“My two-steps-from-sexagenarian ass is old enough to know all the avant funk-jazz sources of [Kamasi] Washington and company’s aesthetic (Horace Tapscott, Sanders, Tyner, The Crusaders, Stanley Cowell, Strata East, Black Jazz) so The Epic couldn’t reach my ears as a spiritual, political and musical revelation. But it has been fascinating nonetheless to witness young friends […]
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Posted inEditor's Pick
Milestones
“Yesterday was a triumph greater than 2016. It wasn’t a fluke. Trump is America’s choice.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Old World, Young Africa
“Part one of a series on how the youth boom is changing the continent, and beyond.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
It’s Time to Legalize Sampling
“Hip-hop is 50 years old, but the genius idea at its core remains unprotected. Here’s how we can change that.”
Posted inCuration, Nonfiction, Top 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, our editors recommend notable features and essays by Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Justin Heckert, Gloria Liu, Sharon Levy, and Mychal Denzel Smith.
Posted inEditor's Pick
An Interview With Black Thought
“I think attention, or the lack thereof, during one’s career has the potential to make or break one’s journey. And during the times when there was less attention on me, it was just what I wanted and needed. But what happens when you have something that propels you from one level of celebrity to another […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
A Bittersweet Escape for Afghans From a Music School Gone Silent
“What will happen to Afghan programs like the Zohra Orchestra as the Taliban regains control of the country?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
“In My Mind I Was Already Gone”: The Endless End of Outkast
“Twenty years after the release of ‘Speakerboxxx’/’The Love Below,’ we chart how the creation of André 3000 and Big Boi’s fifth studio album became the start of Outkast’s ending.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Evolution of the Hip-Hop Hunk
“One fan’s journey through rap’s pursuit of the female gaze, from LL Cool J to Tupac to Drake.”
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: Twin Cities resistance, psychedelic self-reinvention, guardians of the ranch, a file of fragments, and Pantone’s political white.
