I Grew Up On Hip-Hop

As I sat down in this class for the first time, I felt as I already had a very extensive knowledge of music and how it is used in everyday life. However, I was prepared to learn things that I had not known previously about music as well as reiterate the ideas that I already had an idea of. For example, I already learned about Jim Crow and Jim Crow laws. Though I did understand who he was and what he did, I did not know that his real name was Thomas Rice. I was already aware that he was a white man who painted his face brown to play a comedic act, but I thought his real name was Jim Crow. So, when I was introduced to a handful of new lessons and events in history, it was a real eye-opener. I was very excited for this class to start and I am eager to learn about whatever is to come. 

When I first listened to music, my dad was the one who introduced me to it. I was brought up on old-school rappers and groups. The first ever song I heard is called, "Award Tour," by a music group named A Tribe Called Quest. They are widely accepted as the greatest rap group of all time. Of course, there is an argument to be made based on money made, records sold and pure talent on a mic, but in my opinion, they are the best. After them, Eminem was all in my ears. From there, music took off in my life. I listen to music more hours in a week than I probably sleep. I have over 2,000 songs saved in my Spotify and probably near 500 in my Spinrilla. The fact is that music has taken over my life in more ways than I can count. Some people are the same way, and even more so than me. Eminem used music as his only outlet as a child. Elvis was the first white rockstar in a primarily black genre. Even slaves sang tunes in the fields when they picked cotton, tobacco and more. This classed has only made my passion for music stronger. Every single day I have a stronger connection to the beats of music, the lyrics artists spit, the production that producers create and all the thought, effort and time put into creating just a single song, let alone a whole album/mixtape. 

Overall, I expect to learn things I had never known before, such as the fact that the Star Spangled Banner had more than one stanza, or who Otis Taylor was, or even where rap music first started. I hope that the topics we cover over the course of the semester extend my love for music and that I come out a more intelligent person in the field of music.