Being Dope: Hip Hop and Theory through Mixtape Memoir

by A.D. Carson

432 pages, Paperback

Published December 10, 2025

About the author

A.D. CARSON was born in Decatur, Illinois. He received a B.A. in Education and Creative Writing from Millikin University and M.A. in English from the University of Illinois, Springfield. He is a high school educator whose only aspiration as a high school student was to become a professional rapper. After releasing two albums independently and living out his rap dreams he chose education as a professional career. He has never lost his Hip-Hop ties, however, using his unique career path and avocations to engage students and audiences of all ages and disciplines. He continues bridging the gap between the music and literature through teaching, performing and conducting workshops. An educator, author, and performance artist, he has written hundreds of unpublished poems, stories, songs, and other tangentially related pieces, some of which he shares on his website, AydeeTheGreat.com. His first album, Writer’s Block, was released in 2000, followed by Aristotle XIV in 2002, White T-Shirt [EP] in 2004, Cold World Mix Tape Volume 1 in 2010, Cold World Mix Tape Volume 2 and Cold in 2011. The recipient of the Grace Patton Conant Award for Literary Creation, A.D. Carson’s work has appeared in Collage and The Alchemist’s Review and Quiddity International Literary Journal and Public-Radio Program. He currently serves as Writer-In-Residence for Benedictine University at Springfield. Additionally, his essay, Oedipus-Not-So-Complex: A Blueprint for Literary Education, appears as a chapter in the critical reader, Jay-Z: Essays on Hip Hop’s Philosopher King (McFarland Press, 2011). His first novel, COLD, is available from Mayhaven Publishing, Inc. His newest collection, The City: [un]poems, thoughts, rhymes and miscellany, is forthcoming from Mayhaven Publishing, Inc. A.D. Carson's audio projects can be purchased at amazon.com or on iTunes.

Reviews

[Sydney Repak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m super happy with this new release from my professor! Genuinely challenged me and gave me such a greater reverence for the topic.

[Joshua Amos · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an educator, autobiographer, and a lyricist the Dr. Carson excels at sharing history personal history as well as national history, delving deeply into its social and emotional impact, while sharing his exploration and experience of the world hip hop through spectacular and poetical prose narrative and his own amazing lyricism.