Our weekly recap highlighting the best feature stories from around the internet.
Kanye West performing in 2015. Photo: AFP
The Best Kanye Album Is Every Kanye Album - by Liz Raiss, Amos Barshad, Patrick D. McDermott, Ruth Saxelby, Myles Tanzer, Anupa Mistry and Rayiwa Kameir, The Fader
“Beyond his verbal dexterity, his impeccable production, Kanye’s hyper-perceptive intelligence is his biggest strength as a rapper. And while it can be dizzying to follow his back and forth, his lapses and prayers for forgiveness, there’s nowhere that awareness is bigger or more evident than on College Dropout, The Best Debut Album Of All Time.”
Beyoncé’s ‘Formation’: Young, Gifted, and Black – by Rembert Browne, Ashley Weatherford, Allison P. Davis and Dee Lockett, Vulture
“Formation” is a clear exercise in setting boundaries, in reminding everyone that we aren't all the same. It's a reminder, “I'm a woman and I'm black, but also I'm a black woman — please don't ever forget that, and no, you can't touch my hair, not never.”
Blinded by the white - by Joshua Drummond, Public Address
“Why isn't there a regular Māori columnist at the Listener, or Metro, or the Sunday Star Times? And there should quite definitely and obvioiusly be a weekly Māori columnist in our only national daily, The New Zealand Herald. At minimum. Come on, can't the media muster even a token effort?”
Why I love Waitangi Day - by Guy Williams, Sunday Star Times
“Peaceful protests shouldn't be complained about, they should be celebrated. They're a proud part of New Zealand culture. I hope Waitangi Day can become more respected as New Zealand's day. A day of celebration and remembrance, where we can all come together as a nation, have a barbecue, and chuck a clump of mud at Don Brash.”
Zayn Malik, Desi Thirst Trap - by Mayukh Sen, Pitchfork
“When was the last time a desi man's beauty was his cultural currency? Like Zayn, I am both brown and white, my blood a mix of South Asian and British. For a time, I resented this. I grew up with the nagging feeling that life would’ve been easier if I were just plain old white. Every beautiful man I saw around me, whether on television or the ones people my age had crushes on, had Aryan-style blonde hair and blue eyes.”
The hardest choice Demaryius Thomas' mom will make - by Eli Saslow, ESPN
“Her transition back into society has had its stressful moments, but never more so than this week. Relatives call for Super Bowl tickets. Strangers on the Internet complain to her about Demaryius' dropped passes. Her parole officer says she needs to find a job, enroll in college, submit to another drug test and fill out paperwork if she wants to travel to the Super Bowl in San Francisco.”
