I have no idea if this article is good or on point, but I would love to hear some reactions to it. A snip:
21st-century blackness has lost its rigid center, and irony permeates the cultural membrane. More than kids knowing they can be president of the United States, it might be more crucial to the expansion of black identity that — thanks to, say, N.E.R.D or Odd Future — they know they can be skate punks. Kanye West can release an album called The College Dropout, then run around the world dressed like an Oberlin junior. (The backpack craze was popularized by him.) West had done what 15 years of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Family Matters could not. He ushered in the chic of the black nerd. He cleared a safe space for narcissism and self-deconstruction[.]
Is this true? At a point in time, I felt pretty immersed in African American culture. But that was a long time ago. I can't speak to what is in this article but would love to hear reactions.
I'm all ears.