The memoir of The Roots’ Black Thought is this year’s selection for One Book One Philadelphia

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

The memoir of The Roots frontman Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, “The Upcycled Self,” is the Free Library of Philadelphia’s selection for this year’s “One Book One Philadelphia.”

The 2023 book traces Trotter’s upbringing in Philadelphia and his creative growth into the MC, producer, writer, and actor he is today.

“It’s not a story about The Roots. It’s not a story about my music career,” he said at the announcement on Friday.

“It’s a story about growing up within a cocoon and the point at which you learn enough about yourself, you come to the level of self-realization required to break out of that cocoon and really live your life,” Trotter explained.

Described as “eloquently insightful,” the book details Trotter’s efforts to overcome a difficult childhood. At age 6, he accidentally burned down his family’s home, his mother suffered from drug addiction, and by age 16, both of his parents had been murdered.

“In my 20s, I had to seek out memoirs like mine,” he said, crediting his now-deceased manager Richard Nichols, who opened his family home to Trotter.

“In their home, I found an alternative education,” he said. “They lent me books about Black identity and holistic living. I read ‘The Autobiography of Malcolm X,’ and W. E. B. DuBois’ ‘The Souls of Black Folk,’ and ‘Black Athena’ for the first time there. Their personal library fed an innate curiosity within me, a fire inside.”

“The Upcycled Self” is the 23rd selection of the annual One Book One Philadelphia series, one of the oldest city-wide reading programs in the country. The program involves a series of in-person events, such as talks, workshops, and performances, which will be scheduled for April and May 2025.

“One Book offers numerous opportunities for learning about different cultures, peoples, and perspectives which help us to better understand the world around us and each other,” said Free Library President and Director Kelly Richards. “We can all agree that’s important right now.”

For Trotter, being selected is both a thrill and a burden. Despite being a very public figure on stage, on television nightly with the Tonight Show, and on murals around the city, he describes himself as an introvert. The fact that the entire city of Philadelphia will be encouraged to read a book about his interior life makes him uncomfortable.

“It’s a little daunting because I’m private,” he said. “Now that it’s out there, if it could serve a purpose for any young person to help them along their journey, then it’s all worth it. I’ll deal with being a little uncomfortable.”

Mayor Cherelle Parker used the announcement on Friday to merge One Book One Philadelphia with her own slogan, holding up a finger to the sky and chanting, “One Philly, a united city.” She said Trotter’s book could help lift a generation of Philadelphians.

“Thinking about our young people in particular who are trying to find their voice,” Parker said. “For me, it was Sonia Sanchez, it was Maya Angelou, it was Alice Walker — those women in particular helped me realize that I had something to say.”

“When everyone is engaged in all of these community-based events and actually reading of “The Upcycled Self,” they will hopefully touch something on the inside that lets them know that your voice has value, too,” she said.

Trotter praised the Free Library for its commitment to the city-wide reading program and for making available books and materials representing a wide swath of ideas and perspectives. He proposed the Free Library change its name to the Library of Freedom.

“It’s an achievement in this political climate, as narratives are being wholly rewritten or outright banned from youth around the U.S., that the Free Library of Philadelphia would have a program like this offering access to books that could expand a young person’s world,” he said. “That makes me proud to be a Philadelphian.”

As part of One Book, One Philadelphia, “The Upcycled Self” will be accompanied by two other titles: Tiffany Jackson’s novel “Let Me Hear a Rhyme” for young adult readers and Nikkolas Smith’s picture book “The Artivist” for younger children.