Boyz n the Void

A Mixtape to My Brother

De: G'Ra Asim

Narrado por: Jordan Bellow

Writing to his brother, G’Ra Asim reflects on building his own identity while navigating Blackness, masculinity, and young adulthood - all through wry social commentary and music/pop culture critique

How does one approach Blackness, masculinity, otherness, and the perils of young adulthood? For G’Ra Asim, punk music offers an outlet to express himself freely. As his younger brother, Gyasi, grapples with finding his footing in the world, G’Ra gifts him with a survival guide for tackling the sometimes treacherous cultural terrain particular to being young, Black, brainy, and weird in the form of a mixtape.

Boyz n the Void: A Mixtape to My Brother blends music and cultural criticism and personal essay to explore race, gender, class, and sexuality as they pertain to punk rock and straight edge culture. Using totemic punk rock songs on a mixtape to anchor each chapter, the book documents an intergenerational conversation between a Millennial in his 30s and his zoomer teenage brother. Author, punk musician, and straight edge kid, G’Ra Asim weaves together memoir and cultural commentary, diving into the depths of everything from theory to comic strips, to poetry to pizza commercials to mapping the predicament of the Black creative intellectual.

With each chapter dedicated to a particular song and placed within the context of a fraternal bond, Asim presents his brother with a roadmap to self-actualization in the form of a Doc Martened foot to the behind and a sweaty, circle-pit-side-armed hug.

Listen to the author’s playlist while you listen! Access the playlist here: https://sptfy.com/a18b

©2021 G'Ra Asim (P)2021 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Asim’s astute social commentary, poignant storytelling, wit, and solid music criticism will appeal to punk and non-punk readers alike.” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

“Boyz n the Void is provocative, opinionated, and fun.” (Shelf Awareness)

“With Boyz n the Void, [Asim] uses the virtues that have been used against him — his skepticism, shrewdness and liminality — to assert his existence, as a young Black man insisting to be acknowledged in a world that either cannot or refuses to see him.” (The Washington Post)

Insightful, sharp, funny and urgent

I listened to the last three chapters again because I didn’t want it to be over.