Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem: A Memoir
Written by Daniel R. Day
Narrated by Daniel R. Day and Omari Hardwick
5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
With his now-legendary store on 125th Street in Harlem, Dapper Dan pioneered high-end streetwear in the 1980s, remixing classic luxury-brand logos into his own innovative, glamorous designs. But before he reinvented haute couture, he was a hungry boy with holes in his shoes, a teen who daringly gambled drug dealers out of their money, and a young man in a prison cell who found nourishment in books. In this remarkable memoir, he tells his full story for the first time.
Decade after decade, Dapper Dan discovered creative ways to flourish in a country designed to privilege certain Americans over others. He witnessed, profited from, and despised the rise of two drug epidemics. He invented stunningly bold credit card frauds that took him around the world. He paid neighborhood kids to jog with him in an effort to keep them out of the drug game. And when he turned his attention to fashion, he did so with the energy and curiosity with which he approaches all things: learning how to treat fur himself when no one would sell finished fur coats to a Black man; finding the best-dressed hustler in the neighborhood and converting him into a customer; staying open 24 hours a day for nine years straight to meet demand; and, finally, emerging as a world-famous designer whose looks went on to define an era, dressing cultural icons including Eric B. and Rakim, Salt-N-Pepa, Big Daddy Kane, Mike Tyson, Alpo Martinez, LL Cool J, Jam Master Jay, Diddy, Naomi Campbell, and Jay-Z.
By turns playful, poignant, thrilling, and inspiring, Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem is a high-stakes coming-of-age story spanning more than 70 years and set against the backdrop of an America where, as in the life of its narrator, the only constant is change.
Related to Dapper Dan
Related audiobooks
Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World's Favorite Board Game Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5England's Dreaming: The Sex Pistols and Punk Rock Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Futile and Stupid Gesture: How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Red Clay, Yellow Grass: A Novel of the 1960s Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDo You Know Who I Am?: Battling Imposter Syndrome in Hollywood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gay Place: Being Three Related Novels Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Crack: Rock Cocaine, Street Capitalism, and the Decade of Greed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Miami and the Siege of Chicago Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Little, Crazy Children Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Feast or Famine [Dramatized Adaptation] Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5High Hand Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGrinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Florida Roadkill Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Zeroes: My Misadventures in the Decade Wall Street Went Insane Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5McTeague Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Age of Extremes: Book 8 (1880-1917) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In Search of Black America: Discovering the African-American Dream Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Kingdom of Prep: The Inside Story of the Rise and (Near) Fall of J.Crew Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sellout: The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore (1994–2007) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5After Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uptown Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is Not a T-Shirt: A Brand, a Culture, a Community--a Life in Streetwear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Empire State Mind: How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Man in the High Castle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Money Culture Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5San Diego Noir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Soft Target Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Black Detroit: A People's History of Self-Determination Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
African American History For You
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5No Sweeter Sound: The History of Black Country Music Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cross and the Lynching Tree Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Have to Be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live: Ten Weeks in Birmingham That Changed America Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5On Juneteenth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Speeches by Malcolm X, 1925-1965: The Ultimate Collection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Invisible Generals: Rediscovering Family Legacy, and a Quest to Honor America's First Black Generals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Defining Moments in Black History: Reading Between the Lies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Saying It Loud: 1966—The Year Black Power Challenged the Civil Rights Movement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Survivors of the Clotilda: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the American Slave Trade Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism 2nd Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5We Carry Their Bones: The Search for Justice at the Dozier School for Boys Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Black Ghost of Empire: The Long Death of Slavery and the Failure of Emancipation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mis-Education of the Negro Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Never Caught Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Delectable Negro: Human Consumption and Homoeroticism within US Slave Culture Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Willie Lynch Letter and the Making of a Slave Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Long Time Coming: Reckoning with Race in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Most Tolerant Little Town: The Explosive Beginning of School Desegregation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Be Free or Die: The Amazing Story of Robert Smalls' Escape from Slavery to Union Hero Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Dapper Dan
50 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing book with historical context and culture value truth. I truly enjoyed it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved this book
It contains great life lessons - Great Read - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A great listen. His story is one of perseverance and strength
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved the story and narration. Definitely worth a listen!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An inspirational, creative guy that grew up with nothing, but the desire to lift himself out of poverty and enjoy life to the fullest. Disrespected by tue legacy brands, but highly respected for his vision and adherence to detail and quality by black celebrities, Dapper Dan has had an interesting and amazing life. I was led to this book after listening to Rakim's autobiography. I didnt really know about him, but found hisvstory to be even better than Rakim's. Both men are readers and are deeply philisophical. I wish Dapper Dan all the best. As a poor white boy born in New York I can better understand the black community and its struggles. One day the underdogs of the world will prevail.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Real good book learned some history about Harlem.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a must read for sure. It is a unique history book ranging on topics from the great migration, the evolution of hustling and how Dan shaped how most prestigious fashion brands designs their clothing. Stellar is an understatement!