newmodelminority:

tballardbrown:

We had an intern review this album, which he had never heard before and here are some highlights from his piece:

Although my experience with hip-hop is definitely limited in scope, I’d still call myself a fan. I remember the first time I really cared about a rap song. It was the spring of 2010 and “Over” by Drake had just come out.

I’ll pause while you take that in. *hums*

OK, another highlight:

Ultimately, I have no regrets leaving It Takes A Nation on what is now an entirely metaphorical shelf. I’ll gladly say thank you, but given the choice, I’m going to blast Drake’s infectiously triumphant mp3s every time.

Some readers were unhappy with the intern’s assessment of the album and went in on him in the comments. 

However, one reader comment stands out for several reasons — who the reader is and what the reader says: 

Ahmir Thompson (Questlove) wrote:

Austin. I’m sure this entire response thread is brow beating you to no end. so I’m taking a different approach. i too had a hard time swallowing records that were deemed “classic” just because some adult told me so. i find its best to take in music when you have the proper context. i too found Epitaph, On The Corner, Blood On The Tracks, Exile On Main Street, & Horses “boring” and “not as good as…..(name something that was banging when i was a kid)—-but hopefully you will realize it is your duty to discover the beauty of acclaimed art and why it was so. take Springsteen’s “Nebraska” for instance an acclaimed record that was hard for an inner city hip hop fan to swallow without a backstory. so i spent an entire weekend reading every story about this album so that i could have a better grasp on what the times were like and that helped me understand (and eventually agree) why this is Springsteen’s magnum opus. i mean no one here is expecting you to be the next Lester Bangs or Rob Christgau but i do expect this generation (born some 20 years after me) with its advantages in technology to put real effort into the information it processes. there is no question Nation is one of THE greatest recordings ever. ur job is to find out why

And that, my friends, is our lesson for today. 

I often make my students research the historical context out of which a piece of art arose.

This!

but i do expect this generation (born some 20 years after me) with its advantages in technology to put real effort into the information it processes. there is no question Nation is one of THE greatest recordings ever. ur job is to find out why

fucking beautiful

(via karnythia)