It's Like That
A Spiritual Memoir
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Money, success, and widespread adulation: Run of Run-DMC, one of the first rappers to achieve nationwide recognition and top-selling albums, seemed to have it all in his heyday. But the dizzying effects of fame soon left Run feeling empty and dissatisfied. Stuck in a pit of despair, he went through the motions of his public life while grappling with his loss of direction and a family life that was falling apart. Here is the story of how he turned his life around, discovering a wellspring of spirituality within himself and a special connection with God. Now an ordained minister, Run talks in this extraordinary book about his profound life change and getting the message out to the community. Still a major rap performer, with an album entitled Crown Royal and frequent appearances on MTV, Run is truly a rennaissance man. A spiritual memoir unlike any other, It's Like That captures the innocence of youth, the pain of chaos, and the joy that one can only find through righteous living. This is an epic and absorbing tale from one of the most popular and complex performers of our times.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Legendary rapper Run of Run-D.M.C. (born Joseph Simmons of Hollis, Queens) became a top-paid star in the 1980s, when rap was still in its infancy. He was in something of an infancy himself, lacking the maturity to fend off the drugs and sexual promiscuity of the music business. He became severely depressed when the band's albums of the late 1980s garnered disappointing sales. Simmons/Run lost himself, developing what he calls a "spiritual amnesia" that threatened to erode the firm, early foundations of family and community he'd enjoyed. Evidence of this erosion manifests prodigiously in the memoir, even unintentionally: for example, when describing how he was called to defend himself on rape charges, Run mentions that his wife "was upset" and took their kids away after the trial. Wife? Kids? This is the first the reader has heard of them. True to the conversion-story format, however, Run cleans up his act. Now the Reverend Run, he focuses on helping others, especially young people, turn their lives around. Scattered after each chapter are Run's 13 "house rules" for living, featuring standard self-help slogans such as "It's never too late to reinvent yourself" and "Obstacles don't hold you back; you hold you back." This rap-to-riches-to-religion story should appeal to teens and music fans, though it may disappoint those looking for a more penetrating spiritual memoir.
