Miles Marshall Lewis (born December 18, 1970) is an American pop culture critic, essayist, literary editor, fiction writer, and music journalist. He is a graduate of

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

, class of 1993.

Career

Lewis was born in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York, at the beginning of

hip hop culture Hip hop or hip-hop is a culture and art movement that was created by African Americans, Latino Americans and Caribbean Americans in the Bronx, New York City. Hip hop culture is characterized by four key elements: rapping, DJing and turntablis ...

in the early 1970s. He

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

d from the United States to Paris, France during 2004 in response to the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

. His debut essay collection, '' Scars of the Soul Are Why Kids Wear Bandages When They Don't Have Bruises'' (2004) – a book described as "an observant and urbane B-boy's rites of passage" – established Lewis as a prose stylist observing

American culture The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western, and European origin, yet its influences includes the cultures of Asian American, African American, Latin American, and Native American peoples and their cultures. The U ...

in a style directly influenced by

Joan Didion Joan Didion (; December 5, 1934 – December 23, 2021) was an American writer. Along with Tom Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson and Gay Talese, she is considered one of the pioneers of New Journalism. Didion's career began in the 1950s after she won an ...

, mixing personal reflection with social analysis and humor. Lewis's second book, ''There's a Riot Goin' On'' (2006), deals with the making of the seminal 1971 album of the same name by

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-i ...

, and the death of the 1960s

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

. His third, ''Promise That You Will Sing About Me: The Power and Poetry of Kendrick Lamar'' (2021), is a cultural biography of

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

. Lewis was also the founder and editor of the defunct literary journal ''Bronx Biannual''. In 2007, Lewis launched Furthermucker.com, where he blogged about the arts, pop culture, hip-hop culture, and his experiences as an African American expatriate in 21st-century Paris.

Family

He and his French wife Christine Herelle-Lewis live together in New York City. They have two sons.

References

External links

Miles Marshall Lewis's website
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Miles Marshall Lewis on TwitterMiles Marshall Lewis on Facebook
American music critics American male journalists American essayists African-American writers Morehouse College alumni 1970 births Living people American male essayists 21st-century American journalists 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people {{US-journalist-1970s-stub