Tarik Trotter
The Recycled Self
One World Edition
January 16, 2024
The Recycled Self is the new memoir from Roots frontman Tariq Trotter, aka Black Thought. The subtitle of the book is “A Memoir on the Art of Becoming Who We Are”. For that reason, The Recycled Self finds Trotter recounting his tough upbringing in Philadelphia, ending around the time the Roots began.
Trotter's youth was full of violence, trauma and loss, and the pain and suffering he faced bleeds into his pages here. Trotter is honest and forthright throughout, pulling no punches in recounting all that he saw and experienced. However, despite all this, Trotter always pushed forward, persevered and “raised” himself towards his ultimate goal.
Certainly, Trotter has found a reputation as one of the best lyricists in rap, something he's compiled over a 30-plus-year career and a catalog that includes masterpiece after masterpiece. One feels from reading The Recycled Self that fame and fortune were never Trotter's ultimate goal. He had to get over it, learn from his past and become a better man, father, husband and man. It's an inspiring story of how Trotter eventually became who he is. (www.randomhousebooks.com) (www.tariqtrotterbook.com) (www.theroots.com)
Author Rating: 8/10
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