Thug Life Army

Hailing from the Bronx NY, hip-hop cultures rap artist Nocturne breaks new ground with his first graphic science fantasy book, "Darkness Bleeds A Million Suns". Nocturne’s book follows several successful books recently released by well-known hip-hop and rap artists.

Nocturne uses musically rich prose and poetry in a nonlinear journey through the 21st and 22nd centuries, accompanied by gripping photos and drawings inspired by hip-hop, video games, film, Eastern philosophy, mystical architecture and contemporary street life.

He joins literary hip-hop and rap artists  Chuck D of Public Enemy, rap artist-activist Sister Souljah and the founder of the hip-hop click the Wu Tang Clan group, "The RZA," in turning to the medium of writing to express their creative vision.

Ronn Davis, who produces hip-hop rap groups No False Lyricists (NFL), God Aku and Golden Child, says, "Nocturne's book is ''dope.'' It's like one continuous rap with many science fiction movies in it. Wow!"

Organized in "tapestries" instead of in chapters, "Darkness Bleeds A Million Suns" presents syncopated concepts in prose, poetry, photographs and illustrations to convey operatic perspectives on the human condition. Nocturne says, "Every time I write a rhyme I push it to de-limit, cerebral motivator my soul doesn''t limit." He draws a comparison between today's rap art and bebop jazz in the late 1950s. "Back then, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus and Sun Ra broke musical limits with new musical vocabularies and took ''Giant Steps'' (Coltrane) that expanded the entire jazz arena."

By day, Nocturne works in Manhattan as a financial editor.

"Darkness Bleeds A Million Suns" is available at www.lulu.com/tongman13