Wisdom & Naiveté

Made In America by Jay-Z, Kanye West and Frank Ocean

Until recently, I’ve only had my foot in the Hip-Hop pool, partially because my former religious beliefs had polarized me against it for so many years. It’s taken a long time for me to become comfortable enough to listen to some of it. Watch the Throne marks the first time I’ve sat through a new Rap album from start to finish and loved every minute of it.

Made In America caught my attention in particular. One, because Frank Ocean is attached to it, and I’m stupid excited about what he’s bringing to the world. Two, Kanye and Hov deliver something genuine and heartfelt, bringing us their American story. At the same time, they bring us our American story, every bit that’s been hard to swallow.

From the hook, to the rhymes, to the beat, every sample of this is genius and a beautiful homage to Black history in America.