* Blank Stare*
This story begins with my friend Candice, myself and my mp3. While in photography class in high school, Candice(who is African-American) asked to listen to my mp3. I said, ”Sure “, without any hesitation. After the mp3 left my hands, however, an internal alarm went off. I then realized that the first song on my mp3 was Floyd the Barber by Nirvana. I just KNEW that she wasn’t going to enjoy the piercing screams of Kurt Cobain and the amazing drumming of Dave Grohl. From this point on everything was in slow motion. I watched her put in the left earphone and then the right. Or was it the other way around? Then I watched as she fumbled with my mp3, almost dropping it to the floor. My heart was about to…to..to.. * Explosion*
At this moment she asked: “What do you have on your mp3? What songs are on here?” My breathing changed, my eyes widened, and my throat became dry. I truly thought I was going to pass out but what came out of my mouth sounded like a challenge. “Just turn it on and listen. You might find something you like.” She picks it back up and ask me to show her how to turn it on. My hands were trembling as I pressed the on button. She turns it on. I stare at her face for a response. She looked like she just saw a naked clown doing cartwheels with confetti blowing out it’s ass. She automatically turns to the next song, and then the next song, and then the next song. Nirvana, System of a Down, 30 Seconds to Mars, Justin Timberlake….after passing these songs, she stops the mp3. She had NO idea about my musical taste. “I didn’t know you listened to rock music.” My response, ” Why yes I do. I listen to almost anything that catches my attention.” Her next question would spark a flame that soon would become uncontrollable.
* Drum Roll Please*
“Do you have any Black People music on here?”
I stopped and look at her. I can’t believe she just asked me that. I turned next and looked at a classmate. They found the question highly amusing and started to laugh, then looked at me for some kind of reply. ” I’m sorry but did you just ask me if I had any “BLACK PEOPLE MUSIC?! Really?! ” The angry started to swell inside of me like Mentos being dropped in Diet Coke. This wasn’t the first time someone had asked me this question. I was always considered a “weirdo” or “strange” because I didn’t dress and talk a certain way. I had always been fine with that. Weeks before this event, my step-father told me to watch for people who wear all black, and listen to metal because they are like the kids that shot up Columbine. He explained how I should stay away from those Goths or just be really nice to them. He said this statement AFTER I told him that my best friend died her hair and invited me to a punk rock (Tiger Army) concert.The frustration from this boiled over and I asked her this question, ” What do you mean Black People music? Can you give me examples?”
The following are names of artist that she gave: Soulja Boys, Usher, Dey 26, Lil Wayne, Beyonce, and Pretty Ricky. * More Blank Stares*
I was expecting a better list of artist than this. Don’t get me wrong, I listen to and have all of those artist on my I-Tunes but she didn’t really answer my question. She dug the knife deeper by then addeding the statment , ” You know black people music. REAL music.” WHAT?! Real Music?! So other genre’s don’t exist. Are they not real? As an African American, am I not allowed to listen to things OTHER than Hip-Hop, Rap, and R&B? Was there some hidden amendment that said “All Negros must listen to “Booty Meat” by Soulja Boy and shake-ith there asses to the beat.” I was beyond disgusted by then. I went on to explain how rock music IS black people music because it evolved from the blues. The blues evolved pretty much from gospel and gospel evolved from slave hymns. I tried so hard to get her to see my point. Eventually she gave me back my mp3 and told me to calm down. But since that day I have always wondered why it is taboo for someone of color to listen to other genres. Music is universal and mostly free so why not enjoy it. I think what would solve this problem is to have more black heavy metal bands and hope that kids would catch on.
*sigh* If only….
December 14, 2009 at 2:41 am |
I totally agree with you! I do not understand at all why just because you are black you have to listen to Rap and R&B or if you are white and live in the country, you have to listen to Country music. I think it’s ridiculous to stereotype people like that and I would be right there with you getting all frustrated if someone said something like that to me. I have these 3 friends who are all brothers and are black. They listen to just about every kind of music out there. I was at their house one day and we were all just hanging out listening to music from their iPods and some Country music came on and I thought that was AWESOME! lol I’m a huge Country fan myself and I thought it was cool that they listened to it too BUT there were a couple of white guys there that were like “Why in the world do you have this on your iPod?!” They were so shocked because, like your friend, they thought they should only be listening to Rap and stuff. I just think that sometime people are just too ignorant for their own good and they should learn to think about things before they just come out and say them.
December 14, 2009 at 9:32 pm |
I also agree. I don’t understand why people categorize different musics to different types of people. I have literally every genre of music on my I-Tunes. And I listen to all of them depending on the mood I’m in. I also have a similar story as shared in the comment above. I was in Spanish class in high school. Our teacher gave us time to do our homework at the end of every class, but we saw it as an opportunity to listen to the radio. One day I turned on the radio and “Little Bitty” by Alan Jackson came on. There was a guy in my class that resembled Lil’ Wayne a lot, and actually could rap pretty good. After I turned the station, he quickly said “Hey man go back to that, that’s my jam.” I looked at him and he began to sing every word with a little southern twang. I thought it was awesome that this guy that I would have thought would have hated country music was singing his heart out to a song I, having a lot of country music on my I-pod, didn’t even know. Music is free, but the thoughts involved are more free…
December 15, 2009 at 7:48 pm |
I, just like the rest of the comments, agree with you. People’s opinions and likings about music change from person to person, so even if your African American, you shouldn’t HAVE to listen to rap. So because I’m white that means that I can’t listen to rap? I actually listen to rap all the time, along with country, hip-hop, techno, R&B, alternative rock, Pop, and everything else that’s out there. I love all music just at different times. If I’m not in that great of a mood, I wouldn’t want to listen to rap, that would just make my mood worse. I feel that people should stop stereotyping the type of music people are listening to, and just worrying about themselves.