For a whole generation of 11-year-olds, the classic '90s PlayStation game PaRappa the Rapper was a gateway to hip-hop, and the words "Kick! Punch! It's all in the mind" have been stuck in our heads for 25 years. Now, that game's legacy is being celebrated with its very own book.
The book is by Toronto writer Mike Sholars and it will come out through Boss Fight Books, a publisher of works on classic video games. It's simply titled PaRappa the Rapper, and the rather funny cover features images of an onion, a frog, a moose and a chicken — references that will be familiar to anyone who remembers the game.
The book includes interviews with PaRappa creators Masaya Matsuura and Rodney Greenblat, voice cast member Saundra Williams, and various experts in the worlds of video games and music.
A synopsis reads, "Sholars uses his love of hip-hop and gaming to celebrate PaRappa's unprecedented mechanics, art, humour, cultural specificity, and uplifting themes as he pairs energetic game history with personal memoir to explain how a game about a rapping dog helped him feel seen when he needed it the most."
Boss Fight Books has been raising money for the launch through Kickstarter; as of this writing, the campaign has already raised $9,749 CAD of its $13,429 goal, with 28 more days to go. Before the end of the campaign, there will be three more video game books revealed.
See the Kickstarter campaign here.
The book is by Toronto writer Mike Sholars and it will come out through Boss Fight Books, a publisher of works on classic video games. It's simply titled PaRappa the Rapper, and the rather funny cover features images of an onion, a frog, a moose and a chicken — references that will be familiar to anyone who remembers the game.
The book includes interviews with PaRappa creators Masaya Matsuura and Rodney Greenblat, voice cast member Saundra Williams, and various experts in the worlds of video games and music.
A synopsis reads, "Sholars uses his love of hip-hop and gaming to celebrate PaRappa's unprecedented mechanics, art, humour, cultural specificity, and uplifting themes as he pairs energetic game history with personal memoir to explain how a game about a rapping dog helped him feel seen when he needed it the most."
Boss Fight Books has been raising money for the launch through Kickstarter; as of this writing, the campaign has already raised $9,749 CAD of its $13,429 goal, with 28 more days to go. Before the end of the campaign, there will be three more video game books revealed.
See the Kickstarter campaign here.
