Triksta

by Nik Cohn

In Triksta, a masterful observer of movements that emerge from dark corners to become worldwide phenomena--early rock 'n' roll and "Saturday Night Fever," to name but two --gives us a mesmerizing account of a city, its music, and a way of life that often embraces death.Nik Cohn's love of hip-hop goes back to its beginnings, and his love of New Orleans even further, to when he passed through on tour with The Who and discovered a place whose magic has never failed to seize him. As a white, foreign-born writer without money or bling, he would seem the least likely rap impresario imaginable, yet he plunges into this violent and poverty-ravaged world as a would-be producer. His passionate involvement with the music and the people who make it leads him through a New Orleans--wards, clubs, and projects--hidden from anyone not born to it: a journey into the heart of the hip-hop dream. En route, he immerses us in lives we scarcely think about, and then only with ignorance and fear, lives at onc