I don’t know if you were sent the linky by any of your friends? You know the one, to share a photo a day for ten days of the albums that shaped you. I did, and had to take it up to twelve as I wasn’t sure how to narrow it down further. Also, because of the inner rebel and my likeliness to forget to post each day, I posted all twelve album covers in one sitting. So sue me.
Growing up, music was so important to me. I still remember having my first cassette walkman and how my chest puffed up high when I got a disc-man. I thought I was bossing it. 35 year old me would pat the 10 year old me on the head and say “oh my child, it will get so much better”
Alicia Keys Songs In A Minor saw me through one of my first break ups. DMX accompanied me on the walks to secondary school ( I had to stop listening to him on the way in because it made me too hyped up). Ludicrous and Kano hyped me up and chilled me back out in my burgundy Fiat Punto when I first passed my test and had the world as my oyster.
Certain songs can come on now, and instantly transport me to a time and place two decades ago. Such is the power of a good song. There are BBQ songs, break up songs, park life songs and training songs. They all have their place and are all an integral part of my life. I still remember being in labour with my eldest daughter in a North West London hospital. I don’t remember much of what was said to me but I always remember having Choice FM (now Capital XTRA) playing quietly on the radio the entire way through what turned out to be a long and nearly fatal labour.
Twelve albums that shaped my life
Someone who speaks on music and the effect it has played on his life and his writing is Jesse Bernard. In this article for Unbound.com, Jesse explains how Hip-Hop taught him how to write. I was lucky enough to meet up with him last year in London to shoot some portrait shots and what astounded me is the wealth and breadth of musical knowledge that rolled off his tongue. You’ll find Jesse in my UK Black Influencer’s Directory under the handle “Marvin’s Corridor”. Like me, he can easily pinpoint different experiences in his life to what songs he’d have had in rotation at that time. More than that, he has a gift in being able to tell you what was going on in the industry, both here and across the Atlantic, at any given point and how that related to what music was aired and the societal landscape at any given time. This man is gifted.
I hope you like my playlist from way back when. I refuse to call them classic, old school or any other term that makes me or the tunes feel old. They’re just timeless, awesome albums where either the entire album or particular songs helped shape me at some point in my life.
What albums would you have on your lists?
What song instantly sparks a strong memory for you?
Featured Image by Adrian Korte on Unsplash
