Questlove is one of the most respected music historians and scholars for a reason — he knows that perspective is essential for analysis. And that is exactly what he’s encouraging diehard Kanye fans to employ as they embrace the seething mass that is this final version of Donda. After a couple of years wandering the desert, producing severe missteps like Ye and Jesus Is King, the stans are thrilled that Kanye seems to have put something out that’s back on a Pablo level, and some have even gone so far as to dub it an instant classic.
Quest, and plenty of the rest of us, are not so sure. “Classics can’t be claimed 24 hours after some product comes out,” Quest wrote as part of a lengthy Twitter thread on the album today. “I’ve seen it backfire both ways. It’s like the timeline is tryna grab the rebound w :10 secs left in the game & y’all all hoping it’s your tweet that goes viral in declaring how amazing it is (or isn’t) time will tell.”
He also brings up how some early reviews led him astray with other albums, as part of his larger point that giving a record some room to breathe only helps improve the overall impression it leaves. Check out his thoughts below.
Man. This album Is 27 songs long. I lost steam after 8 but I am giving it a 1ce thru (the target demo for this album 14-26) but y’all gotta chill on this need to “DECLARE FIRST!”—-classics can’t be claimed 24 hours after some product comes out. I’ve seen it backfire both ways
— B.R.O.theR. ?uestion (@questlove) August 30, 2021
It’s like the timeline is tryna grab the rebound w :10 secs left in the game & y’all all hoping it’s your tweet that goes viral in declaring how amazing it is (or isn’t) time will tell (my new book explores history being 20+ years while journalism is under 20 years meaning…)
— B.R.O.theR. ?uestion (@questlove) August 30, 2021
Back in 90 I let Rolling Stone burn me w a well written
1/2 review of Graffiti Bridge which put me in the mind frame that “they are saying this matches “Dirty Mind” & surpasses “Purple Rain”/“Controversy” (
— B.R.O.theR. ?uestion (@questlove) August 30, 2021
All I’m saying is this album is damn near The Clash Sandinista length so I know unless you sat there an absorbed it 10 times in a row—-there is no way y’all can start the positioning of the cannon on an lp not even 24 hrs old.
— B.R.O.theR. ?uestion (@questlove) August 30, 2021