A is for Anarchist

by billy woods, M Musgrove

A sardonic spin on the ABC book, A is for Anarchist is a sharp knife in a drawer full of safety scissors.

Wryly written by critically acclaimed rapper billy woods and sublimely illustrated by artist m. musgrove, A is for Anarchist upends the traditional ABC format with earnestness that belies its irreverence. Anarchist takes modest ideas, like E is for Energy and G is for Ghosts, and flips them into incisive commentary on modern life and the state of the world. Also, it has to be the only alphabet book with annotated footnotes and a Nas reference.

56 pages, Hardcover

Published March 14, 2023

Reviews

[Stewart Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

billy woods is, in my opinion, the best writer in music. He is easily my favorite rapper of all time and at this point I’ll follow him wherever he chooses to go creatively. I’ve been waiting for him to eventually write a book - it seemed inevitable - and while I was expecting poetry or short stories, I was happy to settle for a children’s book in the meantime.

This is a cheeky spin on the classic ABC book format, sure, but it’s also genuinely useful at explaining “adult” concepts to children, and the writing is a lot of fun. For instance: “A is for Anarchist. Anarchists don’t like rules. Anarchists also don’t like being told what to do. You are already an anarchist.” I love that sentiment, and I love that there’s a way to introduce these ideas to kids before they have any idea how they’re “supposed” to feel about them.

Oh and the art is fantastic. Great work by m. musgrove, I love to see this sitting on my shelf.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little picture book for adults -- or, at least, I wouldn't have been able to use this as a bedtime read for my daughter.

Some of the other alphabet words covered: Billions, Communism, Die, Energy, Fascism, and, my favorite, Ghosts:

You think ghosts are under your bed, but they're not. They are in our thoughts and memories, they are in the quiet moments in our hearts.
Under your bed are just monsters.
Totally different thing.

Thought provoking and amusing with appropriately wacky and ghoulish artwork.

p.s., My wife and I hadn't been noticing the teeny tiny numbers for the endnotes as we read it aloud, and we had a bit of an extensive post-reading project going back and searching through the book to track them all down.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

when your favourite rapper writes a children’s book, you gotta support it.. woods is for the children! Anyone know when we are finally getting the memoir?!

[Alien Bookreader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very boring. The illustrations are great but the text is boring. Every letter is just something predictable, simple, basic. Not funny or original.

[Joel Freudenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my GOD that was amazing. Going to read this to my daughter every day hahaha

[Paul Dickerson]

No surprise that my favorite lyricist in music wrote a really fun little book. Yes, it's just a concept book, but it features plenty of woods' patented dark humor and empathy. Love the art too.

[Shaun Savvas · Rating 5 out of 5]

An ABC book with themes not for the faint of heart from one of my favorite artists making music right now? Sign me up!

[Felix De Backer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zo mogelijk de beste rapper aller tijden leert kinderen (maar vooral de fans van zijn muziek, denk ik) het alfabet op anarchistische wijze aan. Eerder een "blader-en-kijk" dan "lees" boek. Voeg hier prachtige tekeningen van Musgrove aan toe en je hebt een enorm mooi en clever boek.

[Arjun K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was good. I'm a huge fan / supporter of billy woods, so when I saw he had published a book I knew I had to get it (Though I had to wait long to get it delivered since they don't print it here in India). I always knew woods had a book in him. In fact, he put me on to so many books and authors I have never even heard of through references in his raps.

This book, like the cover says, is a sardonic twist to the good ol' ABC book. Each letter introduces a concept and explained in a very billy woods fashion accompanied by beautiful illustrations from M. Musgrove. I'm somewhat familiar with her works. I have seen the works she did for the duo Armand Hammer (billy woods & E L U C I D), as well as her illustrations for the Hiding Places project. She's great. All in all it's a good book. You can read it in like 10 minutes, but I can almost guarantee you'll find yourself coming back to it every now and then.

[Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I had not heard of underground MC and rapper billy woods before seeing this fun little alphabet book at a cool local shop, A is for Anarchist is an upbeat, joyful romp through radical ideals. Appropriate for questioning adults or curious kids alike, the affirming ideals expressed here should be common knowledge. The vibrant yet antique-looking artwork of artist and comic artist m. musgrove was a great compliment to woods’ provocative yet clear sentences. I’ll be looking for more of woods’ and musgrove’s work.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is what it is - a dark humoured and philosophical alphabet book. It's not brilliant and it's not bad (I don't know how you rate an alphabet book, hence 3*). It's just right.

I think this is more just a cool collectors item for fanboys like myself.

I would love to have a proper book from woods though. I keep telling anyone I meet who's into hip-hop to check him out (he's my joint no.1 along with MF DOOM). Been shouting his name into what seems to be the void since "History Will Absolve Me" came out.

[Campbell Mcclintock · Rating 5 out of 5]

The artwork is dark, whimsical, and gorgeous. The words were written by your favourite rapper's favourite rapper, a father, a poet, a son of a pan-African political radical. A is for Anarchist indeed !

[Amanda Peña · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing artwork. Spot on alphabetical world and human anecdotes.

[Gab]

Good for you Billy

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sardonic take on the alphabet book for adults.

[simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

let’s not argue just say he’s the best

[Daniel Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly charming, important book, offering a counterpoint to traditional children's literature. While I was drawn in by my love for Billy Woods, M. Musgrove's pictures are really impressive.

[Blaine Riesberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember talking with billy woods postshow in Nebraska. I bought the last Terror Management cd and he said be sure to read the lyrics which made me a little sad to think there are people who don't and he's not just one of my favorite hip-hop artists but also writers in general.

A is for Anarchist has been the best abecedary I've read this year. It's really a book you could read to children more than once, how interesting it would be to see how they grasp the concepts over the years. Certainly a conversation starter: from nihilism to yawning to umami.

And it's all very thoughtful, charming and funny, for example: "G is for Ghosts. You think ghosts are under your bed but they're not. They are in our thoughts and memories, they are in the quiet moments in our hearts. Under your bed are just monsters. Totally different thing." And too, like his other work, deeply personal.

And the illustrations by M. Musgrove, wonderful in their own right, really brings out the humor and beauty of it too.

And hey, do you know of any other ABC books that have footnotes?

[Benjamin Niespodziany · Rating 5 out of 5]

woods is one of the greats. With two of the best rap albums of the year, the prolific artist also managed to release a book accessible for adults and kids alike. This is an abecedarian for the underground hip-hop heads. A picture book for kids who collect vinyl and make beats. It’s a treat. And the vivid illustrations from M. Musgrove are just as strong as the text.

[K]

Good enough to make my cynical ass want to have kids just so I can read it to them