Watching the reaction across social media from Kendrick Lamar's Grammy performance was funny to me. At no time did I get offended nor did I care for what most people were saying simply because I know where my musical taste stands. Matter of fact, I like Kendrick's album, and it does make a great statement for our culture, but I preferred Cadillactica over To Pimp A Butterfly because that's just my musical preferences.
I'm from the south so I'm going to lean towards the artists that make music that I love the most. I loved Cadillactica and I loved 2014 Forest Hill Drive more than I liked To Pimp A Butterfly simply because that's where I'm from and that's what I prefer to hear. But in the same breath I know what Kendrick's album means and I still have all the respect in the world for it. I know the difference between respecting the art and not trashing it on social media because it's not something I listen to.
That's why I find it funny that people will go out of their way to constantly put down something that they don't like. To me it's almost to the point of just asking a person: "what is your main objective here by saying that you don't like something all of the time"? Usually it yields no real fruitful answer other than the "my page, my preferences, my right to say something" rhetoric that's always spilled. While that may be true, I still want to know why you would go out of your way to always put something down and always be negative about something.
I don't listen to Tory Lanez, I don't listen to Bryson Tiller, I don't listen to Kehlani, I don't listen to Nicki Minaj, I don't listen to most Drake songs, I don't listen to a lot of trap music period. But the one thing that you'll never see me do is go online and bash these artists because they don't make music I don't listen to. That just means that style of music, that genre isn't made for me, it's made for other people. I don't think for one second that since I listen to something that I'm better than other people. That's the same thinking that breeds racist thoughts and actions.
While some people may say that I'm reaching with that statement, I'm really not. To say that something you do is better than what another person does is right along the lines of having a superiority complex. And with music it's much more to it than that; it's always much more to it than that. Music is sacred and I will defend it to the death of me because most people don't listen to music, they just follow the trends and go with what's popular in their circle. I was never one to follow the crowd and as I get older, I'm glad I don't.
There are some days where I do want to blast Kendrick's Alright, Meek Mill's Lord Knows, Big K.R.I.T.'s Hometown Hero, Lil Boosie's Mind of A Maniac, Mobb Deep's Quiet Storm Remix, Goyte's Someone That I Used To Love or any other various song because music helps different moods and different days of my life. For a person to get on and just continuously trash an artists creative lifestyle shows that they have no substance themselves and they don't truly comprehend what music is all about.
I know that this is a mini rant of sorts but it just irks my nerves that people are so inconsiderate of the fact that a lot of these artists put time and dedication beyond belief into their craft and their fan base. Simply put, if you don't like an artist, just keep your mouth shut and move on with the ones you do like. It's not like those artists are forcing you to listen to their music while tied to a chair in a dark and creepy basement.
I really hope that at the end of the day you can look into the mirror and realize that everything isn't for everybody; you can enjoy your musical lane while not leaving others on their side of the highway.
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