Root For The Villain: Rap, Bull$hit, and a Celebration of Failure

by J-Zone

Yawn. Another book from another musician. Let's He rose from the depths of hell with his talent and went big time. He changed the face of music and made millions. Yeah, a few drug addiction, arrest, and STD stories are sporadically sprinkled throughout for excitement and authenticity, but at the end of it all, he finished his ride a musical legend. He finally gave up dressing room groupies and nose candy; he currently resides with his wife and the children that aren't illegitimate in Calabasas, CA.[Insert snoring] Who the hell can really relate to that besides other prestigious, millionaire musicians?My name is J-Zone. If you actually know who the hell I am, either you listen to way too much rap music, you're a Tim Dog fan, or you stood outside my distributor's warehouse the day my CDs and records were destroyed. I was on the hip-hop come-up, then I came down - hard. Splat. Some critical success, incessant praise from pop stars and hip-hop legends alike, and then...abysmal commercial failure. I did tours on Greyhound buses filled with wide-bodied, Jheri curled women and knife-wielding gang members. I witnessed my life-long passion for music dissolve in 12 hours and my final album sell a whopping 47 copies in its first month for sale. I left my little-known spot in a small, niche quadrant of the hip-hop world and joined my fellow overqualified stiffs with useless college degrees in the world of dead end jobs. For some sick reason, I find all of the above hilarious and have made an omelette out of any egg that wound up on my face.I pin my cross-hairs on everyday bullsh*t just as accurately as I do the dysfunctional ways of the music biz. I ask the public at large questions like “Are men the new women?” and “Is going out on Friday night worth it when you're a socially homeless man in a deceptively segregated New York City?” Chapters dedicated to cassette tapes, defunct record stores, the SP-1200 sampling drum machine, hip-hop recording studios of the 1990s, and overlooked rap artists like The Afros, Mob Style, and No Face all point to my fascination with the obscure. The annoyances of a cell phone-driven society, dating in America, and Facebook are also explored. A collection of memoirs and think pieces written by a curmudgeonly commercial failure who is somehow laughing hysterically at both himself and the stupidity of the world large probably won't become a New York Times best-seller, either. Be honest though, you need something to place drinks on when you have company; at worst, my book is a perfect cocktail coaster.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Hip Hop

206 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2011

Reviews

[khal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's what I wrote about this on rockthedub:

Out of the few books I have to finish, Root For The Villain by J-Zone was one of them. I got the press copy and due to some good fortune, I was able to knock out this one over the weekend. I'll admit - I'm one of the few who was a big Zone fan years back (still am, but you know what I mean), so I went into this trying to get a glimpse at the man behind the Old Maid Billionaires empire. What I ended up getting was a statement on old trends making the man. The same reasons I fuck with Dallas Penn (attention to great detail, humor, dedication to history) are the same reasons why J-Zone wins, and this book lays it all out there. From backstory on his family and how their ways raised him, to his many tales on discovering Hip-Hop and how it shaped him, as well as his hard work and stories about the industry, he brings out a lot in what might seem like small, quick shots. I wish I could write more like him, and I appreciate his releases even more when I read these tales. If you grew up copping CDs with the long cardboard cases... or you had a stack of cassettes on deck, this is for you. Don't sleep on this. Don't even buy it for anyone else - cop it for delphia.

[Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recently I saw a movie called Adult Rappers by Paul Iannacchino, Jr. I expected it to be a sad story about white guys from the midwest that no one's ever heard of, but instead, I was treated to a cavalcade of faces from my high school past -- dudes I bumped loudly in my mom's Camry back in the day. Some were still doing well, others, obviously not. J-Zone, comedy rapper extraordinaire, had always stood out in my mind for his acerbic wit, story-telling ability and biting misogynistic cheapness. His story in the movie was easily the most compelling, and open confession of failure explained not with bitterness or regret, but with an open-eyed resignation and self-aware weariness whose maturity belied the childishness of the tracks I always liked.

So I bought his book. There are two halves -- the first is an autobiography of sorts, and held my interest well enough. You have to admire Zone's dedication to family and music, you're happy for his ascent, and understanding of his descent. But the second half of the book is an already dated criticism of modern society, whining about how texting costs too much, how hipsters and new york transplants are awful, and how girls won't holler at him because he's not rich. I guess I shouldn't be surprised given the content of the songs I used to listen to, but the writing here is much more butthurt and a lot less funny. Zone has a bit of a complex -- having taken a trip abroad at the peak of his career, he uses the experience to diminish and excoriate the American equivalents of both live shows and the girls he meets. Dude, just cause you got some tang on tour doesn't mean all American girls are beat broads. It's like he wants extra credit for having left the country and "experienced other cultures," but he just ends up sounding like a 20 year old just back from study abroad.

Anyway, it is what it is. I like Zone -- I think he's smart, self-aware, and I respect his work, but he should expect a pulitzer even less than a grammy.

[Byron · Rating 4 out of 5]

J-Zone is Rap Game Steve Buscemi in Ghost World. He may even have a collection of Coon Chicken Inn memorabilia in his attic. Root for the Villain is all about how he remains obsessed with the same four obscure (even back then) rap albums from 1990, how he can't relate to anyone other than his grandma and a few randomly elderly people from his neighborhood, how he almost had a career in rap, until it got to the point where he'd have to do something other than sit in his basement and come up with new ways to dis women, at which point he immediately gave that up in favor of work as a substitute teacher, signing up fat ladies for gym memberships, reporting on high school basketball games, and what have you. Dude is so lost to whatever it is you would categorize his illness as. (I gotta hand a copy of this to someone with a background in psychology.) I don't even think he realizes. Thus, this is way more interesting than the typical failed rapper memoir (of which it might be the only one anyway).

[Jay Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beauty and the beast of the music industry.

I bought “Music for Tu Madre” on CDR from a shop in Athens, GA. This was around 2001.

“I’ve been trying to find this @($$!!** album in physical format for what feels like forever.”

“Oh man. You like that album? That’s my man. I just got those copies in a few days ago.”

The response was from Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse). I also bought the first three volumes of Burton’s hip hop mixtapes.

Catching up with a friend later on, and she tells me Burton is a friend. About an hour later, I’m having a beer with him outside a bar up from the 40 Watt. We spent an hour talking about ..Tu Madre. I gave him and my friend a lift back to a house party, that album blaring over the speakers of my 97 Camry.

When I ordered a cassette copy of Peter Pan Syndrome, I asked J-Zone to sign it with the “Jingaducker” misinterpretation of that EPMD lyric.

I’ve always appreciated the heady ether that Zone’s work embodied. That it comes from a truly independent state of mind embodying a middle finger is what shapes this book so perfectly. The inadvertent zigs and zags in the music industry that he writes about reinforce the “stranger than fiction” adage of the more unique life stories we have heard over the years.

What sticks out most is the theme of dichotomy in a person. Not fitting in a proper category. It’s too easy just to say “other”, and when I intersperse a Project Pat track in a 90s playlist for my younger cousins, they aren’t jarred at all. I’d like to think there are more folks like Zone out there.

Incidentally, because the cousins enjoyed the Cash Money along with the Rawkus cuts, I gave them my ..Tu Madre CDR. Ten years from that point, and one cousin still says he will never part with it, let alone loan it out.

I’ve read this book five times since its release. If any of the above sounds appealing to you, then put up a little dough, kick back in a Luke Records sleeping shirt, and dive in!

[Mack Flavelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool hearing about the old days of hip hop. Cool hearing the well told story of a guy from a different life and different place.

In his attempts to be funny his inner rapper comes out. Many paragraphs and chapters have basically battle rap punchlines that are sometimes hilarious but sometimes feel forced.

Kinda weird reading what is basically a biography of a guy who didn't make it. Typically only people with exceptional lives or note worthy accomplishments have books written about them, whether by themselves or other people, but this is kind of great as an account of the other side of the story. Maybe an ode to mediocrity? And genuinely a perspective that's missing from the annals of history - though not in the a post social media world.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of the book, an autobiography focused on his rise to mid level rapper and then fall, definitely outshines the second, which is more a collection of essays on the state of the world, some which hold up better than others. But Zone’s voice and opinions, even when I don’t agree, are entertaining to read nonetheless.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was relatable as an artist. The game is rough , but the love of the music is enough ( sometimes )

[Quan · Rating 4 out of 5]

J-Zone is an asshole and he's utterly hilarious as one. He sums up the book with a quote that's something to the effect of: in life, you eventually learn that you'll have to eat up a bunch of BS to become "successful." He decided not to eat it up. This book celebrates his failure. And yeah, this book is basically that--stories for rap nerds who can't stomach BS pertaining to the music biz. This is written particularly and defiantly for insider rap nerds with tons of references to obscure rap records, soul samples, and artists. J-Zone's got a witty albeit bitter sense of humor that makes it a snappy read.

Minus one star because of some of the essays in the second half of the book. The first auto-biographical part was great. But it only lasted 130 or so pages. Clearly, the publisher wanted to fill the book out a little more to make it a worthwhile purchase. They tacked on some random, somewhat disjointed essays that probably started out as blog posts. They're all still pretty hilarious but some of them fit, others don't. The one about top record spots is great, for example. But there's another essay about J-Zone's views on relationships. As I read that one, I'm thinking, Why the hell am I gonna take relationship advice from J-Zone of all people?

Anyway, it was an overall fun, enjoyable read but strictly because I fit in the small rap nerd audience that this book was intended for.

[Damion Fahy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book 3 stars because, the beginning caught my attention but as the story went on it started to bore me. I started to read this book because it was from Jay z which is why it is called j zone. In the book it talks about how Jay z walked away from hip hop in 2011 because he could not find commercial success J-Zone stayed true to himself and followed the independent route until his album sales and fans stayed. Around the same time, a buddy and fan of J-Zone’s named Danger Mouse begin to make a name for himself joining together vocals from each music type to create a new type of hip hop. Towards the end of the story j zone got back into the rap game and started to work on his blue print album which broke records for sales. That gave him the idea that he was on the right path. I would recommend this book to people who like to rap and who like Jay z because it's all about rap and his history. This book was kind of interesting so I gave it 3 stars.

[Nate Trier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cheap Kindle buy, worth the price. J-Zone's account of his Zeno's paradox-esque run at hip-hop stardom (i.e. no matter how close you are, you're still only halfway there). He is a clever and funny (and profane) writer, just like his hip-hop persona. But, I was left wanting more details about his music business experience - stage shows, stage wear, how his rejected endorsement deals would have worked, etc. I'll never be a professional rapper, so more details would have let me live vicariously through J-Zone.

The second half of the book is actually a collection of his articles and blog entries on random topics - dating, women, self-imposed racial segregation in NYC. It ends with a heartwarming shout-out to his grandma.

[Dave Hofer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was okay. It's amazing how dated some parts of this were considering it was only published a few years ago.

J-Zone has already returned to music with a full album, etc, for one.

Second, after the music-related portion, Zone veers into blogger territory with diatribes against whatever rubs him the wrong way, including a too-long passage about people wasting his mobile minutes. Again, dated.

Finally, it's clear Zone is a smart man and a decent writer, but this could have been cleaned up a little and paced better.

[Calvin Kenley · Rating 3 out of 5]

J-zone has been a hero for sometime, the book seemed like an interlude and way for him to process his failure. Should be required reading for any aspiring artist. The most amazing thing is the unwritten epilogue though, J-zone spent the next several years getting his 10,000 hours learning to play drums. Now he is making his living drumming, making breaks for sample tapes to loop. He seems to have found his way after failing and to hear him talk about it is truly inspiring. Makes me like the book more in retrospect.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in the ATF days we actually paid this guy to headline one of the shows he talks about when after one of our artists went on everyone left because nobody cared to see him. Talented cat but not enough people ever really "got" him. I did really enjoy this book and I highly recommend it to all my friends who have put their rap aspirations behind them or have simply taken music back to the hobby level. Fun and funny read but strikingly truthful as well.

[Chi Chi · Rating 3 out of 5]

His gender politics make me cringe, but J-Zone is an entertaining curmudgeon otherwise, and this book gives some great insight into the music industry (hip hop, specifically) and makes the case that independent doesn't automatically mean better. The best parts of the book are when he gets into the nuts and bolts about pressing records and distributing them, and all the hustle that goes into that.

[Rhome Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

J-Zone is a hilarious storyteller and highly observant commentator on music, its sordid business side and life in general. The only drawback to this memoir is its misogyny, which in his music is cartoonish and easy to write off as him playing a character. In his writing, it's more stark. Despite this flaw, I'm still a fan and will continue to root for the villain.

[Beau Teague · Rating 3 out of 5]

If your hip-hop love began in the late 80s, stretched into the 90s, and was focused on sample-based production, you'll love the first half of this book (and the last chapter or so). J-Zone's old man observational stuff plays well on his most recent album, but not so much in the text form it takes in the latter half of the book.

[Gurra · Rating 5 out of 5]

J-Zone's style of writing and the thoughts that he expresses makes me laugh time after time again. It feels good to read about hiphop from someone who knows a lot more than you about the subject.
I would like to read many more books from J-Zone.

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

J Zone puts the OG in Throgs Neck. Recommended.

[Henry Goldman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent set of essays from a guy who made it for a while in the underground rap scene, but whose career died with it. Bitterly funny.

[Amar Pai · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. Not as interesting as his avclub interview

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

As funny and perceptive (and occasionally foul) as his records. The records are also funky as hell.

[Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://gnomeship.blogspot.com/2015/01...

[PROMO206 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dope



J Zone is that dude. A great memoir of the highs and lows of the music industry and how its changed with the times while the times have changed, much to J-Zone's chagrin.