M. K. Asante

MK Asante

MK Asante in Philadelphia, 2013
Born Harare, Zimbabwe
Occupation Writer, filmmaker, professor, rapper
Nationality African-American
Alma mater UCLA
University of London, SOAS
Lafayette College
Genre Memoir, creative nonfiction, poetry, hip-hop, African-American literature, documentary
Notable works It's Bigger Than Hip Hop, Buck: A Memoir
Website
mkasante.com

MK Asante is an American author, filmmaker, rapper, and professor at Morgan State University. He is best known for his memoir Buck. Born in Zimbabwe and raised in Philadelphia, he is the son of scholar Molefi Kete Asante and choreographer Kariamu Welsh.

Biography

Asante was born in Harare, Zimbabwe, to American parents. He grew up in Philadelphia, where he struggled with the disintegration of his family and the city's urban decay.[1] After being expelled from multiple schools, he discovered his talent for writing at 16 and decided to pursue it as a career.[2]

Books

Cover of Buck: A Memoir (Random House) by MK Asante

Asante is the author of four books, most notably Buck, a memoir about his troubled yet profound youth in Philadelphia. Buck was selected as a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick and made the Washington Post bestseller list in 2014 and 2015.[3][4] Poet Maya Angelou, who mentored Asante, described Buck as:

"A story of surviving and thriving with passion, compassion, wit, and style."

His other books are the poetry collections, Beautiful. And Ugly Too and Like Water Running Off My Back and the creative nonfiction book It's Bigger Than Hip Hop.

Films

Asante is a Sundance Institute Feature Film Fellow for the movie adaptation of his memoir Buck. Asante wrote and produced the documentary 500 Years Later, a documentary about slavery which received the Breaking the Chains Award from the United Nations' UNESCO. Asante directed and produced The Black Candle, a documentary about Kwanzaa, co-written and narrated by Maya Angelou.

Lectures, essays and music

Asante has delivered numerous distinguished lectures, including the Yale University Master’s Tea; Vanderbilt University Walter R. Murray Jr. Lecture; SMU Willis M. Tate Distinguished Lecture; and commencement addresses at UCLA, University of Wisconsin, Arizona State University, Vassar, and Harvard University.

Asante has lectured and performed in over 25 countries including at SWU Music & Arts in Brazil; on Robben Island in South Africa; and at the British Library in England.

Asante has written essays on art, Hip Hop, technology, and culture for USA Today, Huffington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, and the New York Times.

Asante's debut as a rapper came on the 2013 single "Godz N The Hood" featuring Bishop Lamont, Ras Kass, and Talib Kweli. He announced that a soundtrack for his memoir (Buck: Original Book Soundtrack) will be released on May 14, 2015. To date, he has released several singles through the hip-hop website Okayplayer.

Education and professorship

Asante is a graduate of The Crefeld School.[5] He studied film and literature at the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, earned a BA in Africana Studies and English from Lafayette College, and an M.F.A. in Screenwriting from UCLA School of Theater Film and Television.

At 23, he joined the faculty of Morgan State University. He received tenure at 26 and is currently Associate Professor of creative writing and film in the Department of English and Language Arts.[6]

Awards & honors

Works

Books

Films

Music

Selected Articles

References

External links