Freudian

As I got older, and have gone back and listened to classic albums like Ready to Die from Notorious B.I.G or any album from Tupac, Nas’s Illmatic, one thing I was wondered was how in the world, kids so young were able to write and cultivate lyrics so vivid. Many times, they were telling stories filled with so much depth even though they had only lived life for such a short amount of time. Sure, we have always had child stars. Michael Jackson was a star pretty much his entire life, but no-one viewed him as a song writer during those young days. Today, with the internet exploding and giving birth and power to creatives everywhere, artists are free to create as they please at very young ages. Just spend some time on youtube if you don’t believe me. Naturally, that creative freedom seeped over to music. Either way, no-one could imagine that the younger artists would be able to write about love as well as they have shown they can. We see it with R&B sensation H.E.R. when the then 20 year old dropped her H.E.R. Volume 1 project. On the male side of the scale, we are seeing it with none other than Daniel Caesar. In 2016, I was introduced to a song by the then 20 year old Canadian artist title “Japanese Denim”. I’m always a sucker for a good ballad, especially one that is exceptionally depressing, and sad. I don’t know, I find beauty in vulnerability. Especially from male artists. We are a part of a culture that glorifies men being overly tough and too good to show emotions of any sort so when a male artist does just that, you can believe it is true. But I digress. This record focuses on comparing the love a young Daniel has for someone that doesn’t even recognize him, to a pair of jeans that will last forever. Caesar starts this record off with two very poetic lines, “I don’t stand in line I don’t pay for clubs, fuck that, yea but I wait for you/I don’t like to drink I don’t like to think fuck that/oh but I ponder you.” While I found these lines to be incredibly deep and beautiful, I was mind blown when I got through the record, did my “Googles” and learned this kid was 19, yes, 19 when he wrote this, insert mind-blown emoji. How? How can someone so young experience a love this deep enough to put it not only into words but lyrics to a flawless record? Most of us remember our first “puppy love.” Think back, and after you laugh at how crazy you were about Jessica or Jason in the 10th grade, ask yourself if you would’ve been able to even describe how they made you feel. Shit, to this day most adults can’t describe what loves is or feels like.

This morning I was reading a BBC note on the Gallup report on the levels of anger, sadness and stress in the world. About 140 countries were visited to do their interviews and the results are discouraging. The study has nothing to do with the distant past, they just asked about their experiences of the previous day and there was an increase in the level of disrespect, worry, stress and anger like never before. At the end, there were people from some countries who expressed the origin of their distress and concern: having trouble bringing food to the table. Let's imagine for a moment the face of two or three children waiting for food and seeing their father come empty-handed. Terrible, just terrible. Humanity seems to be going backwards and instead of having a more comfortable and therefore more pleasurable life, it seems that we are not doing the right thing or enough so that we can all enjoy a life with less worries. I'm writing this on Friday and it's usually the happiest day of the week for me. They finish the rush, I have more time to read and I will give myself full to the pleasure of music and, why not, a good wine. Between the two things, the BBC note and the day of the week, I wonder what to recommend as a good option to listen to tonight. It seems to me something that transmits peace, beauty and relaxation. When I did a quick search in VIBBIDI, I got the answer immediately and I think it's the best. It is about that voice that comes directly from heaven, although born in Canada, it is Daniel Caesar and his album Freudian. A selection that will give you space in your mind to meditate, to stop along the way, to try to understand that the simple things in life are those that give you the most meaning; that there are other people that are probably in worse circumstances than us and need our help; that as much as we think things are not right, it's not worth worrying about anymore; that the material things is transient and that the health of the soul and the mind is much more important than anything else.