The Upcycled Self: A Memoir on the Art of Becoming Who We Are

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER One of hip-hops greatest MCs, unpacking his harrowing, remarkable journey in his own words, with enough insights for two lifetimes.Lin-Manuel Miranda, award-winning songwriter, producer, director, and creator of In the Heights and Hamilton From one of our generations most powerful artists and incisive storytellers comes a brilliantly crafted work about the artand warof becoming who we are. A ROLLING STONE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR upcycle verb upcycle p-s-kl : to recycle (something) in such a way that the resulting product is of a higher value than the original item : to create an object of greater value from (a discarded object of lesser value) Today Tariq Trotterbetter known as Black Thoughtis the platinum-selling, Grammy-winning co-founder of The Roots and one of the most exhilaratingly skillful and profound rappers our culture has ever produced. But his story begins with a tragedy: as a child, Trotter burned down his familys home. The years that follow are the story of a life snatched from the flames, forged in fire. In The Upcycled Self, Trotter doesnt only narrate a riveting and moving portrait of the artist as a young man, he gives readers a courageous model of what it means to live an examined life. In vivid vignettes, he tells the dramatic stories of the four powerful relationships that shaped himwith community, friends, art, and familyeach a complex weave of love, discovery, trauma, and loss. And beyond offering the compellingly poetic account of one artists creative and emotional origins, Trotter explores the vital questions we all have to confront about our formative years: How can we see the story of our own young lives clearly? How do we use that story to understand who weve become? How do we forgive the people who loved and hurt us? How do we rediscover and honor our first dreams? And, finally, what do we take forward, what do we pass on, what do we leave behind? This is the beautifully bluesy story of a boy geniuss coming-of-age that illuminates the redemptive power of the upcycle.