The Upcycled Self

A Memoir on the Art of Becoming Who We Are

By: Tariq Trotter

Narrated by: Tariq Trotter, Rhett Samuel Price, Allyson Johnson

Length: 3 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “One of hip-hop’s 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 generation’s most powerful artists and incisive storytellers comes a brilliantly crafted work about the art—and war—of becoming who we are.

A ROLLING STONE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

upcycle verb
up·cy·cle ˈəp-ˌsī-kəl
: 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 Trotter—better known as Black Thought—is 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 family’s home. The years that follow are the story of a life snatched from the flames, forged in fire.

In The Upcycled Self, Trotter doesn’t 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 him—with community, friends, art, and family—each a complex weave of love, discovery, trauma, and loss.

And beyond offering the compellingly poetic account of one artist’s 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 we’ve 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 genius’s coming-of-age that illuminates the redemptive power of the upcycle.

©2023 Random House Group (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Tariq Trotter, a founder of the music collective The Roots . . . could be hip-hop’s Dostoyevsky. Like the Russian novelist, Mr. Trotter (also known as Black Thought) has refined literary fire from the soulful furnace of pain and suffering.” —Barry Michael Cooper, The New York Times

“No one has ever been markedly better at rapping than Black Thought, and precious few musicians on earth have perfected their instrument to the extent that he has.” —Jack Hamilton, Slate

“The densely arrayed metaphors, the calibrated poise, and casual displays of erudition . . . Black Thought, née Tariq Trotter, is one of the greats in the pantheon of hip-hop.” —Jelani Cobb, The New Yorker

An excellent origin story

Thank you, Brother Tariq, for being so brave and transparent. I appreciate you taking the time to show us, in part, how you have changed pain into power. I hope in future books you can give us more insight into your process as an MC. I also hope there will be musical interludes and transitions like in 7 Years. Still, a truly worthy beginning as an author. Blessings to you, sir.

powerful

I had no idea, how much my life would resonate with this story. Very insightful and inspirational.

An oral history

This was really interesting to listen to after having listened to both Will Smith's and Jada Pinkett Smith's autobiographies. All three of them are Philly natives who came up in the 1970s & 80s. The disparities between new opportunities for Black folks to enter the middle class and the violent onslaught of crack is a contradictorily devastating part is the Smiths' stories and Tariq Trotter's.

Black thought is an outstanding writer, storyteller, and performer. He stands out as an oral historian of Black Philadelphia in the 1970s & 80s. 10/10

Excellent

Brilliant story telling by an amazingly talented artist. A story of hope, resilience and vulnerability that I could not imagine while seeing Black Thought all these years. He was obviously destined for greatness from birth and protected so his gifts could bless the world.

The Upcyled Self is the Introduction to a Child, Survivor, Artist and Journeyman

Black Thought is an artist not by his talent as an MC, but as an artist that represents all aspect’s of art; literature/poetry, music, painting etc. This memoir was a just an entrance to the world he created to share with us fans his many gifts.

Amazing glimpse into the life and mind of a legend!

Great story. While the book doesn’t go into great detail about some of the trials and tribulations of his life, it’s on par with the theme of “Up cycling”.

No matter how difficult and painful it may seem we have to trust the proces

The story is so relatable, trusting our difficult process as creatives to get through life’s expectations, imagine beyond use the fuel of struggle to push out of the fire

An amazing literary experience

Enlightening, sobering, nostalgic, romantic and inspiring are just a few of the emotions that I felt listening to this book. Tariq’s performance narrating this book beautifully carried his life story and his message with a vulnerability and honesty that makes you feel obligated to appreciate every aspect of your life’s journey.

Authentic

I really enjoyed the story and authenticity of the performance. Black Thought is one of my favorite artists and it was interesting to hear and learn from his life story. It felt like having a conversation with him, or hearing him tell his story live and unrehearsed.

Loved it!

Tariq Black Thought Trotter's voice reading this book kept me immersed. It was excellent, wished it was longer and more detailed about the Roots