Thursday, February 08, 2007

ali rap

Read 'Ali Rap', a book edited and beautifully designed by George Lois, and published by Taschen and ESPN. Actually I flipped through it in less than one hour, so fascinating the book is. But more than just a book about Ali's famous wisecracks and rhymes, which are geniuses by themselves, the book takes the reader to a journey through America's recent history. And all that designed by George Lois. It doesn't get any better than this.
Some excerpts from the book:

"This is the legend of Muhammad Ali,
The greatest fighter that ever will be.
He talks a great deal and brags, indeed,
Of a powerful punch and blinding speed.
Ali's got a left, Ali's got a right,
If he hits you once, you're asleep for the night."

"I'm so fast that last night I turned the light switch off in my bedroom... and I was in bed before the room was dark."

On a return to a young, terminally ill cancer patient:
Ali: "I told you I was gonna whup George Foreman. Well, I'm back from Zaire and I did whup George Foreman, and now you're gonna whup cancer".
Boy: "No, Muhammad. I'm going to meet God. And I'm going to tell Him I know you."

2 comments:

alex said...

Hi Nelson. This guy, George Lois is just unbelievable. He has been my hero since I began in advertising in the mid 80's. He was already a legend in the 60's, doing incredible work at DDB, then at Papert,Koenig & Lois. He opened great agencies and left, as soon as they grew and became mainstream, he fought with almost anyone in the trade and finally filed for chapter 11 a couple of years ago, without ever compromising.
And now he must be like 70 or more and comes out with this beauty. I really have to get drunk with this guy some day,the guy is a genius.
Cheers, Alex.

Nelson said...

Hey Alex, Lois is really a genius. Apart from all the things you mentioned he designed some of the classiest Esquire covers ever, including the one with Ali as Saint Sebastian. Classic.