Word Up welcomes Jonnie Park–better known by his rap moniker, Dumbfoundead– for a signing for his raw and electrifying memoir, SPIT. Jonnie Park rose from an unruly childhood in Los Angeles’s iconic Koreatown to international rap stardom is as unlikely as it is exhilarating, and tells it all in his memoir.
Attendees must preorder the featured book ahead of the signing at WordUpBooks.com. The signing ends at 1:30pm.
Born in Argentina to Korean parents and smuggled by a coyote across the US-Mexico border at age three, Park grew up in L.A. amid cultural dislocation, his father’s violent alcoholism, and the turbulent protests and riots of the early 1990s.
Searching for belonging, he found salvation in the highly competitive underground world of battle rap, where he was among the only successful Asian American battle rappers. He honed his freestyle superpowers at Project Blowed, the legendary South Central L.A. open-mic venue, amid a motley crew of characters who took him in as one of their own.
Told through the lens of his life’s greatest battles–his father’s rage, racist stereotypes, the “model minority” myth, the pressures of fame, and his own addictions–Park tells his story with his trademark humor, lyrical style, and unflinching honesty.
Like Eminem’s 8 Mile, SPIT charts the author’s course from high-school dropout to cultural pioneer, one verse at a time. Featuring a dozen vivid graphic novel-style illustrations that bring his journey to life, SPIT visualizes the inner demons and outer adversaries Park faced along the way. From open-mics in South Central to freestyle cyphers in Seoul to music festivals across the globe, Park’s memoir is a testament to creativity, grit, and the power of speaking your truth–even when the world isn’t ready to hear it.
More than just a chronicle of an artist’s path to success, SPIT is a groundbreaking story of identity, resilience, and reinvention. It is also the story of an American outsider who turned life’s challenges into his stage and battled his way to triumph.
