Last edit date: February 17, 2023 Written By Ayanna Cooper
Photo Credit: Simon Noh via Unsplash
Why Rhythm, Blues & You (RB&Y)? Well...why not?
When sitting down to decide what kind of blog I wanted to create, I was stuck between the title 20 Something and Rhythm Blues and You. The first is a personal dumpster dive into my early college years to whenever I decided to stop writing in my twenties and the second is a space where there is Rhythm, Blues, and You (and here I am). I clearly chose the second, but think it’s important to discuss why I didn’t go another route when I could have.
20 something would discuss my early years in Undergrad and the trauma that began to ferment as the years went by and I graduated. A few blog topics would involve what to pack for college, tips for studying, tips for job hunting, and the fear that comes with turning twenty, and then being deemed the most important years of your life when all of them are equally as important. 20 Something sounded nice for a bit, but it was a lot and 20 Something felt like something that needed time to curate. Something I’d baby and need to work out in its entirety before committing to it. Something I may actually be scared to curate and commit to, but not willing to admit, truly. What was I willing to share? What was I willing to explore? I’m not even a fan of blogging. It would have been too much. It would be easy to talk about being a 22-year-old African American woman in the South and all the trauma embedded in that and outside of it as well. It would be easy to dance around the stories I wanted to tell and those I didn’t. It would be personal. I assume there would have been restrictions.
Rhythm Blues and You is something close, but not extremely personal. It feels right and I don’t question, “is this how it happened?” or “was this said?”. There are no restrictions because what is there to hold back from? Telling you I hate your favorite artist and mine is better than yours? Eh, it may be true...
Do not get this confused as music isn’t personal, that’s not what I’m saying. Sharing music with one another is another form of intimacy, an expression of trust and friendship. Songs speak
words we as people sometimes can not, and bring us feelings we can not explain. All I’m saying is, there is no fear or anxiety that comes with saying, “hey everyone, this is the kind of music I like to listen to and I think you should listen...if you want”. Not a single ounce. It’s vulnerable, but not too vulnerable. It’s a space for me and a space for You. I love music and music has been such a great tool in the way I write and create through other mediums. This is not only a space for me, but for you as well. A space without too many questions or restrictions.
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