“It’s a make-it-or-break-it period for us. We do the right thing, we’ll be able to pull into the 21st century with some kind of program. We do the wrong thing, the 21st century is going to be gone, there’ll be no coming back”

“Rakim's persona is that of a sagacious gangster, like Miles Da­vis's ... We're talking about that school of self-confirmed bad-assed-ness, where you don't need spectators to know you're looking sugarshit sharp. Drop Miles or Rakim on the moon, they'd still be chilly-most”

Of Homeboys, Homelands, and the Island

“Hiphop is the most modern example, after capoeira and basketball, of African culture’s bent towards aesthetic com­bat — what the graffiti movement itself long ago defined as ‘style wars.’ ”

“Forty-eight hours in the feeding cycle of New York City. There were Uzis, Public Enemy re­grouping, and a clique of blond babes orbiting Axl Rose at the Cat Club. All of this connects. How was your week?”

The 18th (or 19th) Annual Pazz & Jop Critics Poll

The 17th (or 18th) Annual Pazz & Jop Critics Poll

The 16th (or 17th) Annual Pazz & Jop Critics Poll

Singles rool in a world up for grabs: The 15th (or 16th) annual Pazz & Jop Critics Poll

The ‘Queen of Soul’ was a favorite of producers from the Bomb Squad to Kanye West