Never Drank the Kool-Aid

Finished reading this book about a week ago. A writer friend of mine sent it to me along with a rather amusing and rambling letter apologizing for something that I wasn’t entirely clear about. Anyway, if you haven’t checked this out, Toure is sort of a legend in the entertainment journalism world, and in writing in general. He’s written for the media outlets that most of us wouldn’t mind getting a paycheck from.

This book is sort of the “best of” of his interviews. His style is unique, and if you’ve ever read any of his work, he’s got a way of putting you right there with the person that he is interviewing. He doesn’t get it right 100% of the time, but when he does, he is really on fire. The interviews with Lauryn Hill and Questlove, and the famous interviews with Tupac and Prince are the highlights here, but each interview has something to offer to the reader. He says in the introduction to the book that “I never bought into the philosophy of the rappers, singers, and celebrities I wrote about. I wasn’t there to help extend their brands and the story they were selling.”

That’s a noble goal, particularly in the field of entertainment journalism, and he achieves it with a good deal of success. Recommended reading if you have any interest in the field at all.