Triple Threat

Berwyn Heights author takes satire up a notch
Book, soundtrack make a bold statement on cultural stereotypes
by Cody Calamaio, Staff Writer

Subtlety and nuance isn’t what Bill Campbell is going for in his satirical novel “Koontown Killing Kaper.”

The author, tired of seeing stereotypes perpetuated in literature by and for the black community, decided to take things up a notch with his intentionally offensive and exaggerated novel.

“It’s taking everything you’ve seen in popular culture about African Americans and writing it large,” says Campbell, 42, of Berwyn Heights.

“Kaper” is a murder mystery and horror story set in the fictional city of Koontown, where detective Genevieve Noire attempts to uncover why all of the local rappers are being killed. Along the way she encounters over-the-top characters like Welfare Queen, who has a baby every five minutes which she sells to the state.

To a lesser degree, similar themes are often seen in books Campbell calls “ghetto lit,” which he says many people see as acceptable.

“I wanted to shame the devil, basically,” he says. “If you want a ghetto lit book, I was going to write a ghetto lit book. So ghetto lit that you were just like, ‘Wow.’”

Campbell wanted to make even more of a statement by developing “Kaper” into a project featuring an original soundtrack. He enlisted friend Nina Miller to create music to accompany his commentary about rap culture, violence and drugs.

“A lot of these rappers talk about this life that they’re living, but there is no way mathematically possible that they could be living this life,” Campbell says. “If you are that big of a drug dealer, you would be a drug dealer. You wouldn’t be out there doing concert tours.”

Miller, a 24-year-old rapper from Silver Spring who goes by the stage name Triple Threat, produced the album “Koontown Killing Kaper: The Soundtrack” and invited local guest artists such as J.C.A., Tay Black and Opal Rose to collaborate on several tracks.

Some songs are intended to be satirical, like “The N*gga Song” in which a racial slur is repeated over and over again accompanied by a gospel choir, Miller says. Others are more serious, such as “Terms of Endearment,” which deals with issues that are raised in the book.

“The book features rappers as main characters, so we did take a lot of the songs and stuff that were in the books and go, ‘What would they sound like in real life?’ and just made parody-type tracks,” says Miller.

As part of the project’s promotion, Campbell and Miller, who are both black, have been visiting book and music festivals, and making a statement by donning blackface with exaggerated red lips, reminiscent of 19th century caricatures of black people seen in stage shows.

“It’s blatant when you see it,” Miller says. “There is no difference walking on stage in blackface and performing [‘The N*gga Song’] than it is talking about all your bitches and hoes.”

On June 3, Campbell and Miller will appear at Greenbelt’s New Deal Café for a book signing and concert.

Campbell’s profanity laced writing may come across as shocking, but the author intended for it to be reminiscent of rap and hip hop lyrics, which he says are generally accepted by mainstream audiences.

“You take it out of that context with the nice beat and you can dance to it, and you put it in the book, all of a sudden people are like, ‘Whaaa?’”

Campbell says he is prepared for people to not understand or be offended by his novel, and has found so far that it has resonated best with people who are middle-aged or younger.

“You’ve got to take your lumps. If you’re going to call something into question, a lot of people are going to fight it,” he says. “If they don’t understand the function of a satire they’re not going to get it.”

When he was a child, Campbell says he was the first black student to attend his Catholic school in Pittsburgh, where he was called racial slurs by the other students and attacked with BB guns - The Gazette

Berwyn Heights author takes satire up a notch
Book, soundtrack make a bold statement on cultural stereotypes
by Cody Calamaio, Staff Writer

Subtlety and nuance isn’t what Bill Campbell is going for in his satirical novel “Koontown Killing Kaper.”

The author, tired of seeing stereotypes perpetuated in literature by and for the black community, decided to take things up a notch with his intentionally offensive and exaggerated novel.

“It’s taking everything you’ve seen in popular culture about African Americans and writing it large,” says Campbell, 42, of Berwyn Heights.

“Kaper” is a murder mystery and horror story set in the fictional city of Koontown, where detective Genevieve Noire attempts to uncover why all of the local rappers are being killed. Along the way she encounters over-the-top characters like Welfare Queen, who has a baby every five minutes which she sells to the state.

To a lesser degree, similar themes are often seen in books Campbell calls “ghetto lit,” which he says many people see as acceptable.

“I wanted to shame the devil, basically,” he says. “If you want a ghetto lit book, I was going to write a ghetto lit book. So ghetto lit that you were just like, ‘Wow.’”

Campbell wanted to make even more of a statement by developing “Kaper” into a project featuring an original soundtrack. He enlisted friend Nina Miller to create music to accompany his commentary about rap culture, violence and drugs.

“A lot of these rappers talk about this life that they’re living, but there is no way mathematically possible that they could be living this life,” Campbell says. “If you are that big of a drug dealer, you would be a drug dealer. You wouldn’t be out there doing concert tours.”

Miller, a 24-year-old rapper from Silver Spring who goes by the stage name Triple Threat, produced the album “Koontown Killing Kaper: The Soundtrack” and invited local guest artists such as J.C.A., Tay Black and Opal Rose to collaborate on several tracks.

Some songs are intended to be satirical, like “The N*gga Song” in which a racial slur is repeated over and over again accompanied by a gospel choir, Miller says. Others are more serious, such as “Terms of Endearment,” which deals with issues that are raised in the book.

“The book features rappers as main characters, so we did take a lot of the songs and stuff that were in the books and go, ‘What would they sound like in real life?’ and just made parody-type tracks,” says Miller.

As part of the project’s promotion, Campbell and Miller, who are both black, have been visiting book and music festivals, and making a statement by donning blackface with exaggerated red lips, reminiscent of 19th century caricatures of black people seen in stage shows.

“It’s blatant when you see it,” Miller says. “There is no difference walking on stage in blackface and performing [‘The N*gga Song’] than it is talking about all your bitches and hoes.”

On June 3, Campbell and Miller will appear at Greenbelt’s New Deal Café for a book signing and concert.

Campbell’s profanity laced writing may come across as shocking, but the author intended for it to be reminiscent of rap and hip hop lyrics, which he says are generally accepted by mainstream audiences.

“You take it out of that context with the nice beat and you can dance to it, and you put it in the book, all of a sudden people are like, ‘Whaaa?’”

Campbell says he is prepared for people to not understand or be offended by his novel, and has found so far that it has resonated best with people who are middle-aged or younger.

“You’ve got to take your lumps. If you’re going to call something into question, a lot of people are going to fight it,” he says. “If they don’t understand the function of a satire they’re not going to get it.”

When he was a child, Campbell says he was the first black student to attend his Catholic school in Pittsburgh, where he was called racial slurs by the other students and attacked with BB guns - The Gazette