Why Expanding Your Music Genres Is Important

Have you ever seen videos on the internet where music artists get attacked by people who don’t seem to accept them? I know I have! Or, perhaps you’ve experienced an instance where you were listening to music in public but felt embarrassed about it? I sure have, I was once outside my apartment complex hanging out where the swings are and playing music on my speaker. It was some sort of Japanese song. Then some random people walked past and gave ME a weird look. The people were not POC (People of Color). Not the best day for me… I never wanted to go outside again after that. I was embarrassed and annoyed for a really long time to the point where I didn’t play music outside again because of the fact that people like them might walk by and judge me.

Music has always been a kind of art that connects people, but there will always be a group of people who can’t seem to handle the differences of it all. Like how people were sending hate to Black French artist Aya Nakamura in 2024 because she was going to be singing for the Summer Olympics opening ceremony. The people who sent Ayakamura hate were far-right French people who were spreading racist comments about her, saying she was vulgar, and that she shouldn’t really be considered a French artist because she doesn’t always sing in French. A far-right group called Les Natifs said something about her songs being “a form of linguistic Great Replacement,” referring to the conspiracy theory that people of color are replacing white populations.

Another example of an artist being attacked is Angel Maxine in Ghana who is transgender. Angel Maxine was the first openly trans artist in Ghana who, when coming out, faced hardships. She lost her job, friends, and her home because of anti-trans discrimination. Currently in Ghana there is an anti-LGBTQIA+ bill that has been introduced soon which attacks the queer community, once again, and also anyone who organizes to defend them!

I’m also sure that you may have seen people on the internet being angry about the fact a band or artist speaks a different language. Their reasonings of why they hate it are never good either, it’s usually only the fact they don’t find the language beautiful enough and think their mother tongue is the ‘most beautiful,’ or it’s because they can’t understand it. You could probably even be outside right now playing some music that’s in Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, English (if the area you live in doesn’t speak English), ect., there will always be some random person who gets enraged from even feeling the vibrations of the song. I want to tell them, like, son, calm down… the song isn’t gonna come out and start attacking you while singing to you (but I will)!

Now, let’s talk about why it’s good to expand your music tastes. Only listening to one genre of music or just one music artist can limit your horizon of what the art of music is supposed to be like. Something I learned from Hopkins Medicine wellness and prevention; keep your brain young with music, was that when you get older listening to music can be a whole workout for your brain! It can help with stress, memory, mood, and many other things when you are older. It also helps to listen to newer music so you can figure out some more about what type of music you like. Also, while listening to music you can figure out how your body as a whole reacts to it! I learned this from Why You Should Explore Different Musical Genres. The author had a really good point about how music is like your palate. If you only eat one kind of food, you’ll get tired of the flavor sooner or later. I recommend looking at those two links to read more about them.

At this exact moment I’m listening to a band called KMFDM that my friend has recommended to me! I think their songs are good from the ones I’ve listened to so far. Turns out that they make indie, rock, and metal, if I am correct. You guys should check the band out. I am now listening to “Unbreakable Tie,” which seems to be a song from a game called Persona 2. I like it since it kinda reminds me of the intros and outros of the Pokemon TV show, but also not. The woman in the song really is hitting those high notes. Since I finished listening to that song, I have now been put into another called “Don’t” from Persona 3!!! This one is kinda a different vibe from the last one, but still good. I was introduced to these songs I mentioned by my friend.

The next songs that will be mentioned are ones I discovered! I usually listen to all types of music, but I think indie is what I usually listen to. An artist I really like at the moment is Malcolm Todd, and my favorite songs by him are “Nemo,” “Breathe,” “Owe me,” and “Hesitating.” Definitely check him out, but if he’s not to your liking and you want something else, go look around on the internet and ask the people around you what they listen to! What I will say is AI music is buns… dont ever listen to it!