Last Tuesday, a couple of friends and I headed over to SOAS for a spoken word event called 'Decolonising Our Minds.' Unsurprisingly, simply hearing the theme of the night was enough to capture our interest! The room where the event was hosted fit the atmosphere perfectly, it oozed culture, and self love and art, and was filled to the brim with an excited audience.
The performances were incredible. I felt my mind flourish and my bones shake as one poet spoke of the dehumanisation of Black Americans in Ferguson, and again as an Irish poet spoke of the love of a homeland despite its negative reputation: 'From Ireland to Pakistan'.
The final two acts of the night were hip hop artists. Both spoke of the importance of self love, and embracing yourself wholeheartedly.
The last act goes by the name of 4i. His style of music is what you might call 'positive rap', it is smooth and uplifting and each song he performed had a great rhythm. By the end of the night he had us all on our feet clapping and swaying and letting each beat and each lyric sink in. It's 4i's mixtape that I've been listening to non-stop for over a week. His uplifting lyrics definitely got me through a few difficult essays.
I just have to share a couple of my favourite lyrics from some of his songs (honestly it's impossible for me to pick a favourite song, I can't even pick a top 5 they're all so damn good) but you can also listen to his mixtape here .
I Do:
so imma take my chances and imma role this dice
cause you never know what you doing is right
cause you never know what you doing is right
so we follow instinct and hope that we're
in sync with our surroundings
see you can't live a life without faith
and an atheist may say otherwise but
to believe your glass window will never break
or to think that a man who lays his head
for five minutes is guaranteed to wake
is foolish.
so much power but no power.
so i give my power to the most high and
pray that thou will guide i as i surrender my
soul.
Midnight Moon:
we're only here for one time
we're only here for one time,
so make sure you give thanks and praise
to the Most High.
Soul Rich:
put your feet up and recline back
and let go of the world and
anything else that destroys your
spirit your soul your health,
the true definition of wealth
ain't about how many cars you own
it's all about your spirit your soul
your health,
in that case i'm a billionaire.
Crowns:
i was told my imperfections was a sin
grew up thinking only royals wore crowns
til one day i looked in the mirror
and guess just what i found.
//
but never should you feel compelled to fit into
a system where we judge more than
we listen so listen
to get respect
you need to show respect
i don't care about your position.
Butterflies:
she was searching
for the same thing that left her burning
only a fool keeps making the same mistake
and clearly she weren't learning
no she weren't learning.
Midnight Moon has a CRAZY good rhythm, I honestly can't sit still while listening to it. Butterflies is something a little different, beautiful and special. You can watch the music video here. All the songs are unique in their own way. Have a listen and let me know if you become as obsessed as I am! (that's a lot of obsession right there).
Hozier has also been a big part of my January but then again he was a big part of my December... and November... *shifty face*
James Vincent McMorrow's album Post Tropical has definitely been played from first to last song MULTIPLE times. His voice is angelic.
Sia's Elastic Heart is SO GOOD. The song is beautiful and perfect and the music video is moving, challenging, lovely in it's simplicity and just overall incredible.
Karen Harding's Say Something has me shouting 'PREEAACHHH' every time the chorus comes around :') and the music video is f i e r c e. Karen Harding is sublime.
What have you loved listening to this January?
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