my music culture

Growing up, music was always a part of my life. Being the child of two young parents, i was exposed to popular music of the late eighties and early nineties from as early as I can remember. I remember my mother playing with me as a child while singing popular R&B tunes of the day or playing soothing music as she rocked me to sleep, so it's only natural that I enjoy those same types of music today. For me there is a connection between that type of music and the love and affection my mother showed me as a child and even when i don't make a conscious effort to remember those times every time I hear those old songs or newer songs like them, something in me always realizes that she's part of the reason behind my appreciation for the music. When my father, who was 23 at the time of my birth, would come to spend time with me, i can remember riding to tupac, bone-thugs, and other rap heavyweights of the time. I developed a deep appreciation for the struggle these rappers described in their lyrics as well as the luxurious party-life they rapped about. Also, my older cousin and my aunt were younger than my parents and picked up a lot of music from what they would play and the fun times we would all have listening to the radio and singing along or performing for the family. My musical beginnings were just that--beginnings. Eventually, neighborhood friends would introduce me to new artists that weren't in my father's collection of cassettes or being played on the radio and my taste in music changed drastically in my early teens mainly because of the predominant music culture of my peers at school. The easiest way to describe it is that I stopped watching BET and watched a lot more MTV lol. As the years went on tho I learned to appreciate and even to enjoy many types of music and also that liking one type doesn't exclude u from enjoying something else. I learned that it's not about what you're "supposed to" listen to because of where u grew up or what u look like. It's all about what makes u happy, and ultimately that realization shaped my music culture today. I can find SOME beauty in SO many types of music and I can appreciate artists for being artists and going through what they do to please their listeners. Of course, there are some songs and even some entire genres of music that I just can't feel. I don't relate to them, but i am able to understand that not everything is made FOR ME. I think of music as a buffet...I'm free to take as much as I want of the things that I want. I can try things I'm not sure about and if I don't like it, I don't have to eat it. It's my world and i'm free to do whatever makes me happy without consequence when it comes to music preferrence.