Prologue

Storytelling began fireside
In Africa, with hunter gatherer tribes
It’s deeper than the Tales we have from Canterbury;
In fact, it’s woven into the fabric of humanity
For thousands of years there was only one news source:
The bard, the griot, the troubadour
The master of ceremonial rhymes and meters
From the fireside vibe to the hi-fi speakers
Just applying the skill of words
That’s how the bard would thrill the villagers
And how today’s MCs kill a verse: verbal artistry
Biggie Smalls, Eminem, and Geoffrey Chaucer fathered me
Masters of storytelling, more compelling
Than sit-coms brought to you by the father of Tori Spelling
But before we get to Chaucer, I want to share a little piece
That’s much older — it’s from the ancient Middle East
‘Cause this is bigger than me; it’s bigger than you, it’s bigger than rap
It’s bigger than fingers on triggers and bigger than gangsters slingin' the
crack
That’s just the latest version of an ancient story
The rage of warriors hungry for fame and glory
I’ll show you how deep it goes by opening
With the oldest story that people even know
I mean, thousands of years before the Anglo-Saxons;
It’s brought to you now through the magic of Penguin Classics