SCARS captures the political ambitions of Russell Simmons, the Black Spades gang foundation of Afrika Bambaataa and the Universal Zulu Nation, the spiritual sensibility of KRS-One and the Temple of Hip-Hop, and a keynoted debate on the materialistic, violent direction of hiphop culture. Interpreting the mood and inner-city atmosphere that caused the counterculture of hip-hop, Bronx native Miles Marshall Lewis details the circumstances of his father's heroin addiction, his mother's Southern spirituality, his grandfather's career as a Harlem numbers runner, and his own journey from a tenement-building upbringing to worldwide travels -- with hip-hop trailing his steps.
An incisive look at contemporary urban American life, Scars exposes the motivations and aspirations of a culture whose spiritual center was the Bronx.
Miles Marshall Lewis was born in the Bronx in 1970 and currently splits his time between New York City and Paris, France. He is the author of "Scars of the Soul" (Akashic, 2004), and is a former editor of Vibe and XXL. His work has been published in The Nation, The Source, The Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Essence, and other Saul Williams is an interationally acclaimed poet and actor. He co-wrote and starred in the film Slam, was featured in the documentaries Slam Nation and I'll Make Me a World, and rapped to Rick Rubin-produced tracks on his hybrid album Amethyst Rock Star. Following The Seventh Octave.