Triksta

Triksta

Life and Death and New Orleans Rap

Summary

What lunacy would cause a 55-year-old white male to embroil himself in the world of New Orleans rap - as ideas man, talent-spotter, lyricist, and would-be producer? Nik Cohn has loved (and hated) hip-hop since its birth and loved (and hated) New Orleans for even longer - an addiction he's never wanted to kick. But nothing prepared him for the experience of being pitched, more or less by accident, into the role of Triksta, rap impresario.

A white alien in a black world, with no funding or qualifications, and not a clue what he was doing, he had to rethink himself from scratch. Surrounded by a cast that included such names as Choppa and Soulja Slim, Big Ramp and Lil T, Bass Heavy, Fifth Ward Weebie, and Shorty Brown Hustle, he entered a world of tiny backstreet studios, broken-down slums and gun turfs.

Triksta is the story of a three-year odyssey to the heart of rap, and New Orleans, and self-knowledge.

Reviews

  • Extraordinary...Triksta is [Cohn's] most vivid book in decades and a gripping read
    Sunday Times

About the author

Nik Cohn

Nik Cohn was brought up in Derry, Northern Ireland. His books include I Am Still the Greatest Says Johnny Angelo, Ball the Wall, The Heart of the World, Need and Triksta: Life and Death and New Orleans Rap. He also wrote the story that gave rise to Saturday Night Fever and collaborated on Rock Dreams and Twentieth Century Dreams with the artist Guy Peellaert. He lives in New York.
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