Ancient-Art-Of-Facts

2008-10-30T20:15:00.001-07:00

“He who deviates from the code never attains anything, though his fortune may reach the Heavens.”
-Ibn Al Arabi

We at Ancient-Art-of-Facts would like to present to the world Code-47: Memoirs of a Hip Hop Heist, the 3rd book by Justin Thomas (Teferu Azr). This Halloween, tricks and treats, pros and cons, swirl around the Music Industry as a young, Black con(scious)man and his band of confidence men, pranksters, a retired beat maker, and a poet attempt to break into the toughest, most well concealed, heavily guarded place on the planet ... The Music Industry.

Purchase and order where ever books are sold

Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/CODE-47-MEMOIRS-HIP-HOP-HEIST/dp/097255484X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224514672&sr=8-1

Barnesandnoble.com
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Code-47/Justin-Thomas/e/9780972554848/?itm=1

“It’s not about complaining who owns what,” says Thomas (Azr). “[The book] is about doing something, taking action. The story is about exploding the industry, destroying it. The aftermath of the explosion is the realization that it’s not really about Hip Hop. There are a lot of armchair Revolutionaries, Magicians, and so-called ‘practitioners’ out there. The story is fiction, but if you really care, if you really have heart and resonate green, then you’ll make the story go from fictional to functional. The book is like the famous Samurai Miyamoto Musashi’s The Book of Five Rings. It might be a story, but it’s a template for action and reclamation.”

Code-47 is dedicated to Negro Spirituals and the plot centers specifically around disguising knowledge with a remarkable code. “I wanted to create a story that wasn’t about an artist’s life. The cliché story of how an artist that really cared was pushed out of the industry; and an artist that sells out thrives. Or the cliché of saying what frequency Hip Hop used to vibrate on. My friend Panic (the inspiration for the character named Law) would’ve slapped the shit out of me. But, I’m smart enough (I believe) to know those stories and complaints are played out. Black people are always locked in writing tragedy. Whatever happened to fun? Who is going to document the ascent? [Code-47] is about a group of Black men and Black women who play a prank on the Music Industry and cause all out chaos and a collapse in the system. It’s fiction, but, hey, it’s gotta start somewhere.”

The story draws inspiration from Harlem Nights and Ocean’s 11. We hope you N-Joy (and pass the info on to a friend).

And check www.ancientartoffacts.com for other titles and our blog that will follow the progress of the historical epic project: A Company of Moors and the 2nd Teferu Azr Epic Poem, 2 Enlighten the G.O.D.Z.

2008-10-17T18:22:00.000-07:00

The proof has been finalized!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Code-47: Memoirs of a Hip Hop Heist will be AVAILABLE the week of OCTOBER 19th!!!!!!

Thank you for your patience!!!!!!

We hope you N-Joy.

2008-09-23T18:27:00.001-07:00

Okay. It's Sept 23rd and no book. Well, business wouldn't be fun and adventure if it wasn't for setbacks. Turns out the dimensions for the book's cover were off and the printer is just getting back with word. A new cover, with the exact dimensions, has been created and sent back to the printer. Ugh! And we still have to approve the proof.

Well, it's an adventure. But don't fret. Code-47 is complete and in its final stages. This will be well worth the wait.

Thanks for holding in there. Sorry for the inconvenience, have been swamped with e-mails to answer.

Peace

2008-09-16T18:15:00.000-07:00

The proof for Code-47 has been ordered.

Terrified.

Stay tuned.

2008-09-13T07:57:00.000-07:00

There is a lot of news to report for Ancient-Art-Of-Facts. To begin, 12 Stories High has been nominated for the Carl Brandon Society Parallax Award. The Carl Brandon Parallax Award is given to works of speculative fiction created by a person of color. The winner will be announced in late 2008.

And heading to stores in late September is the highly anticipated CODE 47: MEMOIRS OF A HIP HOP HEIST. The book follows the exploits of Keith Joseph, a confidence man, a young 24-year old black schemer with confidence. He's always had a method to his madness, a point to his sharp intellect. Now, he's about to add rhyme to his reason. Keith Joseph plans to steal the entire genre of Hip Hop. And to do this, he's going to assemble a crew of fellow confidence men, pranksters, a retired beat maker, and a poet to break into the toughest, most well concealed, heavily guarded place on the planet ...

... The Music Industry.

From the author of 12 Stories High and The Ronin Poetz comes CODE 47: MEMOIRS OF A HIP HOP HEIST.

The cover art is by Jason Thomas of The Half Show.

Code-47 is in the final editing stages. Much is being done to meet the new deadline of September 23rd. The book has already been pushed back a week. The Ancient-Art-of-Facts Publishing staff are scrambling to have everything finished in the coming week.

2008-02-13T07:10:00.000-08:00

Ancient-Art-Of-Facts was founded in 2002, created for the sole purpose of presenting the entire spectrum of Black History through many genres of literature; the scope of Black History was from modern to ancient times, from America to worldwide. The company’s Mission Statement was to fill in the gaps and blanks of the Black Literary world, to delve into genres rarely visited by Black authors, while at the same time presenting a multi-faceted look at the scope of Black people and their history.

However, the company decided to make history first. In conjunction with Tracey Wingfield of DaChosen Publishing, Ancient-Art-Of-Facts put out The Ronin Poetz, the first ever African-American Narrative Epic Poem. The story was by poet Teferu Azr and introduced an innovative story told entirely through poetry. The book was an underground hit in 2003. In 2005 The Ronin Poetz saw a worldwide release.

In the years between 2003 and 2005, founder and owner Justin Thomas organized over 200 history books that he read on Black history. He created a course and delved into unprecedented research, lecturing across the country not only to teach, but also to keep up with the knowledge he was absorbing. While lecturing Justin created a way to display what he had learned (and was learning) creatively. At first Justin took the cliché route and wanted to put together a book that would be a compilation of the lectures he was giving.

“I held off on the lecture book because I believe [Black people] have too many preachers; we need to get back to having more innovators. I also read the book of an associate who was complaining about Hip Hop. I didn’t want to seem like I was complaining either. I decided to make change instead of complaining that change needed to happen. The Ronin Poetz was innovative. I wanted to stay on that path and incorporate what my business had learned.”

What Mr. Thomas came up with was a book of short stories that had the power of a shotgun blast. The book was titled 12 Stories High: The Imaginative Trip Thru A Black Mind. And imaginative it is. Most of the short stories were originally written as short screenplays.

“I figured releasing a book of short stories (well crafted, creative, and a little different than most African-American literature out there) would be that shotgun blast I wanted and that Black people needed. I modeled the book’s pacing like a Prince album, where every song [or story in this case] is different and leaving you feeling that was your favorite, until you moved to the next one. I also wanted 12 Stories High to reflect the company’s Black Literary output: versatile.”

The stories focus on a wide range of Black History, from ancient to modern times. But in every story there is commentary on contemporary Black issues, and the exposition of their origins. There is also a fresh spin on the relationships between Black men and Black women. There is magic, myth, and adventure.

“12 Stories High symbolizes our company goal,” says Justin Thomas. “To explore all genres in Black Literature, and our history in its entirety.”