Kesha Says Part. 1

Playlist Personality…,

I tend to cringe or let out a chuckle when I’m asked in conversation; what I of course consider to be quite an ambiguous question. “So!!! What’s your favorite music?” Uhhhh! {insert awkward moment of silence} why you ask? This is the point where I try to buy the uncouth version of me sufficient time to bridle my tongue and polish my rebuttal, to such a “try to box me into a cage, why don’t Ya” type of query.

Now, as my lips separate to initiate a reply, I respond to the question with a question. Ummm! What do you mean? As if I didn’t already know its proper context. Come on Kesha; don’t get smart with me, you know what I mean. Like what genre are you into? You look like the R&B/Soul type. Initially, the smart ass in me will be tempted to drag this out just for the fun of it, while internally basking in the gratification of making one as annoyed as I am when posed with such an equivocal inquiry.

A true lover of music knows it has no boundaries. Segregating music into genres is strictly a marketing ploy; of which I’ve dubbed the “divide and profit” strategy.  If you were to rummage through my playlists, you’d see differentiation mainly by objective. Music purpose is to quell and or evoke emotions.

Disagree with me? What would your reaction be if I were to say the lyrics of any Hip Hop song could never soothe the broken heart of a first lost love, or that only Bob Marley and Bob Dylan-ish types of lyrics could ignite a fire within us to speak up against political, economical and social injustices? Most of you would rebuttal, what about Nas… and I would beg to differ. You’d probably say what I’m already insinuating, “box IT into a cage, why don’t Ya.” This is why it’s probably safe to assume that when musicians put pen to paper, it is not with the “intent” to create a “genre,” so why on earth would we; the listener, compartmentalize it? Could you imagine how Picasso or Andy Warhol felt when their craft was boxed into periods? Well hello there, my name is Pablo Picasso and I’m a Cubist. No!!!! Dude, I’m an artist; I create out of pure emotion.

So the next time someone asks me that (in my book) forbidden question; I’ll just hand over my playlist….heck you figure it out.

Kesha Says… Written By: Yekesha Lambert Frederick © Copyright Witish 2013, All Rights Reserved.