari Asim Jabari Asim (born August 11, 1962) is an American author, poet, playwright, and professor of writing, literature and publishing at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the former editor-in-chief of ''The Crisis'' magazine, a journal of ...

Education

Asim obtained a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

in Nonfiction Writing from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 2018, and a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

Writing Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...

, Literature, and Publishing from

in 2014, where he graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

Writing

Asim is an assistant professor of Creative Writing at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

. Previously, he served as assistant professor of Nonfiction Writing at

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca (town), New York, Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a Music school, conservatory of music. Ithaca College is known for its media-related programs and entertainment program ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and as Writing Director at the African American Policy Forum in

. His work has appeared in ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

Guernica Guernica (, ), officially Gernika () in Basque, is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the municipality of Gernika-Lumo ...

The Baffler ''The Baffler'' is an American magazine of cultural, political, and business analysis. Established in 1988 by editors Thomas Frank and Keith White, it was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, until 2010, when it moved to Cambridge, Massachusett ...

'', and ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

''. His Salon essay,

Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...

Ruins It for Smart Black Guys, was featured in NYT’s Idea of the Day recommended reading section. Asim has hosted or been in conversation with other writers, including

Colson Whitehead Arch Colson Chipp Whitehead (born November 6, 1969) is an American novelist. He is the author of nine novels, including his 1999 in literature, 1999 debut ''The Intuitionist''; ''The Underground Railroad (novel), The Underground Railroad'' (2016) ...

and

John Darnielle John Darnielle (; born March 16, 1967) is an American musician and novelist best known as the primary, and originally sole, member of the American band The Mountain Goats, for which he is the writer, composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. H ...

. Asim is the author of the Kirkus Review-starred book, Boyz n the Void: a mixtape to my brother. Kirkus Reviews named Boyz n the Void one of the best nonfiction books of 2021. The book blends music and cultural criticism and personal essay to explore race, gender, class, and sexuality in relation to punk rock and straight edge culture. According to

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

“Asim presents the book as a compilation of personal letters to his younger brother, Gyasi, supplemented by its own song, usually of the pop-punk variety. Following a similar model as

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...

’s “ My Dungeon Shook” and

Ta-Nehisi Coates Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates ( ; born September 30, 1975) is an American author, journalist, and activist. He gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at ''The Atlantic'', where he wrote about cultural, social, and political is ...

’s “ Between the World and Me” — works written, respectively, to Baldwin’s nephew and Coates’s son — Asim seeks to convey caution and road-weary wisdom to his young charge."

Music

A Spike Lee Joint

In 2010, four

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

musicians, including Asim, collaborated to form a punk/pop band called A Spike Lee Joint. The Washington Post called them “budding irrepressibles,” and noted that the band: “arrived at its name by taking a touchstone of black culture and repurposing it.” Days after The Washington Post wrote that story,

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

hit the band with a cease-and-desist.

Baby Got Back Talk

Asim sings, plays bass, and writes lyrics for Baby Got Back Talk. The band was named one of

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political r ...

’ “17 rising Black alternative bands who are leading the next generation.” Formed in 201

the band signed to Wiretap Records in 2022. Baby Got Back Talk has released a pair of extended plays: Take This The Wrong Way in 2017 and Up In Open Arms in 2018. Their full-length debut, Genre Reveal Party, released in 2020, was mixed by Paul Leavitt (All Time Low, Senses Fail, Yellowcard). The band released Existential Shred, recorded at Nada Recording Studios with John Naclerio (Just Surrender, The Audition), in 2022. PunkNews's Best of 2022 list featured Existential Shred. Baby Got Back Talk performed at Afropunk Festival, AfroPunk Festival in 2019, Punk Island in 2018, and the 5th Anniversary Remembrance Ceremony of the #SayHerNameCampaign in 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asim, GRa American male non-fiction writers Living people American bass guitarists American lyricists Emerson College alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Washington University in St. Louis faculty Ithaca College faculty Writers from St. Louis Year of birth missing (living people)