>I think our idea of the band and the musicians, as fans, is
>likely different from what the band members have as themselves
>as artists.
>
>Maybe the multi-media artists they are now are who they may
>have been in the band's financial and career security happened
>at an earlier point in their lives.
>
>I don't get the sense that they don't care about their fans. I
>just think that they have this rare opportunity to create
>stuff they really care about *when* they want to make stuff.
>
>Having autonomy over their work is an artist's dream. They've
>reached that point. So much so that they can explore other
>aspects of their creativity and still have their
>bread-and-butter to fall back on.
>
>I'm as happy for them as I am sad that their recent success
>means I may never get another album from them. Even though I
>didn't get/understand their last album, they fill a lane that,
>outside of Kendrick and Lupe, no one else does - high concept,
>well-crafted music that really makes you think about the
>culture at large. That style of music made me become a fan in
>many respects. So, to not have them is a big blow.
>
>But the band, both as musicians and as personalities, are so
>much a part of my maturation as a fan of music and art in
>general. From the fact that you all drop by here every day,
>they are to you as well. Not getting music from them is an
>uncomfortably tangible reminder that I am far away from my
>youth. And as a result, have fewer ties to the highlights of
>that time.
>
>I sincerely hope that I get at least one more time to get
>hyped about an album release from a band I am so indebted to
>because they showed me potential about music and Black people,
>to be honest, that I didn't know was entirely possible.
>
>But if I don't, I know I am glad to have spent the last twenty
>years rocking with and supporting a band that was as impactful
>as overlooked - and that's a lot.

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I wanna go to where the martyrs went
the brown figures on the walls of my apart-a-ment...