Kanye West Owes Me $300 by Jensen Karp

Kanye West Owes Me $300 by Jensen Karp

Kanye West Owes Me $300 might be the funniest rap memoir ever. -LA Weekly

After Vanilla Ice, but before Eminem, there was Hot Karl, the Jewish kid from the L.A. suburbs who became a rap battling legend--and then almost became a star.

When 12-year old Jensen Karp got his first taste of rapping for crowds at his friend's bar mitzvah in 1991, little did he know that he was taking his first step on a crazy journey--one that would end with a failed million-dollar recording and publishing deal with Interscope Records when he was only 19. Now, in Kanye West Owes Me $300, Karp finally tells the true story of his wild ride as Hot Karl, the most famous white rapper you've never heard of.

On his way to (almost) celebrity, Jensen shares his childhood run-ins with rock-listening, southern California classmates, who tell him that rap is for black people, and then recounts his record-breaking rap battling streak on popular radio contest The Roll Call--a run that caught the eye of a music industry hungry for new rap voices in the early '00s. He also introduces his rap partner, Rickye, who constitutes the second half of their group XTra Large; his supportive mom, who performs with him onstage; and the soon-to-be-household-name artists he records with, including Kanye West, Redman, Fabolous, Mya, and will.i.am. Finally, he reveals why his album never saw the light of day (two words: Slim Shady), the downward spiral he suffered after, and what he found instead of rap glory.

Full of rollicking stories from his close brush with fame, Karp's hilarious memoir is the ultimate fish-out-of-water story about a guy who follows an unlikely passion--trying to crack the rap game--despite what everyone else says. It's 30 Rock for the rap set; 8 Mile for the suburbs; and quite the journey for a white kid from the valley.

Jensen Karp, formerly known as Hot Karl, is a writer, comedian, and co-owner of Gallery 1988, the nation's leading destination for pop culture-themed artwork. He hosts the Get Up On This podcast on the Earwolf Network, co-owns Patti Lapel pins, and has written and produced for The Late Late Show with James Corden, the MTV VMAs & Movie Awards, Rolling Stone, WWE Raw, The Hundreds, and the ESPYs. As an actor, he's appeared on VH1's Barely Famous, NFL on FOX, Comedy Central's @Midnight, and Candidly Nicole. He is currently an Executive Producer, writer, and coach on Drop the Mic on TBS. He was influenced by early Tom Hanks comedies, Chino XL, and Dennis Miller (before Dennis became a real piece of shit).

jensenkarp.com
@Jensenclan88

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780451498878
ISBN 10	0451498879
Title	Kanye West Owes Me $300
Author	Jensen Karp
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Random House USA Inc
Year published	2017-05-02
Number of pages	336
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable