Crash Into Me

I Like The Way You Move

I love music. Let's establish that right off the bat. I love everything about it. Listening to music is soothing, exciting, comforting, fun, etc. But it hasn't always been that way with "rap music". Let me give you a little history lesson.

When I was growing up, secular music was not listened to in the house or out. It was just not done. Christian music or classical, or maybe some oldies were all that was let in. Sure there was the occasional rebellious flip of the radio switch at night when my brother (or best friend) and I were sure that Mom and Dad were in bed. But that was about it. In High School, the rules changed a bit, but only because I was out of the house a lot. I started listening to what everyone else listened to. But to say it simply, I would not have dreamed of listening to rap at all. Not only was it forbidden, but I grew up in a small country town in the midwest. No one was into it.

Then I went to college. And I kinda got in that, away from the parents, do whatever I damn well please phase. And so I started listening to rap almost exclusively. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Notorious BIG, Bone Thugs 'n Harmony, you name it. I was positive that was the best "music" around. But about halfway through my bachelors degree, I kinda got over that phase, and started to become a music snob. It wasn't an immediate transition, but by the time I graduated, I wasn't listening to rap at all. It wasn't "music". Just a bunch of talking with some bass.

Moving to Moscow didn't help. I retreated more and more into my music snobbery phase. I only wanted to listen to what I considered "good music" and what was pleasing to the ear. A lot of Dave Matthews Band, and a lot of everything else (my CD collection was growing ridiculously), but of course no rap.

And then I moved down here, and started to relax a little bit. I started to realize that being a music snob isn't exactly all it's cracked up to be. I was still determined to not like rap, but my standards were crumbling. Outkast started creeping in. The beats and rhythms on the radio were making my head bob. And then one day last week, I finally realized (as Christin put it), I can dig it. I was driving to the mall on Saturday, and Shake ya tailfeatha by Nelly and P. Diddy came on. I've always hated both of those artists. And I was determined to listen, and hate the song. But I found myself starting to dance a bit. IN THE CAR! And I realized...I kinda like rap! Now, I'm not talking about all rap. A lot of it downright sucks. But if you can find the right artists, the right songs, etc., it can really be good. So, now that this post is far too long, I will sum it up with one statement, that I've been seeing on a certain blog for a while now, and not believing. But it's time to come clean: Josiah was right all along...Outkast is fantastic.