Once that drew me in, what kept me listening were the lyrics’ hard-marriage of masculinity and empathy. As a result they are, as French anthropologist Philippe Bourgois wrote about young men who joined Harlem street drug gangs in the 1980s, in search of respect, in search of being seen. His executioners had the performance of masculinity, the kind won by meting out violence and terrorising communities. On a street in Minneapolis, two versions of masculinity clashed. To the young men hesitating over what kind of man to become, in the words of the Rapture: “Well take it slow and take my hand.”

Source: The Guardian February 04, 2026 20:02 UTC