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Big news for Kendrick Lamar fans, and even bigger news for those of them that are bookworms: journalist Marcus J. Moore has recently signed with boutique publisher Touchstone Books to write the “cultural biography” of Kendrick Lamar.
According to Moore, the book, which is to be titled “The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America”, will detail his rise to rap superstardom. See the original tweet sent out by Moore below:
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Some big news I've been eager to share: I've signed with @TouchstoneBooks to write the cultural biography of Kendrick Lamar. My book, "The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America," will detail his rise to rap superstardom. pic.twitter.com/6Fm68sFBad
— Marcus J. Moore (@MarcusJMoore) March 22, 2018
We believe the person most qualified to describe Marcus J. Moore is none other than the man himself. For those that may not have heard his name up until now, here’s a summary of his work experience pulled from his LinkedIn profile.
“Marcus J. Moore is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning music journalist, senior editor, curator and pop culture commentator—originally from the Washington, D.C. area, now living in Brooklyn, New York. He’s covered business, politics and education for the Gazette newspapers in the D.C. suburbs, and is now a senior editor at Bandcamp Daily, the editorial arm of the noted online music service.
He’s reviewed music for Pitchfork, The Nation, NPR and The Atlantic, and has freelanced regularly for the Washington Post’s newspaper and magazine, Complex, MTV and BBC Music. Marcus has written enterprise features and breaking news pieces for WTOP-FM in the D.C., and has curated nationally syndicated playlists for Google. He discusses new music live on FM radio, and contributes to several local and national podcasts. Marcus was invited to Moogfest 2017 to interview Dr. Dre collaborator Colin Wolfe as part of its program. In June 2017, Marcus’ “letter to Kanye West” won a national Edward R. Murrow Award.
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In 2009, Marcus launched his own site—DMV Spectrum—which covered music and entertainment in D.C., Maryland and northern Virginia. A year later, Marcus was hired as lead editor of AOL’s Patch website in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Marcus launched the outlet, covered local meetings and leveraged his respectable social media presence to build the site’s readership. Along the way, Marcus has reviewed mainstream albums for various publications, and has written enterprise features for Paste, The Washington City Paper, Rolling Stone and Billboard.”
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Moore recently gave a statement to Pidgeons & Planes via email, giving more details on the concept behind the book. Here’s an excerpt of that email message:
“My book details the artist’s coming of age as an MC, how he helped resurrect two languishing genres (bebop and jazz), his profound impact on a racially fraught America, and his emergence as the bonafide King of Rap… It centers on three albums—good kid, m.A.A.d city, To Pimp a Butterfly, and DAMN.— and examines how Lamar charted a personal and societal awakening in America… It details how his story directly connects to the charged spirits of art and revolution. Ultimately, the biography explores the broad global impact of Mr. Lamar and his work.”
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In later sections of the email, Moore goes on to explain that the Kendrick Lamar’s team is aware of his plans to write the book, and that he has interviews lined up with people he grew up around as well as those who have helped in his artistic process along the way.
There’s no word on when we’re to expect the book to come out, but the hype that’s already built around it in the past 24 hours will likely ensure that this will stay on the radar of outlets across the board for some time to come. Stay tuned for updates.
