Book Recommendation: Dreams from My Father

My latest read is Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by former president Barack Obama. The book is a memoir, first published in 1995 that recounts Obama's early life leading up to his enrollment at Harvard Law School. Throughout the book, Obama takes a deep dive into exploring the many experiences he faced growing up as a young biracial man in America. Dreams from My Father is split into three parts, which represents three distinct chapters in his life. The first part is titled "Origins", and analyzes his childhood experiences in Hawaii and Indonesia. He speaks on his relationship with his grandparents, his mother, and the one time in which he was able to meet his father. As you will see by reading, Obama's relationship with his father is a recurring theme throughout the book. He often struggles with the contrast between the physical distance of his father living in Kenya and the intangible influence that follows him around the globe. The second part ,"Chicago", speaks on Obama's time as a young community organizer in the city's South Side. Readers are able to gain a sense of the beautiful struggle that created an intimate bond between Obama and the city of Chicago. It is amazing to see how this period foreshadowed the rise of the future politician. The final part is titled "Kenya", in which Obama takes readers along for the monumental journey of visiting his father's home country. In Kenya, Obama meets members of his paternal family and learns of his rich ancestral history. This was an incredibly powerful part of the book, as Obama is able to gain a sense of himself through exploring this vital piece of his identity. I enjoyed Dreams from My Father not only for its autobiographical perspective of a future world leader, but also for what it had to offer in its story of self-discovery and interconnection of culture. I encourage you to check out this powerful memoir for yourself, which you can do by ordering using the link below. Thanks for reading!

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dreams-from-my-father-barack-obama/1100832650#/ 

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Turns 7!

Seven years ago, Kanye West released his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The album consists of thirteen tracks, with features from Bon Iver, CyHi the Prynce, Jay-Z, John Legend, Justin Vernon, Kid Cudi, Nicki Minaj, Pusha T, RZA, Raekwon, Rick Ross, and Swizz Beats. It stands as an important piece of Kanye's discography. During this period, Kanye was under much scrutiny for a controversial interruption during Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. This among other pressures, led him to undergo a self-imposed exile in Hawaii. In some cases, artists make great work during times of turmoil. It's similar to finding a diamond in the rough. I certainly consider this project to be one of those cases. It was reported that West never slept a full night at the house he rented in Hawaii. Instead, he chose to take power naps in the studio, and had rented three rooms so that songs could be crafted simultaneously. He flew in a variety of premier artists and producers to collaborate with. One of the most interesting stories I found surrounding the development of this album, was that Kanye hired two private chefs, one for hot food, and one for cold food. The album is regarded as one of the most expensive albums to make, with an estimate listed at $3 million. He really invested his all into this project. Listening to the album, it's evident that plenty of time, thought, and energy was put into the composition of this album. It's truly a work of art. Through expressing himself, Kanye allowed us to experience his mindset during this time. You can feel the emotion he puts into crafting tracks like "Blame Game" and "Lost In The World." There's a theme of dealing with pressures of the celebrity lifestyle, relationship/personal issues, as well as internal struggles. This theme resembles the pressures Kanye faced in real life during this period. Throughout his career, Kanye's work has always reflected the essence of his current lifestyle. His work is a realist perspective of his life. For this reason, it's unfair to divide his career as "old" or "new" Kanye. He's the same artist in a different space. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was a "dark" space that yielded "beautiful" music. My favorite tracks off the album are "Gorgeous" and "Runaway." Thanks for reading.