99 Problems Finding the 1: A Love Story (Sort Of)

G'Ra Asim is a writer, a musician, and assistant professor of creative writing at Washington University in St. Louis. His debut nonfiction book, Boyz n the Void: a mixtape to my brother blends memoir, cultural criticism and personal essays framed as letters to his younger brother, exploring blackness, masculinity and punk culture. The book was named one of the best nonfiction titles of 2021 by Kirkus Reviews. Asim's writing has appeared in publications like Slate, Salon, Guernica, The New Republic and The Boston Globe. He previously served as writing director at the African American Policy Forum and a graduate teaching fellow at Columbia University. As a musician, he sings, plays bass and writes lyrics for the DIY pop punk band Baby Got Back Talk, recognized by Alternative Press as one of "rising Black alternative bands" and by Idobi as one of "100 Rising Artists to Listen to." Their full-length debut, Genre Reveal Party, was named one of 500 Essential Pop Punk Albums by Ruffian Books.