kids without fathers

“We were kids without fathers, so we found our fathers on wax and on the streets and in history, and in a way, that was a gift ... . We got to pick and choose the ancestors who would inspire the world we were going to make for ourselves. That was part of the ethos of that time and place, and it got built in to the culture we created. Rap took the remnants of a dying society and created something new. Our fathers were gone, usually because they just bounced, but we took their old records and used them to build something fresh.” -- Jay Z, Decoded

Nice review in the Times (HT: Chris).