Gaikokujin—The Story: Hip Hop, Race, and Pursuing the American Dream
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Description
外黒人 is a spiritual rags to riches adventure. A confused son trying to appease his angry father, like so many neglected children, Takuan was a stranger in his own home. This led to his search for a surrogate family in the street—mainly at the local basketball courts. A sanctuary for teens, the courts served as a personal mental-health facility. Amidst the laughter, fun, fights, and tension provided by his peers, not only did he get ‘schooled' by playground legends, even more significant were the off-the-court tutorials by older playboys and pushers on the neighborhood value system: which was how to get over on society. After learning how to ‘make a dollar out of fifteen cents' Tak was heading down a tried-and-true path for disaster. Part memoir, part historical treatise, and part survivor's guide, the perspective of a ‘mixed-race' child is articulated along with the slang-jargon, musical references, and pivotal news stories of the 1970s and ‘80s to paint a vivid landscape of the times that can be seen, heard, and almost touched.
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About the Author
Takuan Amaru is an author, teacher, and mental-health specialist. Former columnist of the Examiner (Philadelphia) magazine, he has written over 100 articles on various topics such as popular culture/music, ancient spirituality, and philosophy. Tak borrows from diverse life-experiences as a soldier, social worker, athlete, as well as music artist to connect with readers. He makes his home in Nagoya, Japan. For more information, please email him at [email protected] Or, he can be reached on Facebook
