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Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates - Ta-Nehisi Coates is a senior editor for The Atlantic, where he writes about culture, politics, and social issues for TheAtlantic.com and the magazine. He is the author of the memoir The Beautiful Struggle. More

Born in 1975, the product of two beautiful parents. Raised in West Baltimore—not quite The Wire, but sometimes ill all the same. Studied at the Mecca for some years in the mid-’90s. Emerged with a purpose, if not a degree. Slowly migrated up the East Coast with a baby and my beloved, until I reached the shores of Harlem. Wrote some stuff along the way.
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An Ocean Of Violets In Bloom

By Ta-Nehisi Coates

Oct 5 2009, 4:00 PM ET Comment

As most of you know, I've been on a rather insane Prince kick lately. I don't have any obscure citations today, but I've combing the archives--I missed a shocking amount of his best stuff. At any rate, I was watching this video last night and thinking Prince, and really his band-mates, must have felt so incredible when this joint hit. At this moment, they must have known that they really were doing something completely different in pop music, and people were feeling it. I think a lot of artists will tell you that they'd settle for a being ahead of their time. But to be ahead of your time, and for people to get that and love that, must be incredible.



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