Pathfinder

Urban lit, gangsta’ lit, thuggalore, call it whatever you like but it’s here to stay. These are some of the terms used to describe the griot story telling of the inner city through the eyes of those who have lived many of the tales they write about in their urban concrete jungle. These young writers are displaying and exploring the passion, scourge, mood, spirit and energy that they can only channel through a literary medium. What we are seeing now is a flowering of African American literature being written and told in a manner unlike anything that we have witnessed since the Harlem Renaissance. There’s a cultural literary movement going on; rap music, dance, and the way one speaks and dresses. It’s embedded in our pop culture, a way of life so to speak for many young people in the urban areas of America. The magnitude and ascent of the genre has made leaps and bounds in all faucets of the arts. More and more author’s works are being seriously considered by the mainstream, established publications are signing some of these new voices. At the same time, numerous Hollywood producers and directors are taking a serious look at bringing some of these literary stories to a theater near you. The nature of urban lit with its wide range and variety in story telling isn’t constant at all. It touches upon every realm from the down trodden, to the drug dealers, drug users and abusers, gangsters, physical and sexual abuse, black love,...

Urban lit writers are always viewed and oftentimes perceived by other writers as if literature is an isolated art form devoid of artistic value and therefore can only be transmitted to the masses through their voices only. How and when did their interpretation of what literature is become the Holy Grail? Literature is the art of written works. It is the work of one’s creative imagination which intertwines and meshes poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction. We read literature because it correlates with our spoken language, people, culture, and tradition. With that said, is it not fair then to write and tell stories beyond the realm of one’s imagination and life experiences that so many people have lived or heard of? What is wrong with maximizing the depth and extensiveness of literature through the urban lit medium? Instead of the constant deleterious, toxic, and malicious attack that the genre has undergone since it has grown into a multi-million dollar business. Those that despise the genre should understand that a large majority of the stories are basically what one would see at the movies. Are people imitating and acting like “Nino Brown, Scarface, Al Capone, and so many other criminal and volatile elements that they see in the movies? No! Absolutely not! Furthermore, there is a direct correlation between gangsters/thug movies, and some urban lit novels, and that is you won’t find a hero or a role model for your child. What you will realize rather quickly is that the protagonist usually ends...