A review by jayisreading
A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

I don’t think there is anything new I can contribute to the conversation around A Little Devil in America, other than to echo that it’s a brilliant collection of essays. Abdurraqib walks the reader through various histories of Black performance in the United States while weaving in elements of his personal life. In doing so, I thought he did a phenomenal job in pointing out that history—Black history—doesn’t exist in a void, that there are distinct connections across the past, present, and future that deeply impact US culture and society at large. It is especially the case with popular music; the industry is so indebted to Black Americans’ contributions since even before the twentieth century. Just consider the origins of a multitude of music genres— You’ll find that they’re all deeply rooted in Black music traditions.

I really enjoyed all these essays, but I was especially taken to Abdurraqib’s essay, “The Josephine Baker Monument Can Never Be Large Enough,” and how he explored the complicated ties that we have to place(s), as well as the (un)intentional attachments that may form.

Overall, a really wonderful essay collection full of beautiful insights that, indeed, praise Black performance for everything it has been, is, and will be.
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