I just started reading Never Drank the Kool-Aid, a collection of music essays by a journalist and fiction writer named Touré. It’s easy to find Touré’s work online and I’d recommend doing so—he wrote a few great hip-hop cover stories for Rolling Stone between 2003 and 2004, including features on Eminem, Beyoncé, Kanye West and 50 Cent, and his website carries extended versions of many of the pieces.
Touré’s own chronology overlaps with the start of hip-hop at the New York City block parties of the early ’70s—a coincidence Touré shares with his main source, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, the drummer for The Roots. Thompson, who was born the same year as the author (1971), witnessed the growing pains of hip-hop—an early joy, followed by a complicated and divisive adolescence—has a strong appreciation for the early creative forces in hip-hop and its influences, the musicians he respectfully dubs "Yodas."
In an interview with The Believer, ?uestlove—boy, that name does not stop looking like a typo—talks a bit about paying his dues to the old masters; he tells Touré that he often repurchases classic hip-hop albums like Public Enemy’s Apocalypse 91…The Enemy Strikes Back to rediscover the anticipatory thrill that comes with opening an album, like the build-up to a classic break. This raises a few questions for me.
?uestlove (center) and The Roots: Yodas of modern hip-hop?
1. Who are the Yodas of modern rock? Hip-hop? Country? Hell, adult contemporary?
2. Which records that you currently own would you repurchase? Or, if you’re big on disposable income, which ones have you already repurchased?
Jody Rosen of Slate nails one Yoda in this piece at Slate.com when she mentions the current "cult of Bruce Springsteen":
"Springsteen was once an indie bête noire, but today everyone from the Killers to the great beer-soaked poets the Hold Steady are aping Springsteen’s musical cadences and open-road romanticism. (Even Joanna Newsom is getting into the act: Her forthcoming EP is called Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band.)"
I’d add John Prine, David Bowie and maybe Neil Young to my Yoda list—recently, the force is strong with those dudes. As for my repurchases, I’ll fess up to records by My Bloody Valentine, Neutral Milk Hotel, and a second (used!) copy of The Roots’ Things Fall Apart. Don’t worry, ?uestlove—like Erykah Badu sang, you know that I got you.
