In my morning ritual I wake up, I take my shower, I meditate and then I listen to music to give me a quick boost to start my day. The artist that I listen to now are as follows: Jay z, Kanye West, Lauryn Hill, Jim Jones, A Tribe called Quest, Fabolous, Chance da Rapper, J Cole, Nas, Notorious BIG, Willow Smith, Jayden Smith, the Roots, and a few other artists that I can't think of right now, ok I have two more Big Sean and Drake.
I listen to all of these artists because they help inspire me in my daily endeavors. The music that these artists create inspire me to be a better person. I have been listening to Jay Z for over 15 years, I have been to over 18 Jay Z concerts. Every concert that I have attended has brought energy to my spirit. When I listen to Jay Z, I feel like I want to be the best business owner I can be, he makes me want to master my own craft and then be successful off of it. One of my favorite things about Jay Z is his ability of visualization. I've listened to Jay Z talk about having a daughter before she was ever born. I listen to Jay Z talk about business moves he was going to make and he really made them. A lot of the music that comes out in this day and time is not always based on facts. A lot those rap artist don't make music to inspire people. They make music to make money.
To make it even worse, the artist’s content is not talking about anything relevant that's going on in the world.
If you’re a music artist that only talks about what you have vs what other people don't have, I will not listen to your music. If you are a music artist that's only talking about your money, I don't want to listen to your music. I also don't want to listen to music artist that talk about their problems and the problems of the world without giving their listeners a solution to make the world better. You have to understand something music is very powerful, it can push you to be your best or worse, depending on what type of spirit you have. I only listen to music that makes me feel good, makes me want to connect to others and help people be their best self.
Now I know I was talking about rappers but let's talk about Beyoncé́ real quick. I've been listening to Beyoncé́ for over ten years as well. Why I continue to listen to her is because to be honest, she is simply amazing. I remember the first Beyoncé́ album I listened to all the way through, it was called Dangerously in Love and I really enjoyed her first album and I have been listening to her ever since. If you have been watching her since the beginning then you see how she evolved over the years and by the way she's only 33 years old. When you talk about Beyoncé́ you can't put her in a box and say she's an R&B artist or pop artist. You have to put her at the tables with the greats. I'm talking Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, and Prince. So we know that Beyoncé́ knows how to get people's attention, during the 50th Super Bowl Half Time Show, Beyoncé́ performed her song Formation and had dancers pay homage to the Black Panther Party, which was created in Oakland, CA, where the Super Bowl took place. People went crazy saying that Beyoncé́ was acting too black, she should have never referenced the Black Panthers and a bunch of their opinions that went in one ear and out the other. I respected Beyoncé́ for what she did and she is an African American women from the south that worked her way all the way to the top. She has millions of women of color that look up to her and use her as a muse so that they can evolve into their best self. Let's face it, we live in a world where women of color are still not being treated equal in the work force. Men constantly disrespect women on a regular basis. Police across the nation are not just killing men of color they are killing our women as well. We need stronger role models that inspire are women to be their best self at all time. To know that they are beautiful inside and out and remind the world that without women of color the entire planet would perish and fall. I love Beyoncé́ because even when she is going through a personal issue at home. She will make a whole album based on that problem but then use her problem as an opportunity to uplift other women and show them that there is a better way. Her last album Lemonade came out at Saturday at 9:00pm on HBO. To be honest, I think every black and white women in America was either watching it or had it being recorded in the DVR. Beyoncé́ did a visual album and had women like Serena Williams in her video. She showed different perspectives of our culture and reminded us how important family and true love is.
It's doesn't matter if you’re a rapper or a singer, make music that uplifts people and makes them want to be better. We live in a world where people of color still don't have equal rights or resources. We have people like Donald Trump saying things like we should push Mexicans out of the country and build a wall. The funny thing about that statement is that Mexicans are under the umbrella of people of color. So when you make that statement about Mexicans you are really saying you want to push people of color out of America. The only reason why statements Ike this are able to be said is because human beings have let labels like race and ethnicity allow us to forget that there is only one race and that's the human race. Millions of people of color are still being incarcerated at an alarming rate. Violence is still a major problem in our community, we kill each other over money, drugs and women. Hate, jealousy, racism are tools that are being used to disconnect and make sure we stay divided and conquered. We need music that's going to make people feel good, bring people together through love and spirit and make people want to work together to make this world better.
Society has killed most is our leaders, so that other future leaders would be afraid to stand up for what's right. If you have managed not to be killed then you have a duty as an artist, an actor, a leader, an activist to stand up and fight for what's right. Too many people gave their lives so that we could have the opportunities we have today. Don't listen that makes you want to hurt people, hate people, or just makes you think bad about a group of people you have never met. That's not what music was made for, it was made to heal your spirit bring joy in your heart. Music was made to make you want to dance and light your spirit on fire. So if you’re listening to same music every day and you realize that your living the same life everyday maybe you should change the station. If you have a gift, don't sell out and use your talent to make people feel bad. Use the talent that your creator gave you to inspire people and give them hope that everything will be OK. Personally I listen to music that makes me feel that I could create heaven on earth. We can create a paradise right now if we wanted people just have to wake up and get out of their heads. You don't have to die to get to paradise, you just have to shift your consciousness.