“The thing that’s most gratifying to me is that the artists themselves like it and respect it, ’cause I’m trying to tell their story,” says BRIAN COLEMAN from his home in Somerville. “If Fredro from Onyx likes the book, that’s what matters to me.” Coleman is the author of Rakim Told Me, one of the most widely praised hip-hop books in history. A first-hand account of hip-hop classics, the self-published book created such a buzz that Random House asked him to update and release a much bigger book. Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies (Villard) hits stores June 12.“There are some parts of Rakim Told Me, but it is Volume II,” Coleman explains. “The De La Soul chapter is beefed up, I went back and got Prince Paul and Dante Ross. For the Ice-T chapter, I was able to track down Afrika Islam.” All told, Coleman doubled the amount of hip-hop information, to 500 pages, including and excluding some things from Rakim. Check is 36 chapters on the making of 36 hip-hop classics — everything from the Fugees to Too $hort. His new deal gives him international distribution, a huge helping of publicity, and, of course, money.
“It was good money. It was enough money to make me want to give it a shot.” After working for years as a jazz publicist and hip-hop freelancer, Coleman had months to work on the book. “The time I had, that’s what should happen, you can actually focus on writing. It let me do what I wanted to do. For the Beastie Boys chapter [“Check Your Head”] I talked to every single person involved in making that record. It gave me the luxury to do that. It was nothing but amazing, I’m really excited.”
Coleman has only praise for the publisher and his editor, Adam Korn, and he expects the new book to get some international exposure for Wax Facts Press, his tiny Somerville publishing house. “Until the book comes out, it’s very much a purgatorial thing. It’s like having a kid. It’s all been pretty crazy, but all good. I got no complaints. What I did before couldn’t be any smaller, it was just me!”
Now, Random House has placed his book under its Villard imprint, alongside Jeff Foxworthy and The Cubicle Survival Guide. The early buzz was garnered through just 10 copies for back-cover quotes: Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson of the Roots wrote the intro, and hip-hop author Ronin Ro calls it “truly essential rap history.” Coleman hopes to have book parties all over the US featuring the DJs and artists who inspired him, parties similar to the two he threw at the Milky Way in June 2005. These will be much larger. “I’m not a big fan of book signings. I don’t go to them, I don’t see the point of them — I mean, you want MY autograph?? — I want the music to be at the center of everything.” Expect events in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and maybe more.
But it’s not the accolades and the sales that Coleman’s really after. “When I first contacted Evil Dee [Black Moon/Beatminerz], I hadn’t sent him Rakim Told Me, and I was like, ‘Let me send you the book,’ and he was like, ‘Dude! I already bought that and I bought 10 copies and gave them out to all my friends!’ ” Coleman laughs. “And I was like, ‘Holy fucking shit dude!’ I mean, what better compliment can you ever have than that?”
UTOPIA SUNDAYS, Boston’s premier house weekly, always has a stacked deck of DJs, and the next two seem highly endorsable. This week (March 18), Soul Revival local legends KC HALLETT and ADAM GIBBONS prepare for their annual Miami sojourn by dropping all-new new joints, and on March 25 local party mixmaster PAUL FOLEY shows his housier side. If you have yet to experience Utopia, it’s recommended. Resident DJ BRUNO is one of the city’s top DJs, and the vibe is always a consistent high. Prepare to dance and dress with minimal layers, though, since there’s little people watching at the club, it’s all about the groove, the beats, and the dance. Head to Boston Rocks in Faneuil Hall the next Sunday you’re free.
Speaking of Miami: next week the Winter Music Conference launches in South Beach. It’s the premier event for mainstream clubdom, and Boston will surely send an army of DJs and labels down to spread the love — for starters, STEVE PORTER, RED FOXXWORTH, CRAIG MITCHELL, Gibbons and Hallett, and the crew from Rise. Bruno himself is throwing the “First Annual Boston Underground Sound” Sunday March 25 at Club Blue. Circuits is staying put but hoping to get there vicariously through the column. Next week perhaps?
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David Day: circuits@squar3.com
