The Five Percenters: Islam, Hip-hop and the Gods of New York - Softcover

Knight, Michael Muhammad

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1851686150 ISBN 13: 9781851686155

Publisher: Oneworld Publications, 2008

Synopsis

From Malcom X to the Wu Tang Clan, the first in-depth account of this fascinating black power movement

With a cast of characters ranging from Malcolm X to 50 Cent, Knight’s compelling work is the first detailed account of the movement inextricably linked with black empowerment, Islam, New York, and hip-hop. Whether discussing the stars of Five Percenter rap or 1980s crack empires, this fast-paced investigation uncovers the community’s icons and heritage, and examines its growing influence in urban American youth culture.

About this title

About the Author:

Michael Muhammad Knight converted to Islam at 16 after reading the Autobiography of Malcolm X, and at 17 traveled to Islamabad, Pakistan to study at Faisal Mosque. His debut novel, The Taqwacores, is credited with influencing the American Muslim woman-led prayer movement and has also inspired a nascent Islamic punk rock scene.

From Booklist:

Korean War vet and martial-arts enthusiast Clarence Jowars Smith founded the Nations of Gods and Earths in Harlem in the late 1960s. Known as the Five Percenters, the group was seen as an offshoot of the Nation of Islam (NOI) by many and as pure heresy by many traditional Muslims. Excommunicated by the NOI, Smith used the new movement to teach his idiosyncratic take on Islam, for which he renamed himself Clarence 13X—Allah to adherents. The movement grew in strength, numbers, and influence, even after the (still unsolved) murder of Clarence 13X in 1969; and hip-hop royalty Rakim, Wu Tang Clan, and Busta Rhymes are purported members. Critics decry the Five Percenters as racist, and with alleged connections to the 1971 Attica prison riot, crack-dealing turf wars, and other dirty business, the Nations of Gods and Earths is often considered a street gang by the minions of justice. This exhaustive study of it scores high for gritty realism and insight into contemporary urban street life and culture. Tribby, Mike

About this edition

• Publisher: Oneworld Publications
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1851686150
• ISBN 13: 9781851686155
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352