Narrator's Note

I know, you were expecting an Author’s Note, right? Well, the fact of the matter is don’t nobody want to listen to that nigga, specially not to hear him rattle off explanations for all the lore and jargon that’s going to go right over your heads like it’s one of Robinson’s homers. Nah, who ya’ll really want to hear from is me; your sophisticated, sedditty, signifyin’, friendly, library spider man—the king of all stories on this side of Nyame’s treasure chest. Luckily for you, the author was smart enough to select yours truly as the narrator of this here tale.

Once upon a time will come a day where everything is said and done. The editor will be paid off, our various artists would have rolled out some fire illustrations, and Hidden Black Conjure University: Delinquents will grace the shelves of every Black bookstore on all sides of the Mississippi. And on that day, your eyes will be charmed by the southernplayalisticadillacfunkymajik ballad of Marquise Blood, your own personal avatar into the world of the Negro Spirit. In that book you’ll learn all about the Negro Spirit, the magical force that links all Black people across the world. You’ll know whether you’re a family-lineage Negro Spiritual, or a Nouveau Woke who’s just stepping their toe into the world of magic for the first time, just like Marquise. When Marquise meets his roommate, Jerome, and Jerome’s best friend, Renée, you’ll think “Finally, this kid’s got some friends!” You and Marquise will spend time wondering if the lights and colors only he can see are signs of latent magic or latent insanity. And above all, you’ll be able to see the Noir Occult Laveau Academy in all it’s magical glory. You’ll meet more characters both familiar and unfamiliar, and bear witness to the great and expansive world that (if we’re being honest) Marquise Blood is only one small part of.

But we ain’t got the time or the money to bring you all of that right now. So we’re going to take you to Marquise’s second night on campus. It’s a Saturday night, Jerome and Renée are bored, so they convince (or, as white people would call it, peer-pressure) Marquise to check out a party they ain’t got no business being at. Marquise Blood didn’t have the slightest clue what the Negro Spirit was when he woke up that Friday, but he gonna learn today! Sit back, plug into an Outkast soundtrack, and enjoy the show…