Stress, Pain, and Agony: Tor'cha book review

This book right here is very, very, very awesome. It was written by my man Todd Craig who, since I met him last year, has been both a mentor and good friend of mine. Don't get it twisted, friendship or no friendship, if this book was wack I would say so. Luckily, for Todd Tor'cha is as far away from wack as you can get. Dude is a masterful writer who possess an insight of the human condition that I wish most black writers in the genre of contemporary urban literature possessed. So if you get the opportunity, please check him out at www.Blackerinkwells.com.

Tor’cha

By Todd Craig

To grow up in Hip-Hop means more than just listening to the music or throwing up some aimless tag on a subway car. Rather, it means growing up in an environment where people are often filled with the same kind of abysmal introspection Ghostface Killah is imbued with on the track Can It All Be So Simple. It’s a place where the kids no longer pitch pennies or play ding dong ditch, where beef is truly inevitable, and letters to incarcerated brethren are often ended with two simple words: one love. Unfortunately, many books within the genre of contemporary urban literature typically paint a melodramatic picture of this world. Luckily, there are writers within the genre who keep with James Baldwin’s assertion that “all art is a kind of confession” in which all artists have an obligation to themselves and their craft to “vomit” up the truth. Todd Craig is one such writer who has placed a lifetime of his experiences between the lines of his aptly named book, Tor’cha (Swank Books).

With a storyline chronologically set out of order, Tor’cha’s dutifully follows three childhood friends, eM, Christian, and Deem, as they struggle to keep from drowning in a world beset with amorality. To better illuminate this struggle, each chapter’s central conflict is cumulated with a character being forced to make a decision to either uphold or to break one of the Bible’s 10 commandments. Along with this, each chapter’s moral subtext is based on The Nation of Gods and Earths’ numerological mediations known as Supreme Mathematics. With this infusion the similarities which exist between the ethos of Christianity and The Nation of Gods and Earths are made clear. For instance, the chapter which references the 8^th commandment, Thou Shalt Not Steal, has the character eM placed into a position where he must decide whether or not to proceed with a robbery of a friend. At the same time, the number 8, as defined by Supreme Mathematics, represents the concept of build or destroy. Therefore the chapter’s moral is expressed through the impact which eM’s actions have in either “building” or “destroying” the harmony which exist within him and those around him.

But what makes Tor’cha such an enthralling book is the degree of detail which is used in the development of each character. This is facilitated in large part to the fact that all three characters are based on people that Todd knew growing up in the storied Queensbridge housing projects. For instance, the character Deem is based on the late Killer Black, Todd’s close friend and brother to Mobb Deep’s Havoc. Through his intimate experiences with his fallen brethren, Todd is able to detail for the reader the agonizing private moments which undoubtedly Killer Black went through as he struggled to ward off the specter of his violent past. This level of insight afforded to Todd is what truly makes Tor’cha a refreshing addition to the often sensationalized genre of contemporary urban literature. Neither Deem nor the other two main characters are aimless provocateurs of their far too often stereotyped roles in urban America. Todd is able to show, for lack of a better word, the mundane existence which many young Black males face as they traverse the urban landscape. As the story progresses, the quite moments of introspection and the public interactions of each character grab the readers and places them on the hardhearted streets with the characters. By engaging his readers with a realistic portrayal of three black youths, Todd is able to make Tor’cha a book which not only speaks to the Hip Hop generation, but to a much wider audience.

-Brother Malcolm