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Music, it's the soundtrack of our lives. The one thing that makes any soundtrack great is the diversity of sounds and moods. Ice-T, gangster rapper, had once said that he felt sorry for any one who listens to one type of music. I'm sure much of America couldn't have been quicker to pigeonhole a guy like that in to just the rap genre.

Fact is, anytime someone tells me they don't know anything about art, I instantly remind them of their favorite recording artist. We can't all be a great painter or sculptor, nor would we simply appreciate only Monet paintings or Ansel Adams photography.

As a young person, teen, and adult, I have not only been lucky to have been in a family so entrenched in music, I have been enlightened. We went to operas, and to this day my father, who is great on the piano, takes me to the symphony when I go to visit him. My sisters were very vocal around the house and knew guitar and piano, and my brother starred in many Operas at ASU. Aside form the classical influence, my siblings covered everything from Prince to Elton John and Billy Joel. I brought up the rear with Motley Crue to Run DMC, I was truly lucky in that sense.

As a late teen, 20 something, the rap craze was huge and most of my friend listened to only that. They'd laugh as I told them about Scott Joplin, Rogers and Hammerstein, Les Paul and Mary Ford and my favorite, Johnny Cash. They missed out on so much, but you can't save people from their own blinders. I think that it made it more laughable to them because we were young men of color, and that wasn't "for" us. Music and all art forms transcend the barriers of race, religion, sex, creed, color and national origin. And nothing could be truer than with music.

Do yourself a favor, borrow a friends cd that you've never heard of, surf the net for song shops you can listen to and try out something new. You already know the words to your favorite songs, who wants to stay stuck in a rut.

If music is the soundtracks of our lives, keep the play list growing!

Learn more about this author, Vincent Alfonzo Jamal ..
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