From the Press Release
REGGAE ICON SHAGGY (best known for his hit singles "Boombastic," "It Wasn't Me," and "Angel") records the audio-book version of the Jamaican patois "translation" of the New York Times, Amazon.com, & Wall Street Journal #1 best seller and worldwide phenomenon, Go the F*** to Sleep:
GO DE RASS TO SLEEP
Written by Adam Mansbach, illustrated by Ricardo Cortes,
translated by Kwame Dawes & Kellie Magnus
Audio-book narrated by Shaggy
Audio-book publication date: June 10, 2014
In June 2011, actor Samuel L. Jackson's reading of Go the F*** to Sleep redefined the audio book for the Internet-driven 21st century. Samuel L. Jackson's appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman marked the first time an audio book had been promoted to such a large TV audience, and soon more than one million people had listened to the audio book, which continues to sell thousands of copies every month.
With the publication of Go de Rass to Sleep, audio-book publisher Buck 50 Productions/Urban Audio Books has recruited worldwide reggae superstar to repeat Samuel L. Jackson's coup, in a Jamaican fashion. Shaggy's humor and verbal prowess are on full display as he reads the book's stanzas such as:
Modda puss a hug up har pickney,
Young sheep a lay down wid big sheep.
Yuh wrap up an warm inna yuh bed, putoos,
Beg yuh, go de rass to sleep.
To our knowledge, this is the first book ever to be translated into Jamaican patois other than the Bible (for which there is no audio book read by Shaggy). As with the original, Go de Rass to Sleep is a bedtime book for parents who live in the real world, where a few snoozing kitties and cutesy rhymes don't always send a toddler sailing blissfully off to dreamland. Profane, affectionate, and radically honest, California Book Award-winning author Adam Mansbach's verses perfectly capture the familiar--and unspoken--tribulations of putting your little angel down for the night. In the process, they open up a conversation about parenting, granting us permission to admit our frustrations, and laugh at their absurdity.
• The best-selling Go the F*** to Sleep has been translated into over thirty languages worldwide, from Afrikaans to Czech to Turkish. Now it is finally translated for Jamaican and other Caribbean parents of the world! This book will have widespread appeal both in the Caribbean and in Pan-Caribbean communities across the United States.
• Go de Rass to Sleep launched at the Calabash International Literary Festival in Treasure Beach, Jamaica, on May 31, 2014. Calabash is the biggest and best literary festival in the Caribbean.
• Go de Rass to Sleep makes a perfect Father's Day gift for the new, experienced, expecting, and altogether exhausted parent in your life. It's also perfect for baby showers!
• Go the F*** to Sleep is a runaway, out-of-the-blue, international sensation. The book has been featured everywhere from the Today Show to NPR to the New York Times, and has been spotted at celebrity baby showers and on banned-book lists alike. The success of Go the F*** to Sleep has paved the way for an entire genre of satires of children's board books for adults.
• Akashic Books has long been committed to publishing Caribbean writers. Our current season includes five titles demonstrating the diversity and strength of this region, including: Not for Everyday Use, a poignant memoir from awarding-winning author Elizabeth Nunez; Pepperpot, a groundbreaking anthology of short stories by authors living and writing in the Caribbean that launches a brand-new publishing venture; Game World, a middle-grade adventure novel from Wall Street Journal senior editor C.J. Farley, and I Love You Too, a charming children's picture book from reggae icon Ziggy Marley.
Buck 50 Productions dba Urban Audio Books is a producer of premium spoken African American-interest audio information and entertainment. Urban Audio Books produces audio editions of books and original programming. Content from Urban Audio Books is available for use on personal computers, CDs, cassettes, or computer-based and wireless mobile devices. Buck 50 Production/Urban Audio Book titles are distributed by Blackstone Audio the largest independent distributor audio books in the US. For more information please visit www.urbanaudiobooks.com.