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RJ Smith photo by Jenny Burman
Oliver Wang interviews R.J. Smith about his biography of the hardest working man in show business: The One: The Life and Music of James Brown.
LARB Contributor
Oliver Wang is a professor of sociology at CSU Long Beach and the author of Legions of Boom: Filipino American Mobile DJ Crews in the San Francisco Bay Area (2015) and Cruising J-Town: Japanese American Car Culture in Los Angeles (2025).
Did you know LARB is a reader-supported nonprofit?
LARB publishes daily without a paywall as part of our mission to make rigorous, incisive, and engaging writing on every aspect of literature, culture, and the arts freely accessible to the public. Help us continue this work with your tax-deductible donation today!