Jack Mahoney
Professor Drown
English 123
2/19/20
It was a cold day back in the winter of 2006 when my love for music came alive. I was sitting on the couch at my cousins house playing my Nintendo DS when my ears heard a sound that was different from any music I had ever heard. My cousins who were both in high school at the time began to dance and I followed right away. The beat was contagious and I began to bop my head up and down as a huge smile appeared on my face. The sound I heard was “In Da Club” a rap song by hip-hop legend 50 Cent. This song caused me to fall in love with rap and music in general. I love rap music for many reasons. Being a student-athlete, rap music never fails to get me hype before games. I can turn my headphones on and dial in and really listen to the message the rapper is trying to spread. Along with this, all of my friends listen to rap music, so it allows us to connect over similar interests. Before a football game, you can see me listening to a variety of artists. My favorite artists to listen to pregame would be Meek Mill, Migos, Kodak Black, 21 Savage, Drake, and Future. I listen to these artists before games for many reasons. The beat in all of their music goes hard and the lyrics make you ready to run through a brick wall. Along with this, most of these artists have experienced extreme hardship in their lives, so their message about overcoming adversity makes sense to listen to before games. On a daily basis, I listen to Trippie Redd, Roddy Rich, Lil Tjay, Drake, Travis $cott and NBA Youngboy the most. These artists keep me up beat and allow me to really vibe with the music. When listening to music, I also love listening to country music during the summer and dance music before and during parties. When listening to rap music, I don’t necessarily not like a certain artist, it’s more about not liking a certain song. I would not like a song if I couldn’t vibe with the beat, or the lyrics didn’t connect with me. Although many of these songs have explicit words in them, the message that is being illustrated is why I love rap music and that’s what the older generations need to understand. When I was younger, my parents refused to let me listen to rap music as they thought it was “thuggish” and “trash”. They did not want me listening to this music because they felt as if my background growing up in the suburbs of Boston meant that I couldn’t listen to it. I tried to stop listening to rap, but as I grew up and the artists got better, I couldn’t stay away. In conclusion, my love and understanding for this genre of music has grown since my cousins introduced me to it when I was younger.
