Greg Tate receives posthumous Pulitzer Prize

Greg Tate, the towering cultural critic and author (as well as musician), was awarded the Pulitzer Prize posthumously on Monday, May 6th.

Tate received one of Pulitzer's “Special Citation” awards, with the organization writing Xex Twitter, “Congratulations to the family, friends, colleagues and fans who bear witness to the inimitable literary/artistic magic of the late Greg Tate.”

A detail in Pulitzer Prize website specifically praised Tate's unique writing, noting how his “language—drawn from literature, academia, popular culture, and hip-hop—was as influential as the content of his ideas. His aesthetics, innovations, and intellectual originality, particularly in his groundbreaking critique of hip-hip, continue to influence generations to come, especially writers and critics of color.”

Tate died of cardiac arrest in 2021 at the age of 64. During his 35-year career, he worked mainly as a critic at The Village Voicebut also contributed to many other publications, including Pulse, The New York Timesand Rolling rock (see the author's page here). Tate also published several books, including the monumental 1992 anthology, Flyboy in the Buttermilk: Essays on Contemporary America, and the continuation of 2016, Flyboy 2: The Greg Tate Reader.

In addition to all his writing, Tate was a musician, founding the improvisational outfit Burnt Sugar in 1999. He also helped found the Black Rock Coalition, a collective and non-profit organization dedicated to promoting black artists and affirming the black origins of rock and roll. roll.

In a posthumous tribute to Tate, Rolling rockRob Sheffield wrote: “Greg Tate was a warrior for the heart. That is why he was idolized by those who read him, listened to him, learned from him. He always tuned into these dream states and followed them as they went through the story. What a voice. What a mind. And what a loss. Thank you for your life, Greg Tate.”