Just because one has an opinion does not necessarily mean that this opinion needs to be shared. Such is the case with music reviews, a once cherished art that only the most articulate and sonically proficient could partake in, is now a practice that any person with a decent Wi-Fi connection and a blog or social network account can bless the universe with their musical prowess. This accessibility is doing more harm than good to the art of music especially given the logic behind the speed of the internet and the patience required for truly conceptualizing a record.

The biggest example of modern day reviews that come to mind were the release of Jay-Z and Kanye West’s joint album Watch the Throne. Twitter erupted once the album leaked following its release to iTunes before it hit stores. The most outrageous assertion by most of my Twitter followers was their deduction of the album being okay or even bad after it only being out for less than 12 hours. Not only did this album need to be heard at the highest quality of speakers you can find rather than iPhone headphones for it to be appreciated, but any album needs at least a few listens in order for every note, instrument and fly-by verse to not go unheard. My father was in his 20s when A Tribe Called Quest released arguably one of the greatest contributions to the hip-hop genre in Midnight Marauders. He said to me that after his first listen, he went to a now defunct record store in Washington D.C., receipt in tow, to return the album; he did not understand and was probably too young to appreciate the genius that his contemporaries blessed the world with.

Not only did he later regret this and went back to buy it again, but he introduced me to this album when I was 10, which was subsequently my first introduction to hip-hop. Throne is certainly not the first or last album to be sorely overlooked by the instant gratification generation, but I did not think that this state of mind would influence the champions of all music reviews, better known as Rolling Stone magazine. After The Roots’ album How I Got Over was released for less than 24 hours, the magazine rolled out a 60 word review with a three star rating attached, to which Roots drummer, founder and producer Questlove responded on Twitter asking if they could have at least waited until tomorrow to hammer out the halfhearted review. I can’t imagine how insulting it must feel as an artist for a reputable magazine to not understand or appreciate that in order for a body of work to be assessed properly, it needs to be dissected carefully and not at the same speed as a run of the mill blogger yearning for page views and clicks.

Maybe its wishful thinking to assume that our generation that sees a throwback jam as anything released six months ago to have the discipline necessary to deem an album was good or bad after more than days’ worth of listening, but maybe the saying is true: you can’t feed babies steak.