Music Genre and Social Groups

Music Genre and Social Groups

Music has always been a significant part of my life. Since I was four years old, I started playing the piano. This went on for more than ten years. At that time, I always listened to light music for practicing the piano better. Even though I hardly ever listen to it now, I feel enjoyable and relaxed as soon as I listen to it. The melody gives me a feeling that I have nothing to worry about. I remember that most of my classmates were obsessed with star stickers, and so was I. I like Jay Chou, one of the most famous singers in China whose love songs are really unique and special with poetic lyrics. We exchanged our stickers and discussed each other’s favorite singers’ newest songs, enthusiastically. We even argued about it. Once I recommended my favorite song by Jay Chou, “Back off “to my classmate by MP3. He complained that he could not hear clearly what Jay Chou was singing about. Indeed many people think Jay Chou sings songs inarticulately, but that is his style, and that’s why I love him because his style can make me experience what the song wants to express deeply. My classmate loved a song from Jolin, whose rhythm was more bright and lively, but I wouldn’t say I liked it even hated this style due to the mess of music chords in it. We parted in discord.

Later, when I was in middle school and senior high school, pop music influenced me a lot. There are times when I would intentionally delineate myself from social interactions or formal activities to have ample time to listen to some of my favorite songs. In most cases, I would be listening to slow songs, preferably pop and soft rock. There also times when I rely on music to raise my spirits and enable me to escape my depression. In such cases, I prefer to listen to fast beats with lyrics that focus on the general circumstances in life as opposed to dwelling deep in such matters as the pain that one goes through as a result of heartbreaks in addition to other emotional matters.

The reason why I liked pop music, especially slow songs, was that I could focus on the lyrics and experience the story the singer wanted to express. When I was 17, I was depressed because of a boy. I listened to a song called “foam” all night, which described that love would be broken as long as you touch it like foam. With the sorrowful rhythm, my tears came down, but I enjoyed the process because it moved me. Currently, however, I prefer hip-hop music more. I found that immersing in slow songs only made me more depressed. Influenced by American culture, I began to listen to more hip-hop music in my freshman year.

I remember this sunny afternoon. I felt so sleepy and inexplicably not wanting to speak to anyone while I was walking on campus. Even though the weather was awesome and everybody except me was energetic, I could not be affected by them. At that moment, for having a good mental state to take class, I played a hip- hop music. In less than a minute, my emotions improved, they were clear and open, and I even managed to put a smile on my face. The other reason I like hip-hop now is that it enables me to gather many friends. It is different compared to pop music, which is more suitable for enjoying it alone. Although several friends listen to it together, different people have different understandings and feelings about it. It can resonate well with everyone in a group, but each person has a secret that they want to keep to themselves. However, the happy atmosphere created by hip-hop can easily make listeners feel free to dance, to sing along with, to talk about something they just encountered. It makes people forget all their worries for a while and adjust to a better attitude to face the difficulties they meet in real life.

I have found that hip hop is the most appropriate music genre for me in this context. The beats are fast and louder than those of other genres. The lyrics are also appropriate for feel-good moments, especially because most rappers prefer to focus on the positive side of life. My playlist, in this regard features the likes of Drake, Travis Scott, Young Thug, and Lil Wayne. There are other times, however, when rappers get emotional in their songs and convey their feelings in the same way that pop stars do. This is particularly the case with the likes of Future and Chris Brown.

My social interactions have revealed to me the critical essence that music plays in most people’s lives, irrespective of their cultural origin. Music can enable people to develop close relationships as well as communicate identity and values (Bonds, 119). For instance, I remember my friends’ reactions when I told them I was an ardent fun of distinguished rappers such as Kendrick Lamar and Jay Cole as well several mumble rappers, notably, Lil Yatchy, Lil Baby and Ugly God. I could tell that my friends were highly confused. They failed to understand how I could be able to juggle between these two groups of hip hop artist especially owing to the fact that while the first group is universally renowned and acknowledged the second one represents the flawed ideals of the hip hop culture. In my defense, I demonstrated to them how both of these groups were useful in their own unique way. After class, we used one of our friend’s Bluetooth speaker to play some of Kendrick Lamar’s and Jay Cole’s songs. We noticed that the message conveyed in their lyrics mostly dwelt on social matters such as the oppression and discrimination suffered by African Americans and other minority communities in the United States. We noticed that listening to these artists required a relaxed environment where everyone could obtain the lyrics and make sense of the songs. We tried doing the same with mumble rappers and realized that the social context was not favorable. The lyrics simply made no sense. However, I managed to convince one of my friends to play the songs by mumble rappers at his 22^nd birthday party. When he did, the crowd was lively, and the party exceeded the set time limit by approximately three hours. When we tried to play some of Kendrick Lamar’s and Jay Cole’s singles, we observed that the crowd preferred to sit down with their drinks in silence and listen to the lyrics. This was not appropriate, especially considering that most of the attendees wanted to dance.

Music has enabled me to increase my cooperation, coordination, and contact with others. There are several instances when my friends and I have joined tourists from the west at various retreats for cultural cohesion as well as to develop a shared experience. In a few of these times, we would perform our favorite beats while others are listening and watching. Performing music provides a net psychological and physical safety that can assist one to survive in a world that is full of circumstances that constantly direct us towards chronic anxiety and depression (Kim and Gilman, 217). In other words, the ability of music to bring people together irrespective of disparities in their cultural origins is essential for survival.

Furthermore, performing music as a group requires the participants to coordinate their efforts. This process enables the concerned entities to develop positive feelings towards each other. This is true irrespective of whether all the involved individuals are within the same vicinity or not. Being ardent followers of the same music genre additionally, enables me to understand what my friends are feeling and thinking as well as to make predictions pertaining to their behavior. Through pop music and hip hop, my friends and I are able to increase our sense of obligation and belonging toward each other. This has been pivotal in maintaining our relationship.

After I analyzed the album “Hollywood’s Bleeding” by Post Malone, I realized that most of the hip-hop songs’ lyrics are negative indeed. Rappers may complain about life, heart-breaks, or the limitations of luxury life. They complain about almost everything but with an indifferent attitude. For me, I think that the troubles they meet are much more horrible than mine. So if they can still be positive in life, why can I not? Once more, the rhythmic melody gives a stronger and more direct power to listeners’ hearts, which brings hope and faith to their life and everything else they love. I believe that music has been a crucial element in enabling me to form meaningful friendships and long-lasting relationships. Before I began focusing on the social aspects of music, I used to listen to my songs alone. Most of these songs were slow and emotionally moving, and as such, they kept compelling me to indulge in my depression constantly. Having met and associated with new friends at home and in school, I became introduced to other music genres, notably, hip hop. It was then that I realized I have weighed down on myself instead of listening to the kind of music that would raise my spirits and enable me to partake in social interactions to a more considerable degree actively. Currently, my friends and I usually organize music retreats during the weekends where we would go to some quit place, light a fire, and listen to each other’s favorite songs.

Works Cited

Bonds, Mark E. The Beethoven Syndrome. Hearing Music As Autobiography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019. Print.

Kim, Youn, and Sander L. Gilman. The Oxford Handbook of Music and the Body. , 2019. Print.