A Flower Child’s Coming of Age: My Impression of Let Love Rule by Lenny Kravitz
Minor spoilers below.
As a ’90s kid, my fascination with music and pop culture started early. I remember hearing that at two years old, I knew every song on Yo! MTV Raps. MTV was my religion, and as I got older, watching TRL was my ritual. I didn’t realize it, but I was in the eye of a musical storm — joyfully watching icons at their inception.
I don’t remember when I first heard Lenny Kravitz’s music. From my perspective, he was always famous— trailing the billboards with hits like American Woman and Again. I didn’t know much about his background or how he became famous. All I knew was that he was a Black man doing white music.
At nine years old, I subconsciously placed artists in two categories: white and Black. Being biracial, I identified with Britney and Left Eye but I also understood the difference in their musicality. There was no overlapping for me. My lack of exposure within my personal network made artists, like Lenny Kravitz and Darius Rucker from Hootie and the Blowfish, difficult to place.
As I matured, so did my worldview. Seeing Black faces play guitars and embrace an alternative persona no longer surprised me. Over time, I learned the history of rock ’n’ roll and came face-to-face with the realization that my knowledge…
