Buck: A Memoir

In his memoir, Asante, a Zimbabwe native and a Philly transplant, plays out the events of his childhood against the backdrop of the street-savvy rhythms of hip hop. In this soul-searching memoir, Asante describes himself as a “true African-American,” born in the motherland, and he recalls his family life in “Killadelphia” with his Afrocentric “Pops” and slightly off-kilter “Moms,” who winds up in a psychiatric facility, as well as his older brother Uzi, who goes to prison for the statutory rape of a white girl. Asante blends the old soul riffs of Amiri Baraka and Ishmael Reed with the helter-skelter stream-of-consciousness of New Journalism scribes Hunter Thompson, Terry Southern, and Tom Wolfe, tossing in a dash of Sister Soulja and Donald Goines, in his journey through the crime-ridden city streets. It’s the snippets of scenes—almost overheard chatter—and colorful descriptions that make this memoir memorable, as in his description of the funeral of Amir, the riff on the all-important “dead presidents” or money on the block, and his time at Crefeld alternative school. Asante’s noir chronicle is imaginative, powerful, and electric, written with passion and conviction. (Aug.)