MK's memoir is an unforgettable tale of how one precocious, confused kid educated himself through gangs, rap, mystic cults, ghetto philosophy, and, eventually, books. But as a teenager, MK was alone on the streets of North Philadelphia, swept up in a world of drugs, sex, and violence. MK Asante was born in Zimbabwe to American parents: his mother a dancer, his father a revered professor. You’ll want to listen.A coming-of-age story about navigating the wilds of urban America and the shrapnel of a self-destructing family, Buck shares the story of a generation through one original and riveting voice. Asante is a hip-hop raconteur, a storyteller in the Homeric tradition, an American, a rhymer, a big-thinker singing a song of himself. Buck grew from that, and it’s a bumper crop.”-Salon “Buck is so honest it floats-even while it’s so down-to-earth that the reader feels like an ant peering up from the concrete. soaks up James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston and Walt Whitman like thirsty ground in a heavy rain. Asante’s prose is a fluid blend of vernacular swagger and tender poeticism. A powerful and captivating book.”-Hector Tobar, Los Angeles Times “Remarkable. Asante’s memoir will find an eager readership, especially among young people searching in books for the kind of understanding and meaning that eludes them in their real-life relationships. Philly’s skateboarders, its street-corner philosophers and its tattoo artists are all brought vividly to life here. In fact, that city is the true star of this book. Asante at his best when he sets out into the city of Philadelphia itself. It takes great skill to render the wide variety of characters, male and female, young and old, that populate a memoir like Buck. written in a breathless, driving hip-hop prose style that gives it a tough, contemporary edge.”-The Philadelphia Inquirer “Frequently brilliant and always engaging. You will love nearly everything about Buck.”-Essence “A virtuoso performance. Buck may be this generation’s story.”-NPR “The voice of a new generation. Praise for Buck “A story of surviving and thriving with passion, compassion, wit, and style.”-Maya Angelou “In America, we have a tradition of black writers whose autobiographies and memoirs come to define an era. It is an inspiring tribute to the power of literature to heal and redeem us. MK’s memoir is an unforgettable tale of how one precocious, confused kid educated himself through gangs, rap, mystic cults, ghetto philosophy, and, eventually, books.

A coming-of-age story about navigating the wilds of urban America and the shrapnel of a self-destructing family, Buck shares the story of a generation through one original and riveting voice.

Buck by M.K. Asante