One of NPR’s Books We Love
“Words for My Comrades is elegant, incisive, and deeply considered. With Tupac’s political history as the focus, Dean Van Nguyen properly humanizes a man who reached mythical status long ago. An astounding achievement.” —Marcus J. Moore, author of High and Rising (A Book About De La Soul)
“In a time in which having a rich relationship with the truth is especially vital, here comes Dean Van Nguyen. History is either a tool of the state or an outside screaming for freedom. Words for My Comrades is about freedom—it is freedom at work.” —Saeed Jones, award-winning author of How We Fight For Our Lives
“In Words For My Comrades, Dean Van Nguyen deftly ties Tupac’s brilliant career with his anti-capitalist upbringing. A richly researched biography that honors his subject’s bold, deeply textured life and art.” —Walter Thompson-Hernández, author of The Compton Cowboys
“Moves confidently…Fresh interpretations of a foundational hip-hop narrative.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Insightful… Van Nguyen contextualizes the hallowed lyrics of Shakur’s music by contrasting a personal biography of the rapper with relevant history lessons on, among others, the Black Panthers and Malcolm X.” —The San Francisco Chronicle
“Van Nguyen’s writing on the radical roots of hip-hop serves as a useful corrective to a popular history that all too often isolates musical form from political content….Van Nguyen neither sanitizes nor sensationalizes [Tupac’s] contradictions; he treats them as material to be understood and explained….In reclaiming Tupac from myth, Van Nguyen gives him back to history—to the comrades his words were always meant for.” —Jacobin
“Music journalist Dean Van Nguyen paints a comprehensive portrait of Tupac Shakur—not just as the legendary rapper, but also as an artist existentially shaped by radical politics….As this bold biography makes evident, Shakur’s political conscience naturally informed the way he approached his art.” —Harper’s Bazaar
“[Words for My Comrades] carefully knots the evolution of hip-hop into a sweeping account of 20th-century radical US politics….With the old-school grit of a hard-boiled crime writer, Van Nguyen sketches out a story full of explosive characters…righteous community-based programmes and armed robberies, and the paranoid underworld of J Edgar Hoover’s Cointelpro surveillance programme.” —The Sunday Times (UK)
“Irish writer Dean Van Nguyen’s fascinating new book tells the story of a musical icon’s political life….Insightful, readable and thoroughly well researched, this is a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of politics and pop culture.” —The Irish Times
“This smart and sharp political biography traces Tupac’s activism and artistry, exploring how his radical legacy continues to resonate—especially after the George Floyd uprisings. A bold, insightful take that moves beyond the myth, this book celebrates Shakur as a voice for justice and change in America’s racial and cultural landscape.” —RTÉ
“Words for My Comrades is a searing, essential corrective to the myth-making machine….reminding us that behind every platinum plaque might be a Panther’s ghost, still howling for justice.” —Monique Snyman, Bram Stoker-award nominated author of The Night Weaver
“The book expertly tells the political story of Tupac’s life and how the radicalization he grew up in impacted his music and, by extension, the world. But more than that, it walks you through two generations of justice, hurt, love, pain, and trauma, by not only telling his story, but the story of his mother.” —Stanley Fritz, author of Confessions of a Sucker for Love
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