A few months, ago I was interviewing my friend Leslie about her music interests. At one point she said, “music is healing.” After taking her very quotable words in, I realized I could not agree more.
So many times, music has lifted my spirits or met me where I am. Whether afrobeats first thing in the morning or on a bus commute to liven the mood or chant-like meditation tunes to center my mind, music remedies any situation we are going through.
Music is God’s gift to us and His hand, along with love is evident in every bit. In the creative unison of chords or the harmonious blend of a choir, His anointing is felt.
I remember watching the movie “The Shack” and Octavia Spencer, who played the role of God, kept mentioning her favorite artists. Guess what, they all were! Whether a rock band, or a blues artist, THEY WERE ALL HER FAVORITES. I believe this to be true. God’s tapestry of majestic sounds and melodies has a hand print on every tune, in my opinion. He gave us minds to brilliantly dream and create. You see this most in music. It is no wonder, that music indeed, is healing.
I want to now, take you through three songs that have met and continue to meet me in different moments. One helps me be present, the second one cushions a workday at the apartment and another reminds me of family along with the good time that New Orleans always is.
Moses Sumney is genius. Let me say this again, he is genius. If you listen to his body of work, you are sure to understand why I feel this statement so strongly.
His track, “Self-Help Tape,” is accurately titled. Another friend, Chris, upon hearing this outstanding collage of audio paintings, called it “therapy.” The words, many in the language of Ghanian Twi, are enchanting and somewhat hypnotic in they lull you to be still.
I always listen to this track before I sing or when I am stressed out. It centers me, and reminds me that God is with me. Who else besides God put this beautiful orchestration of harmonies and instruments together? It’s my ear’s delight each time I press play on this song.
Jill Scott has been a longtime favorite of mine as she has consistently reminded black women of our strength and power, when this world (due to white supremacy) always pushes the narrative as far from this truth as possible. Her tune “Light of Sun” is a radiant beam of light on days when I have to focus or just mellow out. Light of the sun/ on my back are the lyrics repeated. It’s the bonus track for Light of the Sun album.
When I listen to this song, I think of the good days. The sunny days spent outside. The times with family and friends who have become family. The happy occasions that make you want to quit your jobs and live in whatever present bliss you are experiencing forever. Yep, that’s “Light of The Sun”. Easy, chill vibes that will leave you wanting to loop the song over and over and over again. I am quite thankful the track is 6 minutes and 26 seconds.
I have only visited New Orleans a couple times. This is sad to me because I have enjoyed my times there deeply so I should spend more time in this magnificent city than I have. The history and the richness of the neighborhoods and people leaves me always wanting a longer stay.
One event I have not been able to make it down for is the annual jazz festival. I hope to soon. Victory Boyd has a tune called “Jazz Festival” that really transport me back to the grand times I had when I was there. This song opens with an acoustic intro, then the singer’s soothing voice starts describing the well-known event. A favorite moment of mine, which also feels somewhat healing and restorative to me, is the break in the song where a group of young adults are teaching an elder to dance, to only then find out he can do the routine with ease. I find this comforting as this audio scene pays homage to those wiser than us, in recognizing that they indeed have seen everything under the sun. This in itself, brings about a sort of peace as I think about my loved ones, those present and those who has passed away and become ancestors.