As a writer I know the power that words can have on one’s mind. I remember reading “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” as a kid and being mesmerized by the vivid word play of Roald Dahl. The sounds and denotations of the words were so powerful that it made me feel first person with the text. My love for words eventually became 16 bars. My first rap CD was Heavy D and the Boy’s second album “Big Tyme” and from then on my collection grew to “Ready to Die”, “All Eyes on Me” Thug Motivation 101” and the list goes on. Rap is a mainstay in my life. The morning ritual consists of: brushing my teeth, listening to the enthralling beats of the enormous rap collection that has grown exponentially since 1989 and eating. Over the years my tastes have grown within the genre. When I was around 5 or 6 my uncle would grace my ears with the sounds of Chuck D’s politically charged anthems, Q-Tip’s laidback grooves and even the sounds of the Fat Boys. This inception into the realm of hip hop took many twists and turns. From the East Coast, West Coast, Dirty South and even the Midwest, this love of mine called hip hop has uplifted some of my darkest days. It has been my pre-game warm-up music, getting dressed to impress music, background sound while I’m studying music, the cant wait to hear your next album music. It’s been everything. But now I’m falling out of love with it.
It’s not you, It’s ME.
God has been speaking to me about the music that I listen to for some time now. In my never-ending quest to FULLY submit to God and all his Love, I have been struggling with the potential of letting go of the music that I love. To let something go that is so engrained in your being is like losing a limb or organ. The music that I listen to isn’t taking me a step closer to God and I know it. While I fully know that SOME of the music that I listen to is hindering my progression into God’s kingdom, I can’t let it go. Let me rephrase that, I CAN but I’m not ready and willing to let it go. I compare this situation to your parents telling you to dump your girlfriend/boyfriend because their bad for you. You may knowingly agree with them, but it’s something about that person that keeps them around. Some of the music that I listen to glorifies materialism, inappropriate displays of sexuality, drug abuse, violence and any other –ism that you can think of. I hate to pick on my rap collection because some of my R&B choices are quite risqué as well. I must reiterate that not all of the rap music that I listen is bad, but some of the music that I listen to on a daily basis quite harmful to my ears. God has a way of letting me know when I’m wrong that’s indescribable. I can listen to a song and immediately feel weighed down by the excess negativity in the music.
Recently I have decided to start deleting some of the music in my library. I must admit that it has been a very hard process, but its one step towards erasing my life of negativity. I have asked God for the strength to erase a lot of different things in my life, but this by far has been the longest and hardest change to make. Hopefully my testimonial will bring about change.
It’s not you, It’s ME.
God has been speaking to me about the music that I listen to for some time now. In my never-ending quest to FULLY submit to God and all his Love, I have been struggling with the potential of letting go of the music that I love. To let something go that is so engrained in your being is like losing a limb or organ. The music that I listen to isn’t taking me a step closer to God and I know it. While I fully know that SOME of the music that I listen to is hindering my progression into God’s kingdom, I can’t let it go. Let me rephrase that, I CAN but I’m not ready and willing to let it go. I compare this situation to your parents telling you to dump your girlfriend/boyfriend because their bad for you. You may knowingly agree with them, but it’s something about that person that keeps them around. Some of the music that I listen to glorifies materialism, inappropriate displays of sexuality, drug abuse, violence and any other –ism that you can think of. I hate to pick on my rap collection because some of my R&B choices are quite risqué as well. I must reiterate that not all of the rap music that I listen is bad, but some of the music that I listen to on a daily basis quite harmful to my ears. God has a way of letting me know when I’m wrong that’s indescribable. I can listen to a song and immediately feel weighed down by the excess negativity in the music.
Recently I have decided to start deleting some of the music in my library. I must admit that it has been a very hard process, but its one step towards erasing my life of negativity. I have asked God for the strength to erase a lot of different things in my life, but this by far has been the longest and hardest change to make. Hopefully my testimonial will bring about change.
