Rap Artists Recommend Their Favorite Books

We know that rappers like a lot of things, but a book would probably not be the first to come to mind. The good folks over at British GQ compiled a few quotes from different rap artists, including A$AP Rocky, J. Cole, Childish Gambino, Ice Cube, Kreayshawn and more, talking about their favorite reads. Read a few of the highlights below and check the full feature here.

A$AP Rocky

“I love Harry Potter and JK Rowling – don’t laugh at me! Either The Sorcerer’s Stone, The Chamber Of Secrets, The Prisoner Of Azkaban, The Goblet Of Fire or The Half-Blood Prince. I’m the biggest Harry Potter fan in the f*cking world. Does that freak you out? You’ve gotta be yourself. I love Harry Potter and JK Rowling – don’t laugh at me!”

J. Cole

“Eye Of The Hurricane by Rubin Carter. I never saw the movie with Denzel Washington, but the book [on which it is based] is incredible. It’s about a boxer who is a hometown hero in New Jersey because he went to juvie, then the army, made it big as a pro and then was wrongly accused of a triple murder. It’s kind of inspiring – and it makes me think, ‘Man, what have I really done?’”

Childish Gambino

“I have an obsession with books about kids with Asperger’s syndrome. I like the way they think – it suits me. The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon is great. That and [Jonathan Safran Foer's] Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close – they’re on a separate bookshelf. They don’t understand what the other books are saying by their facial expressions, but they’re perfectly lined-up.”