« older | Main Largehearted Boy Page | newer »
August 5, 2020
Nelson George's Playlist for His Novel "The Darkest Hearts"
In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.
Previous contributors include Jesmyn Ward, Lauren Groff, Bret Easton Ellis, Celeste Ng, T.C. Boyle, Dana Spiotta, Amy Bloom, Aimee Bender, Roxane Gay, and many others.
Nelson George's novel The Darkest Hearts expertly melds mystery with music.
In his own words, here is Nelson George's Book Notes music playlist for his novel The Darkest Hearts:
The Darkest Hearts is the fifth novel in a series focused on D Hunter, former bodyguard and security company owner, who has now graduated to talent management. (The Darkest Hearts follows To Funk and Die in LA; The Lost Treasures of R&B; The Plot Against Hip Hop; and The Accidental Hunter.) In each book Hunter becomes a de facto detective in a story that involves black music with an emphasis on R&B and jazz. In this new book, D has just signed an Atlanta trap star as a client just as the #MeToo movement is exploding. Human trafficking, malt liquor and rich Donald Trump supporters all play a role in the narrative.
“Brown Sugar” by D'Angelo
This is the kind of neo-soul classic that the character of Night, a once hot now cold singer, made his reputation with. It's sexy, soulful and feels like the best smoothed out high of your life.
“Change” by Maxwell
A song of yearning and desire by another neo-soul stalwart from the '90s who was another model for Night, who's been in several of my earlier D Hunter novels as well.
“Black Sweat” by Prince
This song is the exact model for a song called “Black Sex” by Night that is his signature hit. This is a late period track by Prince, but one of his most profoundly funky.
“Stuntin' Like My Daddy” by Lil Wayne and Birdman
The relationship between rapper Lil Wayne and his ex-partner, label head and father figure Birdman, deeply informed the relationship between two key characters from Atlanta in The Darkest Hearts.
“Bad and Boujee” by Migos
This trio are superstars of trap music and this is probably the record that brought them their biggest pop attention. Trap music, as the new wave of hip hop, plays a key role in the story, defining the generation and aesthetic differences between D Hunter and his younger managerial clients.
“Life in the Fast Lane” by the Eagles
One of the great songs about Los Angeles decadence by a group that knew a lot about it. This track's energy and imagery influenced scenes that take place in the monied Malibu colony of California.
“California Soul” by Marlena Shaw
My lead character D Hunter, a native New Yorker, has become very comfortable on the West Coast. Few songs evoke the soft sexiness of black California life better than this 1969 composition, one that has been widely sampled in hip hop.
“Come Down” by Anderson Paak
Los Angeles has become the home of a new wave of tremendously gifted R&B based singer, songwriters and musicians. Anderson Paak is my favorite of this great influx of talent and this song by him sounds both contemporary and classic. For me it defines Los Angeles in its second decade.
Nelson George is an author, filmmaker, and lifelong resident of Brooklyn. His books include the first four novels in his D Hunter mystery series: The Accidental Hunter, The Plot Against Hip Hop, The Lost Treasures of R&B, and To Funk and Die in LA, all available from Akashic Books. Among his many nonfiction works are The Death of Rhythm & Blues, Hip Hop America, and The Hippest Trip in America: Soul Train and the Evolution of Culture & Style. As a filmmaker he has directed the documentaries Brooklyn Boheme, Finding the Funk, and A Ballerina's Tale. He was also a writer/producer on the Netflix series The Get Down.
If you appreciate the work that goes into Largehearted Boy, please consider making a donation.
