I don’t think I’ve ever admitted how much of a lowkey Aretha Franklin stan I am.
I love her music and it has def gotten me through hard times.

when did music stop being a movement too?
back in the day,
black artists didn’t just entertain:

They educated
They protested
They pushed culture forward.

sure,
we needed to dance and escape,
but we also needed to feel seen and to be uplifted.
artists like…

Aretha
Nina
Marvin
Curtis
James
Gil
Michael
Janet

…and the list goes on.
they used their voices to speak on war,
racism,
civil rights,
and the state of the world for black folks,
making music that didn’t just chart but changed things.

fast forward to now,
the next four years are shaping up to be…
interesting.
as much as we love a good beat to lose ourselves in,
we also need something that feeds us.
right now…

Kendrick and Bey seem to be the only ones carrying that torch.

…which,
honestly,
is a little scary.

lately,
i’ve been revisiting the music of those past eras.
there’s something both soothing and sobering about hearing their pain and power wrapped in melody.
their words still hit and their messages still resonates.
their art is timeless.
we pay over $10 a month for streaming:

It wouldn’t hurt to take a trip back.
I was just listening to Rhythm Nation 1814 and STILL blown away at how current the songs are.

even though she had political songs on that album,
she still had other subject matter on there too:

to the artists reading this:

We need you.

while ratchet and “come fuck me right now” music has its place,
and i am a fan of all of it,
we also need voices with bigger platforms to rally us with their art.
music that steps up,
speaks up,
and says something that matters too.

lowkey: i think we are yearning for eras again.
where an artist embodies the subject matter of their music.
i’m actually excited for lady gaga’s new album because the subject matter…

she always gives what we need.