OKP Exclusive: Nelson George Premieres 'The Lost Treasures Of R&B' Mixtape f. Stuart Matthewman + More
The Lost Treasures of R&B mixtape is a compelling blend of spoken word, commentary and great music tied to the release of (Okayplayer favorite) Nelson George's latest novel. The Lost Treasures of R&B is the third in his Music Noir series of music-based mystery novels (previous titles are The Accidental Hunter and The Plot Against Hip Hop (all three are published by AkashicBooks and can be purchased as print or e-books at www.akashicbooks.com or at any web retailer like Amazon, Barnes & Nobles etc.) The hits bookstores February 3rd and is guaranteed to be the perfect narrative for Okayplayers and record collectors who also "read a book" on occasion.
>>>Purchase Lost Treasures Of R&B (via Akashic Books)
All the books center around D Hunter, a professional bodyguard who gets dragged into various investigations because of bad decisions by the people he;s hired to protect. In Lost Treasures, D gets into a mess when a rap star he's protecting at an underground fight club gets involved in the purchase of illegal hand guns. He's also hired to seek out the rarest r&b records ever recorded for a rich British vinyl collector. Finally he's recruited to help Night, a celebrated soul singer who's been a hermit for many years, as he goes on a comeback tour of the United Kingdom. D is handling all this while relocating from Manhattan to the Brooklyn, where he's shocked at the changes gentrification have made in his home borough, including his tough childhood home of Brownsville.
The Lost Treasures of R&B's chapter titles are all inspired by R&B songs, primarily from the neo-soul '90s. So the mix tape features classics from D'Angelo, Maxwell, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and The Roots. There is also a special treat -- a reading of chapter one by author Nelson George backed by an original musical track created by Sade/Twin Danger band member Stuart Matthewman.
Watch a video trailer for the novel put your ears to the OKP exclusive tape from Nelson George below and Brooklynites can catch George doing a live reading at Ft. Greene's Greenlight bookstore this coming Wednesday Feb. 4th (co-presented by Okayplayer, of course--get event details here). See you there and in the meanwhile, play on: