The Power of Music!

Music and Its Association To Certain People In My Life

Stevie Wonder in his song, Sir Duke from his Songs in the Key of Life album said, “music is a world within itself, it’s a language we all understand”. For me, music has always been and will forever be a big part of my life. From the time my heart developed its own beat, that beat was in harmony with the tune of my mother's heart. There’s music that shaped my attitude, conscience, mindset, and emotions. Music left me with countless memories of people, places, and special events.

When I think of certain eras I've lived through, I can basically sum that timeframe up with a song. For example: Sounds of Blackness' song Optimistic brings me to a time in my life when I was about 10 years old and attending International Preparatory Institute (I.P.I); which was a private school in Southwest Atlanta off Cascade Road, a very cultured area of town. Education, Knowledge of Self, Positivity, and Optimism were the themes of my life at that time, so that song describes that era of my life very well. I'm sure you can listen to a song right now that would automatically make you think of a timeframe or someone 😁 That is the Power of Music!!

This article is the first of a series articles dedicated to Music.....may it live forever. My plan is to take you through some songs that affect me and the people in my life those songs remind me of. Hopefully, by the end of the series you'll know a little more about me, a few people in my life and maybe an artist, song, or even an album. I’ll even embed links to all of the songs I mention so you can jam along with me! So let’s begin.

I'll start at a time in my childhood when I didn't have a care in the world:

MY CHILDHOOD FRIEND | KAMARI -- was a neighbor of mines in Atlanta, GA during the early 90's. He and I were captivated by a local group named Kriss-Kross who went national with their first single Jump, Jump. The group was very relatable to us as youngsters because they were young themselves, plus the duo was dark-skinned and light skinned. See, Kamari was light skinned and I was darker than him; that was all we needed to feel like we were in the limelight ourselves! I've tried my clothes on backwards like the fad Kriss-Kross started, but I knew that with my family it wouldn't fly trying to go somewhere dressed like that.

Nowadays Jump, Jump is rarely played. However, whenever I hear or even think about that song, my childhood friend Kamari and those times that are fused in my mind come forward too.

*Other Kriss-Kross songs that go hand in hand with Jump, Jump and on the same debut album Totally Krossed Out were Warm it Up, It’s a Shame, and I Missed the Bus.

MY SIBLINGS | KAMARIA AND NAJEE -- This is my younger sister and brother. I'm almost 10 years their senior, so I did a lot of babysitting when I was younger. In the mid 90's my siblings were mesmerized by a purple dinosaur named Barney 😁 If you lived in the 90's you know exactly who Barney is! I ended up watching more episodes than I care to admit, because Barney was the only figure who could make my siblings calm down. There are a few songs that I remember from the show, because every few seconds another song was played. However, there is that one song that will always bring me back to that time and space and go hand-in-hand with my earlier memories of Kamaria and Najee: I Love You, You Love Me.

* Other Barney songs: Barney's Theme Song, Ricky Raccoon, Clean up, The Rainbow Song, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and…....I think I'll stop right here before you start thinking I'm crazy!! 😁

MY BROTHER | NAJEE -- There are two more songs that will forever stay with my memories of my brother: Peanut Butter Jelly by Cadillac Don and J-Money and Ballin by Jim Jones. Now I liked Peanut Butter Jelly even though it was closer to the nursery rhymes by Barney, but I couldn't stand hearing the song Ballin. To me, Jim Jones' annoying voice and the cry to ‘ball’ just didn't do it for me.

The timeline of these songs were around 2006. I remember that because my daughter, her mother, and I were all staying with my mother in Fayetteville, GA for a little while after I was released from jail. My brother and I had a habit of watching music videos in the living room. When Peanut Butter Jelly came on we both were repeating the lyrics and grooving to the song about having clean ass Chevrolets (one for each day of the week). It's my only memory of that song and one of the vivid memories I have with my brother.

MY MOTHER -- When I think of music and its relation to my mother, I hear several artist and albums, but Anita Baker, Toni Braxton, The Isley Brothers, and En Vogue are the first artist that come to mind. My mother loved En Vogue! Songs like Hold On To Your Love, and Never Gonna Get It brings me to memories of my mother singing in her car or in our apartment. The album Mission to Please will also forever make me think of her. I know this album word for word, because my mother and stepfather played it…….a lot.

Two more songs that make me think of my mother are 2 Pac's I Get Around and Goodie Mob's Guess Who from the Soul Food album. One day my mother and I were jammin' to I Get Around while riding in the car. It was all good...until I was reciting Shock G's verse. He has this part where he brags about being "the one who put the satin on your panties". Immediately after I said that verse my mother gave me a look that suggested that she'd kill me if I said that again! I was like...my bad. I didn't even know what he was talking about! In fact, I still don't 😁 Anyway, I'll always remember the look she gave me and forever associate it with that song.

Years later my mother would get off on hearing me quote the whole song Guess Who by Goodie Mob. It was a tribute dedicated to their mother's specifically, but also to mothers in general. The part my mother would get off on the most was Cee-Lo's verse when he says "My momma, the biggest playa that I know/ I love her so, hell everything I got I owe to my momma...".

So here's the lesson I learned from my mom: I learned that men should never put satin on women’s panties nor should they get around. However, its okay for mothers to be a player and for sons to have an infinite debt to their mothers! 😁

MY FATHER -- Now he was a trip! The two of us vibed off plenty of music together. Some old school artists, but also current artists of that era we were in. I put my father on Snoop Dogg's The Last Meal album and he loved it! My father was already a Snoop Dogg fan and that probably was because of Snoop's old school appeal. However, with Snoop and Kokane together (because Snoop had Kokane on like every song), it was something special. I have some memories of my father and me riding around town singing and quoting the lyrics with big smiles on our faces. It felt good that my father could relate to some of the music that I loved and I'm sure he appreciated the fact that I appreciated older artist as well.

Another album we enjoyed together is Barry White's Staying Power; we both knew the lyrics to the whole album. Phyllis Hyman and David Sanborn were artist my dad put me on. Phyllis Hyman had an album entitled Forever with You that my dad wore out! But the song that sticks out to me the most is the song by Set a Little Trap. I enjoyed that song and will forever think of him when I hear it. On David Sanborn's Inside album he had a song called When I'm with You feat. D'Angelo. The album was cool but that song did it for me. 😁

One last song my father and I enjoyed together was the song Contagious by The Isley Brothers feat. R. Kelly. You should've saw us singing that song numerous of times on the way to and from New York. It was a sight to see.

Well, once again I hope that you enjoyed this journey with me as I took you through some of the music in my life and those people who left their print in it. Please join me later on this month as I conclude with some other songs and people.

Much Love,

Soul

WAIT A MINUTE: I’m sure listening to some of these songs brought back memories and reading through my stories might have brought to mind other songs I'd love to hear from you! What are some of the songs that make you think of someone else? Please write me to let me know the person(s) in your life who have made a song impossible to hear without thinking of them. I look forward to hearing from you soon.