"When you Black, it's all for the next generations to come. It ain't never for us, remember that." ~ 82%
Bob the Drag Queen straddles the thin line between entertainment and blasphemy in new release, Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert.
Harriet Tubman and four of the enslaved persons she led to freedom want to tell their story in a unique way: via a live concert. Picture a musical that she can take on the road. She hires Darnell Williams, a hip-hop producer who once topped the charts before being outed at the BET Awards. Their studio sessions are alive with explanations of the past and hope for a better future.
I am familiar with Bob the Drag Queen because I recently watched the last season of Traitors. He was one of the more entertaining gamers. I did not watch him on RuPaul's Drag Race so he was a new-to-me TV personality. I was excited to read an advance copy of his debut novel. And it's based on a historical figure? Run me that ARC!
And then I read it. Le sigh! The best way to describe Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert is it's the remix to a classic song that no one asked for. Leave Harriet Tubman's legacy where it is please. Adding a fresh modern twist to history is not always a good idea. Sure, it worked with Hamilton because the art was presented in an appropriate format: Broadway. But bringing historical figures back among the living and putting them in a studio to rap about escaping slavery is not quite following the footsteps of Lin-Manuel Miranda. Bob the Drag Queen is doing too much.
While the novel is inventive and the premise is interesting, it was not fully fleshed out. Poor execution. Poor delivery. Poor judgment. Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert is overall a bust that I will not recommend.
Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie
Title: Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert
Author: Bob the Drag Queen
Published: March 2025
Pages: 240
Edition: Galley
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 🖤 🖤
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