After the Beastie Boys and 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.
Jensen Karp, formerly known as rapper Hot Karl, is an LA-based
writer, comedian, and co-owner of Gallery 1988, the nation's
leading destination for pop-cultured themed artwork. He hosts the
"Get Up On This" podcast on the Wolfpop Network, co-hosts the web
series "Baby Talk," and has written and produced for Funny or Die,
the MTV VMAs, HelloGiggles, Rolling Stone, WWE Raw, The Hundreds,
and the ESPYs. As an actor, he's appeared on VH1's "Barely Famous"
and "Candidly Nicole."
jensenkarp.com
@Jensenclan88
"Triumphantly funny...Karp has a gift for crafting portraits of
hip-hop stars that are as funny and revealing as they are succinct,
and his take on a pre-fame West is funny but also, like much of the
rest of the book, surprisingly emotional and poignant.... A book
that is something special."
--AV Club "A superbly unsentimental chronicle of growing up in the
'90s as a white kid who loved rap more than anything. It's a
classic L.A. redemption story of an artist narrowly missing stardom
and failing at his first dream, but surviving to write his own
second act, and ultimately, one of the best hip-hop memoirs in
years."
--LA Weekly "If the title doesn't grab your attention, the story
definitely will."
--PopSugar (The 13 Hottest Books Hitting Shelves This June)
"Hilarious."
--Harper's Bazaar (Must Read Books for Summer)
"[F]unny, irreverent....There's plenty of juicy anecdotes,
celebrity gossip, and shady industry dealings."
--GQ "The funniest person I follow on Twitter finally got smart and
wrote about his unlikely--and hilarious--odyssey as teenage rapper
Hot Karl. Karp's sharp wit and gossipy giggles keep you turning
pages, but what lingers is the story of a survivor. This book
should be mandatory reading for or anyone who has ever wanted to be
famous."
--Kevin Smith, New York Times bestselling author of Tough Sh*t "If
I had kids, I'd read passages from this to them at night. Rap
careers definitely haven't been explored from this perspective, and
I'm excited to see the ripples. Jensen's gonna make some enemies,
though. I've been on television."
--Hannibal Buress "I remember hearing faint whispers about a white
kid on the west coast who got like the craziest deal ever from some
radio freestyles or some shit. But we never saw anything concrete,
so I assumed he was hip-hop's Bigfoot and left it at that. Who knew
it was real !!! This is the story of the rap game's Sasquatch."
--Bun B, Grammy-nominated rapper
"Jensen's story is so funny and so well-written that it's
impossible there's any truth to it."
--Kay Cannon, writer, Pitch Perfect and 30 Rock
"Sure, everyone is curious to know what it's like to be a white
rapper, but only Jensen Karp has the wit and humility to reveal
what it was like to get knocked down by the music industry, dust
off his Cross Colours, and keep moving."
--Paul Scheer
A superbly unsentimental chronicle of growing up in the 90s as a
white kid who loved rap more than anything. It s a classic L.A.
redemption story of an artist narrowly missing stardom and failing
at his first dream, but surviving to write his own second act, and
ultimately, one of the best hip-hop memoirs in years.
LA Weekly
"If the title doesn't grab your attention, the story definitely
will."
PopSugar (The 13 Hottest Books Hitting Shelves This June)
"Hilarious."
Harper's Bazaar(Must Read Books for Summer)
[F]unny, irreverent .There s plenty of juicy anecdotes, celebrity
gossip, and shady industry dealings.
GQ
"Hilarious and revealing."
AV Club
The funniest person I follow on Twitter finally got smart and wrote
about his unlikely and hilarious odyssey as teenage rapper Hot
Karl. Karp s sharp wit and gossipy giggles keep you turning pages,
but what lingers is the story of a survivor. This book should be
mandatory reading for or anyone who has ever wanted to be
famous.
Kevin Smith, New York Timesbestselling author ofTough Sh*t
If I had kids, I'd read passages from this to them at night. Rap
careers definitely haven't been explored from this perspective, and
I'm excited to see the ripples. Jensen s gonna make some enemies,
though. I ve been on television.
Hannibal Buress
I remember hearing faint whispers about a white kid on the west
coast who got like the craziest deal ever from some radio
freestyles or some shit. But we never saw anything concrete, so I
assumed he was hip-hop's Bigfoot and left it at that. Who knew it
was real !!! This is the story of the rap game's Sasquatch.
Bun B, Grammy-nominated rapper
Jensen's story is so funny and so well-written that it's impossible
there's any truth to it.
Kay Cannon, writer, Pitch Perfectand30 Rock
Sure, everyone is curious to know what it's like to be a white
rapper, but only Jensen Karp has the wit and humility to reveal
what it was like to get knocked down by the music industry, dust
off his Cross Colours, and keep moving.
Paul Scheer"
The funniest person I follow on Twitter finally got smart and wrote
about his unlikely and hilarious odyssey as teenage rapper Hot
Karl. Karp s sharp wit and gossipy giggles keep you turning pages,
but what lingers is the story of a survivor. This book should be
mandatory reading for or anyone who has ever wanted to be
famous.
Kevin Smith, "New York Times "bestselling author of "Tough
Sh*t"
If I had kids, I'd read passages from this to them at night. Rap
careers definitely haven't been explored from this perspective, and
I'm excited to see the ripples. Jensen s gonna make some enemies,
though. I ve been on television.
Hannibal Buress
I remember hearing faint whispers about a white kid on the west
coast who got like the craziest deal ever from some radio
freestyles or some shit. But we never saw anything concrete, so I
assumed he was hip-hop's Bigfoot and left it at that. Who knew it
was real !!! This is the story of the rap game's Sasquatch.
Bun B, Grammy-nominated rapper
Jensen's story is so funny and so well-written that it's impossible
there's any truth to it.
Kay Cannon, writer, "Pitch Perfect" and "30 Rock"
Sure, everyone is curious to know what it's like to be a white
rapper, but only Jensen Karp has the wit and humility to reveal
what it was like to get knocked down by the music industry, dust
off his Cross Colours, and keep moving.
Paul Scheer"
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