The Hip Hop Manifesto by Hozeh Reviewed by The Pathfinder and Delonya Conyers July 2010 / September 2010 Synopsis: The dominant religion of the year 2109 is Verbalism (a.k.a. The Word) - a belief system centered on the lyrical and written wisdom of rappers and countless other scribes throughout the ages who are regarded as prophets. Confused by his inability to grasp the subtleties of this faith, El Adrel travels east across the wasteland of a once great United States to find the "Bible" of his religion, The Hip Hop Manifesto. Guided by mystics, who possess extraordinary mental powers, and his own conscience, El Adrel navigates his way through the clutches of a temptress and the control of a demigod on the road towards self-realization and empowerment. In the end, he must make a choice: will he embrace a new order and choose power and wealth, or will he answer the voice that calls to him and give in to his destiny?

Reviewed by: The Pathfinder

The Hip Hop Manifesto by Hozeh is a fascinating and enthralling piece of work, which takes the readers on a journey filled with wonders and an amazing trek into a mystical, historical, spiritual and pious world. Intertwined with love, friendship, devotion, ingenuity and creativeness, the story is set in the Twenty-Second Century, United States. Moreover, Hozen’s adaptation of the science fiction characteristics to the story thrives upon and integrates the urban lyrical and hip hop culture which plays an amazing role throughout the book.

At times, I felt as if I was reading about the end of the world as we know it. The book is literally filled with ethnical, moral and integrity issues during this period. The people are consumed and are breaking away from what one would consider decency, love for one another, and honor. It is about good and evil, weighing on the sorrows, anguish and misery which the people seem to languish in. The connection between man and God was severed and those who made it out of the abyss of darkness are seeking to find some worthiness and to rebuild their relationship with God, but are confronted and are involved in a struggle with those who want to re-establish the status quo.

The protagonist of the story is El Adrel, a young man who is on a journey to find the mother he never knew. As he adheres to his way of life, and follows the path which he believes he was destined. He soon realizes that this course would not provide him with the knowledge of which he seeks. Along the way he discovers his manhood, and determined that the abilities, power and strength which he had attained was a gift as he seek to find the historical and self-realization that he needed in order to find the true meaning behind The Word. In his quest to find the absolute truth, he began to question not only that which he could see but that which he could not see. His surroundings and existence he felt had a meaning and a worth, and the only way he could understand and gain knowledge of that was to seek and find The Word, as he searches for his mother.

There were moments when the pace slowed down, but the story kept you wanting to see what would become of El Adrel. Another thing to keep in mind is that the book is not written in the “typical” urban lit lingo. The author’s use of metaphors are poetic, beautified and sprinkled with the flow of Rap artists such as Kool G. Rap, Big Daddy Kane and other well know artist and poets. The poetry and prose that are strewed throughout the book are like subliminal sonnets sucking up an ode like a vacuum. You will be confronted by the draconian images of a world in which people are content with living in their abyss of horror. Shamelessly and painlessly, El Adrel drowned out the ideals of the status quo utopia and continues on his path to find The Word.

What did you like best about this book?
The author’s mindset to put together a story as such and putting all the elements together to bring this story to life was great. I also loved the honesty, growth and humanity of El Adrel.

Reviewed by: Delonya Conyers

A post apocalyptic United States is the setting for author Hozeh’s The Hip Hop Manifesto. The year is 2110 and the reigning religion is called Verbalism, which focuses on spoken word or lyricism. Verbalism is a religion where rappers of the past and scribes can be viewed upon as prophets. The holy document governing Verbalism is the elusive Hip Hop Manifesto. The main character of the book El Adrel has lost his faith amidst all the suffering he’s seen as the survivors of the apocalypse attempt to rebuild a normal existence. This lack of faith has led El Adrel on a journey across the country to seek out their bible of sorts The Hip Hop Manifesto.

The visuals displayed by author Hozeh as El Adrel makes his way across the country although not atheistically pleasing are still breathtaking. Also the way in which author
Hozeh effortlessly captures the realistic way in which survivors attempt to re-establish some semblance of civilization is fascinating. Although the book is shrouded in a futuristic theme and has a definite sci-fi feel it’s its universal premise of man’s search for his place in the world that allows the novel to supersede its genre. Readers who are not fans of futuristic reads can still relate to the good versus evil and faith versus fortune themes that are contained within the book. Also rounding out its universal appeal is the one struggle that almost all readers can identify with; choosing between two potential mates and the battle to not be guided by lust.

Successfully capturing all the above is no small fete especially within a novel where the setting plays so big a role. But author Hozeh manages to do it all without detracting from the storyline. Demonstrating that no matter the setting a good story can always be weaved within.

What did you like best about this book?
It had a very original storyline that worked well with its theme.

What did you dislike about this book?
There was a brief lull near the beginning of the book that took away from the overall consistency of the novel.

How can the author improve this book?
By ensuring that there aren’t any dull moments.

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