Saul Williams, the "poet laureate of hip-hop," is troubled by society's rising reverence for ignorance and prestige. This is a stark departure from pop culture and music from the past, which laid more focus on rooting for the underdog and questioning authority. It's this shifting cultural wave, coupled with the lack of worldly education, that Williams says explains the appeal of candidate Donald Trump, among other troubling trends.
Williams' latest collection of poetry is titled US (a.).