Blog Post #2: Music & Me
My love of music started at around age seven when I discovered 100 Jamz, a popular Top 40s radio station in Nassau — -the island I grew up on in The Bahamas. That love turned into obsession when I discovered CDs. I can remember as a nine or ten year old getting my first portable Sony Walkman CD player. Christina Aguilera’s ‘Genie in a Bottle’ and Britney Spears’ ‘Baby One More Time’ were on repeat. I had stuffed the singers’ albums into my family’s shopping cart at Walmart during one of our family vacations to the U.S. As planned, the albums found their way down the conveyor belt of the checkout counter and into a shopping bag among the heap of toiletries my mother insisted on buying.
Between 100 Jamz, my growing collection of albums which included The Miseducation of Lauren Hill, TLC’s FanMail, Beenie Man’s Many Moods of Moses and the hundreds of songs I illegally downloaded from defunct music service Napster, I was able to escape life on a 24 x 7 island that wasn’t nearly as fun for me as it was for the tourists who vacationed there.
I don’t recall listening to a whole lot of gospel music growing up. I was the daughter of a Methodist lay minister and the Christian music I was exposed to was mostly just hymns. I do remember, however, having Lauren Hill’s version of ‘His Eye Is On The Sparrow’ from Sister Act 2 and a copy of Kirk Franklin’s collaboration album, God’s Property. The Bogle was my go-to dance move for ‘Stomp’ whenever it came on.
As I grew older, my appreciation for other genres of music grew. I was about twelve or thirteen I think when my older brother introduced me to rock. 3 Doors Down and Creed became my favorite bands. My brother later got into some really dark German heavy metal that I just couldn’t get into. It sounded like the summoning of demons from hell’s deepest lair, and would give me and my mother the heebie jeebies. My mother eventually banned my brother from playing it but, let’s just say, after that his collection of oversized headphones dramatically increased.
During my mid to late teens, I lost contact with “secular” music. After a period of conflicts at school, I was sent to a strict, fundamental Baptist boarding school in the boondocks of New Hampshire to finish off high school. There, “secular” and pretty much any genre of music with drums were of the devil. If they were found in a student’s possession, it would result in a slew of demerits and ultimately exclusion from dorm outings that included anticipated weekly trips to Walmart and sometimes the mall — -our only real contact with society.
By the time I was in college, I had caught up on all the new music I had missed. I was attending an Assemblies of God Christian school in Florida that had no restrictions on the type of music I could listen to. At the school, which is where my relationship with the Lord began to blossom, I was introduced to Contemporary Christian music. Even while discovering and falling in love with other genres like soul, blues and even swing all thanks to the release of movies like DreamGirls and Cadillac Records (I became a huge Muddy Waters and Jerry Lee Lewis fan), I found myself listening more and more to Contemporary Christian. Songs like ‘Heart of Worship’ and ‘How Great is our God’ would penetrate my soul in a way other songs didn’t.
My roommate and I started attending a small non-denominational church in town that really catapulted my faith and lit me on fire for God. We both joined the praise and worship team and looked forward to helping lead worship on Sunday mornings. What I loved most about being on the praise and worship team at the church was that we sang mostly original songs, which I would help write. This was the beginning of God developing my gift as a songwriter.
For a while, I battled with the decision of whether or not to give up “secular” music. My pastor encouraged this, but I was never sold on it. To me, there was nothing wrong with “secular” music — -at least not the ones I was listening to. Besides, my iPod had more than enough gigabytes for both a then semi-clean Chris Brown and a sanctified Chris Tomlin.
Later, while living in Los Angeles for grad school, I was introduced to the whole live music scene and eventually became a part of it when I began pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter outside of school. I also had a dream of starting my own record label, and so I voluntarily took an internship at Universal Music’s IGA Records. I was there right around the time when they were releasing Lady Gaga’s Born this Way. The internship was nothing like what I thought it would be. I spent most afternoons at Universal debating what to have for lunch with another label intern while creating a new filing system for IGA’s music library. The only valuable thing I really took away from that internship was the free CDs I got to take home.
During that time, I had become a member of a church just outside of L.A. There, I became an ordained minister. I looked forward to preaching on the Sunday mornings I was scheduled, and I appreciated the fact that my pastor took no issue with me pursuing a career as a “secular” music artist. In fact, he encouraged it.
I put the word secular in quotes because it’s not a word that I personally use. In fact, I hate it. I hate how the church uses it to make aspiring singers who are Christian feel less Christian for wanting to put out songs that don’t have the word “Jesus.” In fact, I feel if more outspoken, unashamed Christians who walk the walk as much as they talk it were to sing “secular” music then the world would have more positive songs to listen to and more positive celebrities promoted in the media.
Rihanna’s new single ‘Work’ came out a few weeks ago. I’ll admit, I actually really like the song. As an island girl, I can’t help but to. The song’s infectious dancehall beat and repetitive hook gets me every time it comes on the radio. Having said that, however, I think Rihanna is a terrible role model for women and, especially, young girls. I think I read somewhere where she said she’s not trying to be a role model. That’s fine. I can respect that. That’s a lot of pressure to put on someone. However, as a public figure, she is responsible for how her work (no pun intended) impacts those who come into contact with it.
In one of Rihanna’s music videos for ‘Work’, she wears a see-through blouse where her breasts are completely exposed — -the same way they were exposed in the dress she wore at the 2014 CFDA Fashion Awards. I’m all for self-expression, and I do believe a woman’s body is a work of art, but I also believe a woman’s body is far too valuable to be put on full display for just anyone. For years, I based my beauty on how quickly I could turn a guy on and how “hard” I could get him. It saddens me to know how many young girls will do the same as a result of thinking it’s appropriate to dress the way Rihanna did in her video.
Just this past weekend, I prayed and asked God to raise up more “secular” Christian artists, even if they didn’t include me. I asked God to raise up Christians who could consistently top the Billboard Hot 100s, get spins on major radio and break records. I’m not saying these type of artists don’t exist (I love Kelly Clarkson) or that an artist that sings exclusively Christian music is incapable of accomplishing this (Hopefully, Lecrae repeats last year’s success), but can you imagine if someone on the level of a Beyonce decided to snapchat what she was learning from her daily devotionals or even better if someone with the fanbase the size of an Adele took time during her concert to share her testimony about God’s grace and maybe even one or two of her favorite worship songs?
What if someone as popular and relevant as hip hop artist Fetty Wap tweeted Proverbs 28:6 and told his male followers the importance of having honesty and integrity when making their “paper”? Or what if someone as good-looking and desired as a Trey Songs or Adam Levine delicately encouraged his female fans in a live Facebook video to look sexy but leave a little more to the imagination. I tell you the world would be a much better place.
There are many Christians who disagree with me and feel that Christians should only sing Christian music. To me that’s like telling English-speaking missionaries to only speak English on their missions trip to rural Ecuador. They’re not going to have the same kind of impact they would have if they were to speak the local language. Music is universal and, it is my opinion that in order for the Church to have a wider impact on the world, Christians should also produce songs with lyrics that are universal.
When we speak, people hear but I believe we increase the chances of them actually listening when common ground is established. I’m not saying Christians should stop writing songs about ‘The Blood’ and the Holy Spirit. Those songs are needed. Many, including myself, have come to know Christ because of them. What I am saying is that the Church should stop finger-wagging and begin to encourage Christians who feel called to produce music that persons outside the Church can relate to.
I don’t believe you have to compromise your faith for success. Yes, sex sells, but it’s clear from Justin Bieber’s ‘Sorry’, Adele’s ‘Hello’, Silento’s ‘Watch Me’, Wiz Khalifa’s ‘See You Again’, Omi’s ‘Cheerleader’ and even Frozen’s ‘Let it Go’ — -all chart-topping hits — -that people are also interested in other topics. I hope to one day be able to share my music with the world but, until then, I’m going to be rooting for any Christian who releases music that persons of all faiths can appreciate. I’m also going to be praying that throughout their success, they would continue to live a lifestyle fans could emulate and ultimately come to know Christ through.
