my music story.
For starters, I don't believe my journey through the world of music to be super special or much different from others, but it has played a crucial part in my life. The only thing I've noticed during my journey, is that my taste in music definitely did not lack diversity. I've never stuck to one station, artist, or genre of music, mostly because of the redundancy. That can also be reflected in my actual life but that is another story for another time.
Living in a Nigerian-American household definitely defined most of the music I listened to: Bob Marley, Smokey Robinson, Toots and the Maytals, Michael Jackson, basically, a lot of African and Black artists. Both my parents grew up in a musical household, so, coming home to blaring stereos or getting picked up in a bass bumpin’ minivan was inevitable. My parents also made sure their kids were educated in the ways of music: 2 instruments each and orchestra/band for 5+ years. All of this to say, I was predestined to have a relationship with music.
As I have gotten older, like most other angsty teens, I broadened my horizons, and it happened to stretch passed the Pan African Seas into the Alternative/Punk Oceans and it was quite a voyage. During this time, my favorite artists included: Paramore (obviously), Mayday Parade, Fallout Boy, Green Day, Weezer, P!ATD, etc. Most of these artists were inspired by my new environment, which included a predominately white school in a predominately white neighborhood, with friends who were…predominately white. Obviously these weren’t the only artists my friends were listening to, but they were the ones that sparked my interest in this genre. Though, I still listen to most of these artists, that ship for the most part, has sailed, and sailed right into foreign waters.
After my really-wanted-to-be-scene-but-alas-I-am-black-and-my-mom-wont-let-me phase, I used my love of music to explore different cultures. I got into European bands and djs, Asian music (mostly Korean and Japanese), Icelandic, Indian, and several others. I actually got teased a lot in high school because of my interest in foreign music so most of the music I found I made sure to keep to myself. But that was until I entered the world that was Marching band. I believe marching band was a pivotal period in my music journey, because in this unique little world, no one could care less what you listened to, as longs as it was music. These friendly group of nerds introduced to so many new songs, artists, and genres that I didn't even know existed. And for a moment I thought I died and went to heaven, then the actual marching season started and I realized it was in fact, not heaven.
After graduating the hellhole that was high school, I decided to define myself by the music I listened to. Essentially, I created a new identity by changing my style of music, so indie, indie pop, dance, and EDM became my best-friend like the typical "hipster" college student, which lifestyle I have fully embraced. To this day my tastes are still evolving, just like myself. So, I guess I’m not special when it comes to my music story, but I feel like everyone has their own special journey no matter how significant that has impacted their life some way.