Chronological list of recent books I have completed (with brief reviews,if I feel like it).
2025
Dilla Time - Dan Charnas
Fantastic and inspiring overview of the life, successes, and struggles of arguably the most influential producer of our generation. Much more than just a biography, Charnas dives into the music-theoretical view of Dilla's impact as well as blending in an interesting look at the culture of Detroit, the contemporary workings of the music industry, and the horrors of auto-immune disorders. My lone gripe is a bit too much focus on the legal battles of the Yancey estate after his passing. In general it is a must-read for hip-hop heads.
Hip-Hop is History - ?uestlove
3 Shades of Blue - James Kaplan
Nothing To Envy - Barbara Demick
A chillingly personal and human overview of life in Kim-regime North Korea. Focuses on the stories of a select number on "unremarkable" citizens of the dictatorial regime. Details their lives in DPRK, their means of escape and, unique to other accounts on the topic, their struggles to integrate into modern society after achieving freedom.
Living Space: John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Free Jazz, from Analog to Digital - Michael E. Veal
A collection of essays comparing free jazz to other artistic movements and comparing the merits and influences between the two. At times very dense. Particularly, for this reader, the analogies made specifically referencing architecture. Fortunately, if you don't connect with the topic at hand, the next essay is sure to grip you. A fine service is done especially to Miles' “lost quintet” which doesn't receive nearly enough academic focus.
2024
Walden - Henry David Thoreau