I had no idea what Wretched, Pitiful, Poor, Blind & Naked was about, but I was definitely excited to see what fellow 757 representative Gene Thornton Jr. (aka Malice from The Clipse) had to say.  When I got the book and saw that it was basically his testament to the role that religion has played/is playing in his life, I was a little less excited; not that I’m anti-religion or anything, just didn’t really want to be preached to for 170 some pages.  But once I started reading it my opinion changed.

Wretched is one of the most honest books I’ve ever read.  It’s written in a very conversational tone – lots of “Now, ….” to start sentences, etc.  It reads like Malice was talking to a friend, telling his story, and somebody just transcribed everything he said.  Unlike most books written by celebrities, you can tell that he wrote it all himself and the editors didn’t really change much at all, which is a nice change. As I said, the book basically details how faith brought him out of some of the darkest periods in his life.  Malice’s descriptions of some of those times are what really made this worth reading for me.  I can’t think of too many rappers who would be willing to admit to, much less publish a book about, their financial problems, AIDS scares, fallouts with friends, family, and colleagues in the music business, and insecurities in general – it all comes across as being completely genuine and heartfelt.  And I definitely can’t think of too many who would admit that they were too weak to get through all of that themselves and had to give themselves up to a higher power to come through it.  Much props to Malice for having the courage to say what he feels.

On the real, this book changed my life.  Or at least how I feel about it.  Can’t say that I’ve started living more righteous or going to church, but Wretched at least made me feel like maybe I should.  And if you’re on here reading Big Hop’s blog, you should definitely read the book, ‘cause you obviously need Jesus.

Rating: 4 ½ out of 5

1 out of 5 notepads – stick to your day job “writer”
2 out of 5 notepads – if somebody gives it to you and your bored, read it
3 out of 5 notepads – if somebody gives it to you, read it even if you’re not bored
4 out of 5 notepads – worth a read, pick it up if you see it
5 out of 5 notepads – go to Barnes & Noble today, stuff this under your coat & walk out

So there you have it. For the first time since he was a choirboy, Trick was honestly touched by something. Do the obviously good thing, and support Malice by purchasing this book online. You can get it here.

& tune in next month as Trick gets busy with his newest book review…