kanye has classics.

depending on what type of rap you like,
you are a fan of either:
college drop out (for back packers), late registration (for r&b heads), graduation (for pop fans), my beautiful dark twisted fantasy (for rockists).

these albums will be seen as classics, if they aren't already.
"yeezus" might be seen as a misstep, but it might become a cult classic later on.

i don't like where r&b is, but this generation had "confessions."
every song was good enough to be a single,
and it even had a nifty back story to add to its legacy.
it'll go down as a classic if it's not seen as one already.

and if you quibble with that choice i should remind you that
d'anglelo dropped black messiah recently, which is at least a very good album
and probably on of the all time great album.

btw, beyonce just made her strongest artistic statement to date
with that latest album she did last year.
it still gets burn in clubs.

kids will like rhianna the same way we like janet.


music is fine.
music is always fine.

and even if it isn't fine kids these days have access to the Internet
and can find old albums that they think are classic
that we have overlooked. (sorta like some ppl in our generation went back and decided
that our parents missed the boat on Donny Hathaway).

the Internet has made it not unusual to be into a bunch of old music.
kids are jamming to some of the same music you did.
talk to them.

they are up on golden era hip hop.


the kids are alright.
the kids are always alright.

that won't stop old ppl like me from tripping though.
just like my grandparents tripped when they heard motown
and my great grandparents tripped when they heard bebop.



the truth is, somebody could drop a classic tomorrow
and i might not recognize it as a classic anymore than your parents
could see the value of "paid in full." because it's not up to me to
decide what's quality and what's not anymore. it's not up to you anymore, either.


in other words,
we old.