The 6 books that changed King Willonius’ life
- King Willonius blends comedy, music, and technology to create hit songs like “BBL Drizzy” and other artistic experiments.
- A lifelong learner, he credits books with some of the important creative lessons he’s learned.
- From The Alchemist to Outliers, he shares six of his favorites with Big Think.
What do you get when you combine AI, a stand-up comedian, and a rapper feud? The question reads like the setup to a bad punchline — because in the wrong hands, it absolutely is. (Answer: A diss hack.) But in the right hands, this combination gets you something much better: the viral parody song “BBL Drizzy.”
It all started with the rap feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. At one point during the feud, rapper Rick Ross fired shots at Drake by labeling him BBL Drizzy — BBL being short for “Brazilian butt lift” and a reference to Drake’s rumored plastic surgery. Fast forward to 2024 and many diss tracks later, and King Willonius entered the fray.
With Ross’s X posts as inspiration, the New York comedian experimented with Udio, a generative AI that produces music, to create an R&B parody song titled “BBL Drizzy.” Not long after King Willonius shared the song online, rapper Metro Boomin’ sampled it to produce his own diss track, and everybody in 2024 seemed to like that (except, of course, Drake).
“BBL Drizzy” has since been shared and listened to by millions. WIRED called it the “beginning of the future of AI music.” Other creators have remixed the song into different formats and genres. A nun even danced to it on TikTok. King Willonius — real name Willonius Hatcher — probably said it best when he spoke to our sister site, Big Think+: “We’re at a critical point in human history where things are about to change dramatically.”
Since then, Hatcher has continued to blend his comedy and AI technology to create unusual songs and experiments in storytelling. Recognized as one of TIME’s most influential people in AI in 2024, he promotes the technology as a way to lower the social and economic barriers to creativity by empowering creatives with the tools they need to create whatever they can imagine.
While an AI advocate, Willonius is also an avid reader and lifelong learner. After sitting down for his Big Think+ interview, we spoke with him about the books that have shaped how he thinks about life and creativity. Here are the titles he recommends you check out.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (1988)
A retelling of “The Ruined Man Who Became Rich Again Through a Dream,” an Arabian folktale collected in The 1001 Arabian Nights, Coelho’s novel tells the story of a young shepherd named Santiago. Under the auspices of a recurring dream and a fortune-teller’s prophecy, Santiago sets out to discover a treasure buried beneath the Egyptian pyramids. He meets thieves, an alchemist, and the girl of his dreams along the way — and experiences the joys, troubles, and lessons those things bring to life.
Originally published in Brazil in 1988, the novel wasn’t a huge hit, but it skyrocketed to fame when translated into English in 1993. But in an instance of life imitating art, it wasn’t the success but the journey that proved most valuable for Coelho.
“I don’t have a ready-made formula to apply when I embark on a new book,” Coelho writes in the novel’s foreword. “I was trying to explain to myself what writing meant to me. The way I found to do this was through a metaphor. […] I wanted to share with my readers the questions that make life a great adventure precisely because they have no answer.”
That absence of definitive answers pervades the story. Santiago dreams of treasure in Egypt but cannot know if it is there until he makes the journey. Characters struggle to come to terms with notions of fate, the law of attraction, and one’s failure to achieve one’s goals. While the book ultimately does provide a resolution to Santiago’s story, these elements are what have stuck with Hatcher.
“This book taught me to trust the vision, even when nobody else sees it,” Hatcher tells Big Think. “Destiny ain’t a straight line; it’s a calling you answer.”
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (2008)
Gladwell begins his best-selling third book, Outliers, with a simple question: What makes some people highly successful and others not? Common sense suggests the answer can be found in people’s individual traits: their intelligence, athleticism, charm, or the size of their inheritance. But Gladwell took a step back to consider not just successful people, but also where they came from.
What was their home life like? What culture did they swim in during their formative years? Who were their peers? Even what month were they born? These things, Gladwell contends, are far more important drivers of success than individual traits such as being a genius.
A common theme in the book is the so-called “10,000-hour rule,” which Gladwell claims to be necessary for success in any field. It claims that to achieve expertise, a person must practice a skill or task for 10,000 hours — or roughly 20 hours a week for 10 years.
Now, Gladwell’s book, and the 10,000-hour rule in particular, has come under scrutiny since its release. Some experts contend the findings are oversimplified and based on anecdotal reasoning. But for Hatcher, the book’s importance comes from its emphasis on the time, energy, and effort required to reach where you want to go.
“10,000 hours wasn’t just a theory. I lived that. Comedy songs, AI tracks, Clubhouse musicals — I been in the lab, crafting,” he writes.
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield (2002)
Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is a Chinese treatise for military leaders on how to win wars. According to Sun Tzu, the best strategy is to avoid conflict altogether and only fight as a last resort, a philosophy as much psychology as battlefield strategy.
Pressfield’s book obviously takes its name from the ancient treatise, but the borrowing is more than a clever shout-out. The book’s target is the psychological Resistance (yep, capital R) that arises within us whenever we reject “immediate gratification in favor of long-term growth, health, or integrity.” Its pages are full of advice about overcoming that Resistance without fighting an emotional war within ourselves.
“Resistance be real sneaky, especially when you [are] on the brink of a breakthrough. This one gave me language for the fight,” Hatcher writes.
Pressfield focuses on art because he is a writer, having penned such novels as The Gates of Fire and The Legend of Bagger Vance. However, just as The Art of War can be applied to modern business practices, The War of Art’s strategies can also be refashioned to combat Resistance wherever it appears, such as when pursuing a new career or healthier life routines.
The Comedy Bible by Judy Carter (2001)
A comedian since 1979, Carter has taught the art of making people laugh to just about every kind of person: actors, comics, salespeople, house spouses, corporate executives, and landlords. This book is basically her complete comedy workshop crammed into 300 pages. It has exercises and practical tips to help learners craft jokes alongside advice for tailoring material to various comedy fields.
Hatcher calls this “the blueprint,” adding: “This helped me shape and write jokes. Taught me how to punch up, find the funny in truth, and build bits with structure — not just vibes.”
Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferriss (2002)
Like many people, when Ferriss turned 40, he stopped to take stock of his life. He wondered if he had wasted his precious time, what goals he should pursue with his remaining years, and how he might approach those goals while being kinder to himself. Unlike others, Ferriss’s answers to those questions didn’t result in him becoming a DJ or opening a bed and breakfast. Instead, he wrote a book.
In Tribe of Mentors, Ferriss seeks advice from high performers on everything from morning routines to taking risks, balancing life’s competing needs and gift-giving. As Hatcher describes it: “It’s like keeping a council of wise minds on your bookshelf.”
This wise council includes the likes of Steven Pressfield, Annie Duke, Patton Oswalt, Larry King, Steven Pinker, Arianna Huffington, Yuval Noah Harari — the list goes on. Seriously, it’s close to 130 names.
“I dip back into this one when I need clarity from the GOATs in their fields,” Hatcher adds.
Dune by Frank Herbert (1965)
Frank Herbert’s epic science fiction novel introduced the world to a character that Hatcher said he’ll never forget: Paul Atreides. In Dune, Paul is the Chosen One destined to defeat an evil lord and rule the galaxy. He’s a standard hero archetype on paper, but Paul’s struggles are as personal as they are planetary. For Hatcher, Paul is inspirational not only because he has the strength of character to survive sandstorms and assassins but because of how he navigates the interpersonal struggles of prophecy, politics, and his own coming of age.
“When I read Dune, it wasn’t just sci-fi; it felt like strategy. Paul had to trust the Voice inside him. That hit,” Hatcher writes. “Because when you build something that ain’t been done before — AI music, comedy through code, Black futurism with roots in soul — you feel like you’re walking the desert with only instinct and faith.”
Hatcher adds: “[Paul] taught me to walk in alignment because everything flows when you do.”
.png){kind=link}