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One of the first things that I do every day is listen to music, and it sets the tone.  Sometimes I wake up with a certain tune in my head, my three year old has a request (MJ or Bob Marley usually), or I search for something new to vibe with.  Lately, I have been playing records from my Dad’s vinyl collection on his original Kenwood turntables from the mid-seventies.  My most cherished album from the collection is Uprising, Bob Marley & The Wailers.  I was so shocked when I found that record in my Dad’s old collection because I had no clue that he was a Bob Marley fan—it is my most prized possession.  I have little attachment to material things—but if I had to get one thing…it would be my vinyl I’d save.  In previous articles I have discussed my father’s significance, etc., but I will disclose some history for me to express the meaning for this music.  My father passed away when I was young, I did not receive any of his personal belongings, and in 2008 I inherited his record collection.  He was a DJ, worked with electronics, and he loved music throughout his life.  My memories of him are associated with music and learning how to dance.  In a sense, I feel a connection with him lives through the music.
Growing up, I was exposed to music that was explicit, rich in content, or history.  I love the blues, jazz, and my favorite genre I have to say is Hip Hop.  When I was about seven or eight years old, my older cousins and I would put on Sunday afternoon choreographed dance shows for our entire family after practicing on the second floor of our Grandmother’s house.  Most of the music I was listening to at the time was either Rap or Hip Hop.  There is a difference—that is a whole different article.  Regardless, my early training in tap, jazz, ballet, and lyrical dance was reinforced and I enjoyed moving to the way I felt.  Plus, the popularity of Hip Hop & Rap music was a movement itself in the early nineties.  For my ninth birthday my brother gifted me a Warren G tape to go with the boom box my Mom gave me.  She had no idea of the explicit lyrics in that tape, for whatever reason.  From then on me and my brother subscribed to artists like: Cypress Hill, Snoop Dogg (Lion), Dr. Dre— and the list proceeds.  Fast forward a couple of years and he bought me the 1998 Outkast Aquemini CD in the 7th grade.  I think I had that same CD in my music player for over three years, and I still jam that joint on the regular.  The next birthday he gave me Vol. 2…Hard knock Life album of Jay-Z’s.  I went through a real Rap phase at the age of thirteen.  Fourteen came along, a freshman in high school, I was passed an Atmosphere CD in class from my best friend Amanda like it was crack.  Underground Hip Hop became my sanctuary and no one could say shit to me—the lyrics defended me & deflected meaning from others.  My paradigm flipped, and the mentality of sheep has been irrelevant ever since.  I had ammo; I learned the art of freestyle, battling, and just straight saying out loud what I wanted to—to music.  The most profound outlet and my favorite art I have to say has to do with words.  It’s not poetry, songwriting, or stories—it is flowing, you could call it ‘rapping’, or Hip Hop.  KRS One said, “Rap is what you do, Hip Hop is how we live!”  I got through life easier because I had something to relate to—something to soothe the pain in a different way. 
The very next year I was a sophomore with a bad attitude.  I remember watching a Bob Marley documentary on VH1 two nights in a row, and for weeks I had dreams about him.  These dreams were almost real to me…I can still ‘go there’ in my memories and feelings—it is slightly eerie—but something transformed me.  I was listening to Bob Marley & The Wailers all the time, and before long my room looked like the Bob museum in Jamaica.  My spirit is uplifted by listening to this music, and I feel.  “Who feels it knows it” is one of the lyrics that have affirmed my beliefs as they have been transformed in the past twelve years; especially attributed to reggae music.  If it weren’t for this music, I would not identify with life the way that I do.   
Today, I introduce these concepts to my son.  He may be three, but he was able to dance very well before he could ever take a step.  Music has always soothed him when nothing else could—I put the headphones on my belly often when I was pregnant—so maybe that has something to do with it (may just be my psychology background shining through).  Either theoretical approach you orient yourself with, music speaks a language to the soul that cannot be translated by our words—I cannot describe that feeling.  All I can say is that I agree with Bob in that: When it hits you, you feel no pain.

-Sunny