Deconstructing Tyrone: A New Look at Black Masculinity in the Hip-Hop Generation.

Deconstructing Tyrone: A New Look at Black Masculinity in the Hip-Hop Generation by Natalie Hopkinson and Natalie Y. Moore Cleis Press, October 2006 $14.95, ISBN 1-573-44257-7

His name is Tyrone. He's a black man somewhere between 20 to 40 years old. He was reared on hip-hop, loves the NBA and Sony PlayStation with a passion, has a way with the ladies, and regards Scarface as one of the greatest films ever made. Decades of studies have examined his at-risk status for incarceration, premature death by gunfire or of contracting HIV/AIDS. Everyone knows a Tyrone, but who really knows Tyrone?

That question resonates throughout Deconstructing Tyrone, an engrossing collaboration between two urbane, thirtysomething journalists. Their work contrasts the real lives, struggles and impact of young black men with the misperceptions that dominate in the mass media and lingers in the public consciousness. Those stigmas, of course, have been prevalent for generations. Malcolm X, for example, often had to juxtapose the grainy black-and-white TV images of "the angry Negro" with the intellectual writer, organizer and searing humorist he knew himself to be.

With a fresh contemporary lens, the authors place the faceless Tyrone, a name popularized in a hit 1997 song by R&B artist Erykah Badu, under the microscope. The result is sharp reporting and analysis on the state of black masculinity in the 21st century with perspective that veers from gut-wrenching honesty to laugh-out-loud funny. One chapter traces how the notoriety of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, "America's first hip-hop mayor" represents the complex blend of pre-existing stereotypes and self-inflicted wounds. Another section profiles NBA star Etan Thomas and his activism as sports fans bemoan an era in which the outspoken athlete appears to be a relic from the 1960s and 1970s.

At times, Deconstructing Tyrone seeks to shatter conventional wisdom as an up-close look at the lives of two gay young black men in a long-term committed relationship clearly illustrates. At other times, it brings out the ammunition for a scathing critique of the hip-hop industry over its unrelenting misogyny and damaging influence on the psyche of men and women. One glaring omission, however, is a roundtable with teenage boys to complement the book's stimulating discussion group featuring young girls. Still, the next time one calls Tyrone, this work should definitely be part of the conversation.

--Reviewed by Curtis Stephen

Curtis Stephen is a columnist with New York Newsday.