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The Urban Griot

"I'm out to tell the truth . . . That's how it is. It's time for new writers to lay down the laws of the time."

In the annals of West African history, "griot" (pronounced gree-oh) was the honored name bestowed on wise and knowledgeable storytellers entrusted with the pivotal task of documenting tribal histories and genealogies.

Fast forward to the 21st century, and a new, courageous writer has adopted the historical moniker, pledging to tell the real, hard-edge truths percolating in the brick-lined, big-city environs of urban America where he was born and raised, THE URBAN GRIOT.

Only a handful of African-American authors. Among them Chester Himes (If He Hollers Let Him Go), Sam Greenlee (The Spook Who Sat by The Door), Iceberg Slim (Pimp; The Story of my Life), and Donald Goines (Inner City Hoodlum) have dared pick up the gauntlet to explore this vital terrain. But of late, their voices and those of their contemporary counterparts have been overwhelmed by the feminization of African-American Literature. Reaching disenfranchised male readers of present-day America is the niche The Urban Griot was destined to fill.

"I'm here to investigate what brothers are feeling," declares the griot. "For men, the hard life of the streets is a constant conversation. And all of the new love-Jones books on the black literature scene are not helping black men. It's time for African-American literature to regain it's masculinity and become less compromising than the character-driven, social-based stories that cater to non-political women readers. So I'm coming with hardcore, fast-moving, plot-driven stories that males can take to naturally. This book series will have a totally different tone, excitement, and energy from what's on the publishing market right now."

The first book leading The Urban Griot charge will be the boldly titled One Crazy-A** Night. The riveting plot focuses on a black couple captured by a white supremacy clan in Western Pennsylvania. Other books in the pipeline will explore such from-the-streets issues as crime, sexuality, sports, drugs, and working within the system.

Slated to launch in February 2003, the series will release a book annually, while boasting a strong all-male Web Site at (WWW.THEURBANGRIOT.COM); "For the brothers who read and write and think," the griot says, In keeping with the griot tradition of educating through the pulsating beat of the drum, the book line will be complemented by a music division.

"I'm an experienced urban scientist who'll walk right in, get the story, and then reel it off in a vibrant, lively way," the griot adds. "These stories will have the same type of energy as urban films and hip hop music, but hip hop has not always been mature, and neither has our films. Our music and films have lacked maturity and balance, and that's what I'm here to do, to tell the full story . . .and with no sugar coats."

The Urban Griot, a writer for those who like to live life on the edge and survive to read about it.