It's only natural that people have different tastes in music; where we were raised, what we were exposed to, what rhythm speak most to us, and many other factors affect how we view music.
Music is one of my favorite things in life---I need music to wake up, it's like caffeine, a subtle drug that I consume daily as a passageway for the words I fail to portray at times. Music has shaped me in ways that I'm unaware of at times; but I'm glad that it has. And I believe that all genres of music should be respected and heard at least once.
But recently what I've been noticing on quite of few sites, not just MyOtaku, is that people label types of music shamelessly, like how they label people. Music taught me about labeling--- how incorrect it is; how it affects and berates people and sets back the people who partake in labeling.
When I was younger, I only listened to 70's music and alternative rock; if anyone ever tried to shove a song of a different genre like hip-hop or cultural I strayed away and judged it right away. And before long, a whole chunk of lively, outspoken, music was shielded by my ignorance.
I was actually raised around Spanish and hip-hip, and basically all kinds of music. My family didn't shy away from certain genres like I had chosen too; and in the end, I was turning away from what I was raised with.
But then, as I got older, my ignorance began to peel away with the passing of the years. Under the influence of my family, I started dipping into other genres. This dive introduced me to J-rock, Hip-Hop, Folk, Metal, Techno, Country, Grunge, and more cultural music; like Haitian and Spanish.
I think people should be more open to music and all its genres; hip-hop, I soon found if you look at the right artists, can be very exciting and inspirational. But I see people blatantly posting that "rap is crap" or that bands like Hawthorne Heights or Linkin Park are 'emo', 'whiney' and pathetic---when I can easily guess that they didn't even take the time to absorb the message and lyrics.
Music can be very powerful and can speak about, family, love, affection, pride, prejudice, government, dreams, determination, everything. That's why I love music; there's a song for every occasion, every emotion, thought. Songs are something that anyone can sink into; it has a pulse, a power that can be defined but not measured perfectly. Even people who've lost hearing can enjoy music---the power, force, pulse or any genre is enough to make anyone slip out of their shell.
Music is not something that should be cast away simply because of title, genre or reputation. Hip-hop used to have a horrible reputation, and it saddens me to say that to a certain extent, it still does. But back then, if you listened to hip-hip, you were a hoodlum; if you promoted it, you never got far. People were closed off. And on television, it sometimes didn't get the respect it deserved. Nowadays, hip-hop is a gargantuan industry. It has influenced clothing trends, language, patterns of thinking, perception and many other things. :)
Not all music sends a perfect message. Sometimes it's explicit, ignorant, and degrading---but that's only a few in comparison to the thousands, millions of other songs; lovely, eager to make a difference, and still unheard by your ears.
It's never wrong to simply have listened to a genre and to have never been able to sink into it---but to blatantly label and degrade it with ignorance and hatred is not right.
I love music---hip-hop, rock, oldies, techno, new age, even country.
It's beautiful.
