Stepping Outside the Rules Into a New World

I grew up in a very strict Christian home, where we only listened to Christian music (first on records and then later on CDs). Nearly all other music was called secular music and time and time again we were told in church that secular music was “bad” and we should never listen to it. As a result, up until the age of about 13/14, the only music I was exposed to was either old-school gospel music (like the Gaithers, Heritage Singers, or Golden Chords) or classical music (like Mozart and Beethoven, which my siblings and I learnt to play on the piano). Don’t get me wrong, I liked both styles (and still do to this day), but I didn’t really know what else there was. So, although I loved music, and there was always something about music that captured me if I’m honest, I was only a fan of traditional classical and gospel music. Nothing contemporary, nothing different, nothing mainstream.

As the youngest of three and quite the stickler for rules, my first experience of something new was fairly late in life for most! I was about 13/14 and my older brother bought a few “non-Christian” albums, which I managed to borrow from time to time when he wasn’t around. They were compilation albums of old-school RnB and Hip-Hop tunes. I distinctly remember one of these being “Pure Urban Essentials” and there were a few songs that I had on repeat but as the album wasn’t mine, I only managed to sneak a listen of those few songs every now and again.

I stepped outside the rules and started listening to the radio and discovering more and more music.

But my interest was piqued. I stepped outside the rules and started listening to the radio and discovering more and more music. But again, not being fully comfortable with doing something that I had grown up being told was wrong, I would only sneak a listen of the radio when I was sure my parents were out or not going to walk into my bedroom.

I then went one step further and purchased my very first album…8701. I had heard a few of Usher’s songs on the radio and really liked them so I went for it. I listened to that album religiously. To say I had it on all the time was an understatement. I used to struggle to fall asleep when I was younger so I used to play music for hours while hoping the sleep would come. Guess which was my music of choice! It was on repeat. To this day, I can still sing nearly every lyric, and every riff and ad-lib on all the tracks on that album.

This album represents so much to me.

Buying this album was a step to becoming more independent as a young teenager and finding my own voice.

From a purely personal growth perspective, buying this album was a step to becoming more independent as a young teenager and finding my own voice. As I say, I was a stickler for the rules but not really because I necessarily agreed with them, more that they were rules I had been taught and I didn’t want to get in trouble or face the disappointment of others for not following them. In simple terms, I wanted everyone to like me and think I was a good person. I bought 8701 without my parents ever knowing; I didn’t keep it in plain sight in my room and as I said, I listened to it (at a low volume!) at night. But I bought it…and I listened to it…and I loved it. I’m not saying that breaking the rules is right but, in this instance, it was a representation of me finally thinking about rules in a different light and not just blindly following them. Usher said the album was named 8701 because in ‘87, he sang in public for the first time and ’01 was when the album was released. Fitting really, maybe even poetic – he named it for the first time he took a step out of his comfort zone, and for me, buying it was my first step out of my comfort zone.

I discovered a whole new world of music out there.

From a musical perspective, this album was how I discovered a whole new world of music out there. One which I had no idea about, which I was sheltered from as a child. I loved music before even being exposed to how different it could be and this album opened my eyes to those differences. 8701 was filled with RnB songs but some were tracks you could dance to (U-Turn), some were slow jams (U Got It Bad, Can U Help Me), some had rapping in them (I Can’t Let U Go) and it was full of different producers and guest artists like Diddy, Babyface, The Neptunes and Jermaine Dupri. This album was the springboard – once I delved into this, I couldn’t help but go and explore more and more music and different genres. Fast-forward many years and I’m still a massive music lover but with a very eclectic taste. The genres that I hold closest to my heart though…gospel and 90s/early 00s RnB.

Serene

London, UK