Words for My Comrades

In a time in which having a rich relationship with the truth is especially vital, here comes Dean Van Nguyen. History is either a tool of the state or an outside screaming for freedom. Words for My Comrades is about freedom - it is freedom at work * Saeed Jones, award-winning author of How We Fight For Our Lives *Words for My Comrades is elegant, incisive, and deeply considered. With Tupac’s political history as the focus, Dean Van Nguyen properly humanizes a man who reached mythical status long ago. An astounding achievement * Marcus J. Moore, author of High and Rising (A Book About De La Soul) *In Words For My Comrades, Dean Van Nguyen deftly ties Tupac’s brilliant career with his anti-capitalist upbringing. A richly researched biography that honours his subject’s bold, deeply textured life and art * Walter Thompson-Hernández, author of The Compton Cowboys *Moves confidently … Fresh interpretations of a foundational hip-hop narrative * Kirkus Reviews *

Dean Van Nguyen is an Irish-Vietnamese writer, journalist and critic covering music, culture, identity, race relations and left wing politics. He has written for the Irish Times, the Guardian, the Independent, Pitchfork, The Atlantic, Uproxx, Wax Poetics, Jacobin and more. He writes a monthly music column for the Dublin Inquirer and a column on new reissues for Bandcamp Daily. In 2019, he published Iron Age: The Art of Ghostface Killah, a collection of essays on New York rapper that blends music criticism, cultural examination and personal appreciation.