Raw, Lamont UGod Hawkins
Raw, Lamont UGod Hawkins
9 Rating(s)
List: $22.99 | Sale: $16.09
Club: $11.49

Raw
My Journey into the Wu-Tang

Author: Lamont "U-God" Hawkins

Narrator: Lamont "U-God" Hawkins

Unabridged: 8 hr 58 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/06/2018


Synopsis

A PERFECT COMPANION READ TO THE SHOWTIME DOCUMENTARY, WU-TANG CLAN: OF MICS AND MEN

The explosive, never-before-told story behind the historic rise of the Wu-Tang Clan, as told by one of its founding members, Lamont "U-God" Hawkins.

“It’s time to write down not only my legacy, but the story of nine dirt-bomb street thugs who took our everyday life—scrappin’ and hustlin’ and tryin’ to survive in the urban jungle of New York City—and turned that into something bigger than we could possibly imagine, something that took us out of the projects for good, which was the only thing we all wanted in the first place.” —Lamont "U-God" Hawkins

The Wu-Tang Clan are considered hip-hop royalty. Remarkably, none of the founding members have told their story—until now. Here, for the first time, the quiet one speaks. Lamont “U-God” Hawkins was born in Brownsville, New York, in 1970. Raised by a single mother and forced to reckon with the hostile conditions of project life, U-God learned from an early age how to survive. And surviving in New York City in the 1970s and 1980s was no easy task—especially as a young black boy living in some of the city’s most ignored and destitute districts. But, along the way, he met and befriended those who would eventually form the Clan’s core: RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, and Masta Killa. Brought up by the streets, and bonding over their love of hip-hop, they sought to pursue the impossible: music as their ticket out of the ghetto.

U-God’s unforgettable first-person account of his journey, from the streets of Brooklyn to some of the biggest stages around the world, is not only thoroughly affecting, unfiltered, and explosive but also captures, in vivid detail, the making of one of the greatest acts in American music history.

*This program includes the song "Fire" (featuring Method Man & Jackpot Scotty Wotty) (DJ Green Lantern Remix) from U-God's Bring Back God II mixtape, under non-exclusive license from Babygrande Records, Inc.*

About Lamont "U-God" Hawkins

Born Lamont Jody Hawkins, U-God is an American rapper and hip-hop artist and one of the founding members of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan. A native New Yorker, Raw is his first book.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Imogen on March 18, 2018

This was great! And it's cool to know that most of the Wu-Tang Clan members felt similar to the way I did about the albums that came after Wu-Tang Forever. My only real complaint is I feel like this could've been about 300 pages longer. Especially in the first half of the book, it feels like he's ju......more

Goodreads review by Kristen on July 09, 2020

Edit: Changing my rating to 5/5. Since I read this book it has been on my mind. The truths from it have really stuck with me; I learned a lot and this is a hugely underrated piece of work that can directly contribute to anti-racism unlearnings. Original review: This book unexpectedly came into my lif......more

Goodreads review by Niklas on March 06, 2018

What distinguishes this book from a lot of other fairly bad memoirs—e.g. RZA's "The Wu-Tang Manual" and Wiley's "Eskiboy"—is how "U-God" Watkins doesn't brag that much. For example, this is from the start of the book: My mother’s from Brownsville, Brooklyn. She was raised in the same project building......more

Goodreads review by Justin on August 03, 2018

A decent enough introduction to the economics of the crack game, if you were interested in pursuing a new career.......more

Goodreads review by Cav on May 31, 2024

"We’re all just some street-hustlin’ dudes who put in that work, and we made it..." Growing up I was a huge fan of The Wu-Tang Clan, so naturally I put Raw on my list when I came across it. I wasn't sure what to expect from the writing here. Fortunately, the book was really good. The author did a gre......more