The Hip Hop Manifesto
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
It was a greater understanding of The Hip Hop Manifesto (the sacred text of The Word) and the truth it was purported to expound that led El from that campfire in Gorman, California to an ark (small community) on the outskirts of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. There, on the third floor of a damp, drafty, hollowed-out high-rise that still managed to hold on to the pavement like broken teeth dangling from a receding gum line, a crew of four mystics were said to preserve the tradition recorded in The Manifesto. “Posers and imposters self proclaim a place…” a throaty and condemning voice boomed through a huge hole in the ceiling above El. He looked up but could see no one. The voice was followed by three intonations that seamlessly meshed with the one preceding it. “…Among Hip Hop’s latter day saints,” said the second, clearly enunciating. “The gold, it rolls, but the soul is cold,” the third tone despaired. The voice carried a lisp that made the words slightly more difficult to gather but added to the unique character of his delivery. “…And with every rhyme the inner light grows faint,” slithered the fourth voice. They paused for a moment and then began again in the same order in which they started. “They want a slammin’ single but a commercial jingle…” “Only exposes what is hidden.” “A longing for a lost legendary manual…” “That reveals how the soul is saved, while the rhythm is ridden.”
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
The dominant religion of the year 2109 is Verbalism (a.k.a. The Word)—a belief system centered on the lyrical and written wisdom of rappers and countless other scribes throughout the ages who are regarded as prophets. Confused by his inability to grasp the subtleties of this faith, El Adrel travels east across the wasteland of a once great United States to find the “Bible” of his religion, The Hip Hop Manifesto. Guided by mystics, who possess extraordinary mental powers, and his own conscience, El Adrel navigates his way through the clutches of a temptress and the control of a demigod on the road towards self-realization and empowerment. In the end, he must make a choice: will he embrace a new order and choose power and wealth, or will he answer the voice that calls to him and give in to his destiny?
About the Author
Hozeh holds a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from Lafayette College and a Master of Arts in Writing Studies from St. Joseph’s University. He’s taught in elementary and middle schools in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Hozeh has performed in New York and in Philadelphia as a rapper and as a spoken word artist. In the early nineties, he won Temple University’s First Annual Poetry Slam. Recently, Hozeh has won the 2007 Hurston/Wright Award for College Writers, conducted literary readings and lectured at Wagner College on creative and expository writing, and won the Robertson-Shonubi Scholarship to attend the New York State Summer Writers Institute. Hozeh has traveled in the Caribbean and enjoys cooking, exercising, and listening to seventy’s Rock and R&B.