My parents and siblings were all born in Jamaica while I had the pleasure of arriving on earth in Bridgeport Connecticut, a melting pot of cultures. Growing up, my mom worked on the radio where she played a wide array of music from reggae and dancehall to the Temptations and the O'Jays. As a child, whenever I was asked what my favorite genre of music was, I would always reply, "Anything but country music and rock. I can't stand either of those genres. They don't make sense to me." I grew up listening to reggae artists like Gregory Isaacs and Jah Cure, gospel artists like Mahalia Jackson and even some of Elvis' gospel, "old hits" artists like Dionne Warwick, The Jackson Five, and Celine Dion. From the young age of even three years old, I was singing songs that people generations above me listened to in their teen years. In high school I was introduced to more jazz songs than I'd ever imagine I'd know by heart as I was a part of the Jazz band for two years.
Now, as an eighteen year old, I feel as though my musical palette is slightly more broad than my close friends because I was introduced to such a wide selection at a young age. This has allowed me to be more open to new types of music as I have a newfound love for soca, bachata, and afro beat music and I have taken the time out to learn about these new cultures.
As I am creating music of my own, and somewhat focusing on R&B and hip hop beats, I am finding ways so incorporate my favorite genres into my own music. Many of my friends point out that my songs have a "bachata twist" or "reggae vibes" throughout them, and that inspires me to find more genres that I can somehow transform into my own.
-NTP
I think it's so cool that you tie in those different genres with your own music. I have pretty recently gotten into listening to bachata and soca a lot more! As a child I thought that country music and rock music were very strange as well, because my mother didn't listen to that. I've grown a lot more and I've become accepting and tolerant toward those genres but they certainly aren't on my top 5.
ReplyDeleteI bet it was something of a culture shock to move from Jamaica to Connecticut! I lived in New Haven for several years, and it's not much like the Caribbean. I'm glad that your parents helped keep their own traditions alive by playing their music for you. And Jazz Band! I did several years as our school jazz band's pianist while I was in high school, and it really expanded the way I thought about music. It was really for this classically trained pianist to make the change, but I really loved it. You know, if you really love jazz, you should get out and see the movie "La La Land"--one of the main characters is a jazz pianist, and there's tons of different types of jazz in the score. It's showing at Spartan 16 out by the mall.
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