It’s an odd visual: Conservative columnist David Brooks bumping Jay-Z as he adjusts his spectacles for Meet the Press. But with our unerring eye for inconsequential detail, Daily Intel couldn’t help but notice that Brooks has dropped his admiration for Jigga Man into conversation at least three times in the past few months, referring to his album with Kanye West as a highlight of his year, listing him amongst geniuses, and today citing his awesome and confident persona.
“I do listen to rap,” Brooks told us via e-mail (Subject line: Don’t Get Me Into My Zone) and asserted that his interests go beyond Hov. “I suspect I’m not the only square middle aged white guy who thinks Li’l Wayne is going downhill.” But the interest is personal, not professional — don’t expect Niggas in Paradise: The Story of 21st Century Black Social Mobility As Told Through Lyrics from Watch The Throne to be hitting shelves any time soon. “Something in the back of my head tells me I’ll look like a jerk if I try to start publicly opining about songs with titles like ‘That’s My Bitch,’” Brooks assesses, correctly. Plus: “I don’t understand half the lyrics.”
