Red Emma’s

Waiting in the emergency room at Temple University Hospital in North Philadelphia where his eighteen-year-old nephew, Nasir, lay unconscious after being shot nine times, M. K. Asante began pouring his heart and soul into a series of letters to a beautiful, dying Black boy so full of life.

As Nasir fought for survival, M. K. realized there was so much—too much—that he had kept from his nephew, starting with the truth about his father, M. K.’s brother, Uzi, whom Nasir had never met. M. K. could no longer remain silent because in many ways, his nephew was repeating the mistakes of the past. M. K. began his confessional to repair family bonds—to save Nasir from the same streets that stole his father and to introduce him to the man and family history the young man had never known. The result is this beautiful, poignant, and honest family memoir.

Nephew introduces us to two men, strangers to each other, whose similarities are astonishing. Both have red hot tempers, both struggle with opioid addiction, and most profoundly, both are lyrical geniuses whose raps are raw, powerful, and autobiographical. Yet neither had ever heard the other’s lyrics. As he tells his family’s story, M. K. draws vivid portraits of both Nasir and Uzi through their songs—lyrics that become the touchstone of their relationship. When father and son eventually meet, they confront each other and share a dialogue through their lyrics.

An explosive, innovative memoir of family, faith, poetry, secrets, love, race, poverty, redemption, addiction, Philadelphia, hip-hop, jail, purpose, mental health, and violence. Nephew is fast-paced, intimate, lyrical, educational, and inspirational. It is the epic, painful, poetic, and miraculous redemptive story of a new generation—a new style of memoir for a new decade, the rhythmic story of a family in love, struggle, and verse.

“Emotionally powerful ... A raw authenticity ... The perfect note ... As with a great piece of music, the emotions and rhythms lingered in my mind long after I’d put down the book.” —Los Angeles Times

MK Asante is a best-selling author, award-winning filmmaker, recording artist, and distinguished professor who the Los Angeles Times calls “One of America’s best storytellers.” He is the author of five books including the bestselling Buck: A Memoir, which was praised by Maya Angelou as “A story of surviving and thriving with passion, compassion, wit, and style.” His latest book is the critically-acclaimed, Nephew: A Memoir in 4-Part Harmony, praised by Library Journal as “A treasure and likely to become a classic.” The Nephew audiobook is the winner of the 2024 Earphones Award from AudioFile magazine. He is a tenured professor of creative writing and film in the Department of English and Language Arts at Morgan State University.

Persia Nicole is an award winning Radio/TV personality, entrepreneur and a media mogul all wrapped into one. She has been dominating the airwaves for over 10 years starting in her native city Washington,DC & is currently the midday host on 92.3 WERQ in one of the top radio markets Baltimore,MD. Persia also does entertainment on Baltimore's local new station FOX 45. Some of the biggest in the industry has sat behind the mic to be interviewed by Persia from Megan Thee Stallion, Alicia Keys, Kendrick Lamar, Missy Elliott, Da Baby & John Legend to name a few. Persia's biggest goal is to empower those who feel like they're powerless.