Dig In The Crates

We all love music. Some love it more than others. But most of us, only know music from our time. This puzzles me because how can we say that if we don't know the origins of the music we listen to.

One time at work, a guy told me thst he didn't listen to Biggie because Biggie is old and wack. Now, I wasn't mad because he called Biggie old and I was a child when Ready To Die came out, but because Biggie is the reason Jay-Z is most of these high schoolers favorite rapper. This guy didn't know that Biggie helped Jay get on. When Jay dropped the 'Aint No Nigga' video, there Big was chilling on the beach in the video. Once I put Ready To Die on his computer, he realized his mistake.

But isn't that the problem though? We have an opinion about music before we hear it just because of the artist, or who introduced us to it. Why don't we, individually, learn about the history of music. How many of us know who Nina Simone is? And for the few that raised their hands, how many of you know a song she sings? Exactly.

We have. A responsibility to ourselves to get a whole picture of music. Not just know about what we grew up with, but what our parents used to rock to , and what their parents once partied to. There are so many other great styles of music that most of my generation hasn't experienced. Big Band is great. Jazz is becoming more integrated with hip-hop, so we should definitely be checking that out. They say it's not where you are, its where you're at and going. Well, I say that is true, but how can you fully appreciate the journey if you don't know where you started from.