When we heard that Grammy award-winning rapper Doechii was recommending Toni Morrison to groundbreaking streamer and YouTuber Kai Cenat, we just had to get in on the literary fun. Cenat, who gained massive popularity as in a whooping 20 million subscribers on the platform Twitch, has made a significant efforts to elevate his image and pivot into other business ventures including fashion design. He’s also made an admirable commitment to reading for at least 20 minutes daily. In doing so, he’s been vocal about his desire to expand his vocabulary and ability to express himself to others offline.
The 24-year-old streaming sensation was recently vulnerable about his desires.
“To be honest, I wanted to articulate myself better,” Cenat shared in a statement reported by Complex. “I noticed that when I got into arguments and had to get a point across, people weren’t taking me seriously. I would get anxiety, stutter my words, and lose my train of thought.”
Doechii, 27, who is known for her impressive lyrical flow and intricate wordplay shared these encouraging words with Cenat following his heartfelt confession.
“Try some Toni Morrison books frien,” Doechii suggested in a since deleted post on X. “That’s expanded my vocabulary, my descriptiveness and just softened my heart a bit. She pulls out words you’ve never heard of and uses them in ways you couldn’t imagine,” she added, tagging Cenat.
In typical social media fashion, this exchange was followed by a slew of passionate posters; some who praised Doechii’s recommendation and others who questioned whether the Pulitzer Prize-winning author would be too advanced for a beginner like Cenat. Either way, we appreciate the willingness for Cenant to open up about wanting to read more and we were equally impressed that Doechii eagerly stepped in to help and threw out the name of a literary legend like Morrison who happens to be a Black woman we adore.
Since we know Cenat will not want to stop with just one amazing read, we are suggesting 9 other groundbreaking Black authors for him to add to his library, plus titles from Ms. Morrison who might be best for Cenet to begin his newfound reading journey. And since Cenat is on a path to personal growth (bless his heart), we made a point to include books that specifically celebrate Black American culture.
