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The Rap Year Book’s Shea Serrano and Arturo Torres Met In Person For The First Time On Sunday.

It’s been a crazy, totally nuts, massive whirlwind of a week for noted J.Cole fan Shea Serrano. Over this stretch, the Houston-based former Houston Press and L.A. Weekly columnist, and current Grantland staff writer, has been the talk of the Interwebz.

With his engaging Twitter account, he’s helmed one of the most revolutionary clinics in promoting a book — his second, The Rap Year Book: The Most Important Rap Song From Every Year Since 1979, Discussed, Debated, and Deconstructed — in the Internet era. He formed a social media army to sell out Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books A Million’s online stores. Simultaneously, a grassroots, boots-on-the-ground campaign did the same, selling out various brick-and-mortar shops around the country.

So, on Sunday afternoon at Spinster Records, a line of Dallasites naturally formed outside of the shop in anticipation of Serrano’s book signing, at which 50 physical copies of the book were confirmed to be in stock. Paranoid Fan and yours truly at Central Track helped throw the event, which also included a Q&A session, free booze and pizza, and a performance from The Outfit, TX.

Perhaps most importantly, though, the event also featured the book’s illustrator, Dallas native son (and, yes, Central Track contributor) Arturo Torres. Serrano had stops in New York, Houston and Atlanta this week — but none of them featured Torres, who, due to these Internet-abetted times, had never even previously met prior Serrano in person before the signing.

I guess that makes Dallas special or something?

Check out some photos of the event, courtesy of Marco Torres, for a taste of Serrano and Torres signing books for their true best friends and to see The Outfit, TX setting Spinster Records ablaze.

All photos by Marco Torres. Follow him on Instagram here.
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