M. K. Asante
M. K. Asante | |
---|---|
Born | November 3, 1982 Harare, Zimbabwe |
Occupation |
|
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television University of London, SOAS Lafayette College |
Genre | Memoir, creative nonfiction, poetry, hip-hop, African-American literature, documentary |
Notable works | Buck: A Memoir; While Black with MK Asante |
Parents | Molefi Kete Asante and Kariamu Welsh |
M. K. Asante (born November 3, 1982) is an American author, filmmaker, recording artist, and professor. He is the author of the 2013 best-selling memoir Buck.[1][2]
Early life and education[]
Born in Harare, Zimbabwe and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Asante is the son of scholar Molefi Kete Asante and choreographer Kariamu Welsh.
Asante is a graduate of The Crefeld School.[3] He studied film and literature at the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, earned a BA in Africana Studies and English from Lafayette College, and an M.F.A. in Screenwriting from UCLA School of Theater Film and Television.[4]
Career[]
Books[]
Asante is the author of four books, most notably Buck (2013), a memoir about his troubled youth in Philadelphia. Buck was selected as a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick and made the Washington Post bestseller list in 2014 and 2015.[5][6] Poet Maya Angelou, who mentored Asante, described Buck as "a story of surviving and thriving with passion, compassion, wit, and style."[7]
Films[]
Asante is a Sundance Institute Feature Film Fellow for the movie adaptation of his memoir Buck. Asante wrote and produced the 2005 documentary 500 Years Later, a documentary about slavery which received the Breaking the Chains Award from UNESCO. Asante directed and produced The Black Candle (2012), a documentary about Kwanzaa, co-written and narrated by Maya Angelou.
Lectures and essays[]
Asante has delivered numerous lectures, including the Yale University Master's Tea; Vanderbilt University Walter R. Murray Jr. Lecture; Southern Methodist University Willis M. Tate Distinguished Lecture; and commencement addresses at UCLA, University of Wisconsin, Arizona State University, Vassar, and Harvard University.
Asante is featured in Changing America: 1968 and Beyond, a permanent exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Asante has written essays on art, Hip Hop, technology, and culture for USA Today,[8] Huffington Post,[9] San Francisco Chronicle,[10] and the New York Times.[11]
Music[]
Asante is featured on the song "Bangers", along with Halo, from the album Indie 500 by Talib Kweli and 9th Wonder.
Asante is the founder of Wonderful Sound Studios.
Professor[]
At 23, he joined the faculty of Morgan State University. He received tenure at 26[12] and is currently Associate Professor of creative writing and film in the Department of English and Language Arts.[13] In 2017, he was appointed to Distinguished Professor-in-Residence at the MICA (Institute of Strategic Marketing and Communication) in India.[14]
He is the recipient of the 2021 Morgan State University Distinguished Achievement Award.
TV Shows[]
Asante is the host and co-executive producer of While Black with MK Asante, a docuseries produced by Snapchat.[15] While Black with MK Asante takes the stories of America’'s black youth and gives them a platform in the smartphones of millions of America’s teens.[16] While Black with MK Asante has nearly 17 million viewers.[17]
Asante co-wrote the broadcast opens for the 2021 NBA Finals directed by Spike Lee.
TV Performances[]
On November 30, 2020, he performed and debuted "We the Eagles" on ESPN's NFL Monday Night Football for a live audience of 11.4 million viewers.[18]
On May 29, 2021, he performed and debuted "Skate or D.I.E." at the 2021 Dew Tour Skateboarding Olympic qualifier on NBC.
Awards and honors[]
- 2002 Jean Corrie Poetry Prize – Academy of American Poets
- 2005 Best Documentary (500 Years Later) – Pan African Film Festival
- 2006 Best Int'l Documentary (500 Years Later) – Harlem Int'l Film Festival
- 2006 Best Documentary (500 Years Later) – Bridgetown Film Festival
- 2007 Breaking the Chains Award (500 Years Later) – United Nations' UNESCO
- 2008 Best Documentary (The Black Candle) – Africa World Documentary Film Festival
- 2009 Langston Hughes Award from the Langston Hughes Society
- 2009 The Key to the City of Dallas, TX
- 2010 Board of director's Best Documentary (Motherland) – Pan African Film Festival
- 2011 Best Documentary (Motherland) – Zanzibar International Film Festival
- 2012 Best Director (The Black Candle) – Arkansas Black Film Festival
- 2012 Outstanding Young Writer – Middle Atlantic Writers Association
- 2013 Discover Great New Writers (Buck: A Memoir) – Barnes & Noble
- 2013 Best Book of 2013 (Buck: A Memoir) – Baltimore Magazine
- 2013 Inspirational Memoir finalist (Buck: A Memoir) – Books for a Better Life Award
- 2014 Washington Post Bestseller List – Paperback Nonfiction #6 (Buck: A Memoir)
- 2014 Alex Award finalist (Buck: A Memoir) – American Library Association
- 2014 TheGrio 100 List – MSNBC The Grio
- 2014 Feature Film Program Fellow – Sundance Institute
- 2014 Outstanding Literary Work – Autobiography finalist (Buck: A Memoir) – NAACP Image Awards
- 2014 In the Margins Book Award (Buck: A Memoir)
- 2015 Washington Post Bestseller List – Paperback Nonfiction #3 (Buck: A Memoir)
- 2016 Chancellor's Medallion – Fayetteville State University
- 2017 Distinguished Professor-in-Residence – MICA (Institute of Strategic Marketing and Communication)
- 2018 Great Stories Club – American Library Association (Buck: A Memoir)
- 2020 Best in Social Activism (Finalist) - Shorty Awards (While Black with MK Asante)
- 2020 Short Form Series (Nomination) Critics' Choice Real TV Awards (While Black with MK Asante)
- 2021 Presidential Citation - MSU Distinguished Achievement Award - Morgan State University
Books[]
- Like Water Running Off My Back (2002)
- (2005)
- It's Bigger Than Hip Hop (2008)
- Buck: A Memoir (2013)
Films[]
- 500 Years Later (2005)
- The Black Candle (2008)
- Motherland (2010)
- Buck (in development)
TV Shows[]
- While Black with MK Asante (2019–)
- Free Tuition with MK Asante (2020–)
Music[]
Albums[]
- 2015: Buck: Original Book Soundtrack by MK Asante
Singles[]
- 2013: "The Color Grey" – Bishop Lamont ft. Mykisha Thomas and MK Asante (produced by Chris Noxx)
- 2014: "My Victory" – MK Asante ft. Maya Angelou (produced by J Dilla)
- 2014: "The Bulletin" – MK Asante ft. Uzi (produced by Faze Miyake)
- 2015: "Young Bucks" – MK Asante ft. Mez (Produced by J-Mac and Commissioner Gordon)
- 2020: "We the Eagles" - MK Asante (Produced by Mez)
- 2021: "Skate or D.I.E." - MK Asante (Produced by The Brightness)
Features[]
- 2013: "Godz N The Hood" – Ras Kass ft. Bishop Lamont, MK Asante and Talib Kweli (produced by Chris Noxx)
- 2015: "Rap Psalms" – MK Asante ft. Narcy (Produced by Thanks Joey)
- 2015: "Bangers" – MK Asante and Halo (Produced by Nottz)
- 2016: "Runnin" – Ace Clark ft. MK Asante (Produced by Scarecrow Beats)
References[]
- ^ McCauley, Mary Carole. "Morgan State professor's memoir, Buck makes big splash". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on October 26, 2014.
- ^ Master storyteller M.K. Asante keeps it real in the classroom. CNN.com. Retrieved on June 23, 2017.
- ^ Filmmaker from Hill thrills Crefeld School kids Archived September 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, ChestnutHillLocal.com, December 15, 2005.
- ^ "Our Past Meeta Your Future", UCLA.
- ^ "Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers 2013". bn.com. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- ^ "The Washington Post Bestseller List". washingtonpost.com. October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
- ^ Asante, Molefi K. (2014). Buck: A Memoir. Spiegel & Grau. ISBN 978-0-8129-8362-3.
- ^ USATODAY.com – Enough disrespect: Return rap to its artistic roots. Usatoday30.usatoday.com (October 25, 2004). Retrieved on 2017-06-23.
- ^ Celebrating Kwanzaa With Maya Angelou (VIDEO) | HuffPost. Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved on June 23, 2017.
- ^ Asante, MK. "We are the post hip-hop generation". SFGate.
- ^ Asante, MK. "'Accidental Racist' and Lyrical Provocation". The New York Times.
- ^ "MK Asante gets candid about his rise, struggles and gift for language". Today. February 27, 2020.
- ^ Gordon, Stanley (October 13, 2007). "Fear The Bear: The Awakening Of A Once Powerful Force". Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
- ^ MICA, 2017.
- ^ Petski, Denise (April 4, 2019), "Snapchat Sets 10 New Original Series From Buzzfeed, Bunim/Murray, New Form, More", Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ "While Black with MK Asante", The Shorty Awards.
- ^ "Snap Projects 50% Annual Revenue Growth for Next Several Years, Stock Hits an All-Time High February 23, 2021.
- ^ "ESPN's Monday Night Football Experiences Year-over-Year Viewership Gains Again; Seahawks-Eagles Generates 11.4 Million Viewers"
External links[]
- African-American academics
- African-American film directors
- African-American poets
- African-American screenwriters
- American film producers
- 21st-century American memoirists
- Postmodern writers
- East Coast hip hop musicians
- American male screenwriters
- American social sciences writers
- African-American non-fiction writers
- American documentary film directors
- American documentary film producers
- American spoken word poets
- Lafayette College alumni
- UCLA Film School alumni
- Alumni of SOAS University of London
- Living people
- 21st-century American poets
- American male poets
- Morgan State University faculty
- 21st-century American male writers
- American male non-fiction writers
- Screenwriters from Maryland
- 21st-century American rappers
- 21st-century American screenwriters
- 1982 births