Words for My Comrades - by Dean Van Nguyen (Hardcover)

About the Book

"From Pitchfork and Guardian contributor Dean Van Nguyen comes a revelatory history of Tupac beyond his musical legend, as a radical son of the Black Panther Party whose political legacy still resonates today. Before his murder at age twenty-five, Tupac Shakur rose to staggering artistic heights as the preeminent storyteller of the 1990s, building, in the process, one of the most iconic public personas of the last half century. He recorded no fewer than ten platinum albums, starred in major films, and became an activist and political hero known the world over. In this cultural history, journalist Van Nguyen reckons with Tupac's coming of age, fame, and cultural capital, and how the political machinations that shaped him as a boy have since buoyed his legacy as a revolutionary following the George Floyd uprisings. Words for My Comrades engages-crucially-with the influence of Tupac's mother, Afeni, whose role in the Black Panther Party and dedication to dismantling American imperialism and police brutality informed Tupac's art. Tupac's childhood as a son of the Panthers, coupled with the influence of his stepfather's Marxist beliefs, became his own riveting code of ethics that helped listeners reckon with America's inherent injustices. Using oral histories from conversations with the people who shaped Tupac's life and career, many of whom were interviewed for the first time here-from Panther elder Aaron Dixon, to music video director Stephen Ashley Blake, to friends and contemporaries of Tupac's mother-Van Nguyen demonstrates how Tupac became one of the most enduring musical legends in hip-hop history, and how intimately his name is threaded with the legacy of Black Panther politics. Van Nguyen reveals how Tupac and Afeni each championed the disenfranchised in distinct ways, and how their mother-son bond charts a narrative of the last fifty years of revolutionary Black American politics. Words for My Comrades is the story of how the energy of the Black political movement was subsumed by culture, and how America produced two of its most iconic, enduring revolutionaries"--

Book Synopsis

From Pitchfork and Guardian contributor Dean Van Nguyen comes a revelatory history of Tupac beyond his musical legend, as a radical son of the Black Panther Party whose political legacy still resonates today.

Before his murder at age twenty-five, Tupac Shakur rose to staggering artistic heights as the preeminent storyteller of the 1990s, building, in the process, one of the most iconic public personas of the last half century. He recorded no fewer than ten platinum albums, starred in major films, and became an activist and political hero known the world over. In this cultural history, journalist Van Nguyen reckons with Tupac's coming of age, fame, and cultural capital, and how the political machinations that shaped him as a boy have since buoyed his legacy as a revolutionary following the George Floyd uprisings. Words for My Comrades engages--crucially--with the influence of Tupac's mother, Afeni, whose role in the Black Panther Party and dedication to dismantling American imperialism and combating police brutality informed Tupac's art. Tupac's childhood as a son of the Panthers, coupled with the influence of his stepfather's Marxist beliefs, informed his own riveting code of ethics that helped audiences grapple with America's inherent injustices.

Using oral histories from conversations with the people who directly witnessed Tupac's life and career, many of whom were interviewed for the first time here--from Panther elder Aaron Dixon, to music video director Stephen Ashley Blake, to friends and contemporaries of Tupac's mother--Van Nguyen demonstrates how Tupac became one of the most enduring musical legends in hip-hop history, and how intimately his name is threaded with the legacy of Black Panther politics.

Van Nguyen reveals how Tupac and Afeni each championed the disenfranchised in distinct ways, and how their mother-son bond charts a narrative of the last fifty years of revolutionary Black American politics. Words for My Comrades is the story of how the energy of the Black political movement was subsumed by culture, and how America produced two of its most iconic, enduring revolutionaries.

Review Quotes

"Words for My Comrades is elegant, incisive, and deeply considered. With Tupac's political history as the focus, Dean Van Nguyen properly humanizes a man who reached mythical status long ago. An astounding achievement." --Marcus J. Moore, author of High and Rising (A Book About De La Soul)

"In a time in which having a rich relationship with the truth is especially vital, here comes Dean Van Nguyen. History is either a tool of the state or an outside screaming for freedom. Words for My Comrades is about freedom--it is freedom at work." --Saeed Jones, award-winning author of How We Fight For Our Lives

"In Words For My Comrades, Dean Van Nguyen deftly ties Tupac's brilliant career with his anti-capitalist upbringing. A richly researched biography that honors his subject's bold, deeply textured life and art." --Walter Thompson-Hernández, author of The Compton Cowboys

"Moves confidently...Fresh interpretations of a foundational hip-hop narrative." --Kirkus Reviews

"Music journalist Dean Van Nguyen paints a comprehensive portrait of Tupac Shakur--not just as the legendary rapper, but also as an artist existentially shaped by radical politics....As this bold biography makes evident, Shakur's political conscience naturally informed the way he approached his art." --Harper's Bazaar

"Words for My Comrades is a searing, essential corrective to the myth-making machine....reminding us that behind every platinum plaque might be a Panther's ghost, still howling for justice." --Monique Snyman, Bram Stoker-award nominated author of The Night Weaver

About the Author

DEAN VAN NGUYEN is a music journalist and cultural critic for Pitchfork, The Guardian, Bandcamp Daily, and Jacobin, among others. He is based in Dublin, Ireland.