Book Reflection: Let Love Have the Last Word

How do you define love? It's one of those words that you can feel, but not be able to articulate. In his New York Times bestselling memoir, Let Love Have the Last Word, Common analyzes love from his perspective. He recognizes love as a powerful force that shapes the way we live. The book touches on different aspects of love including God's love, self-love, love of partners, and love of family. He defines love as a practice, something that requires time, effort, and attention. Common acknowledges that love is hard, and discusses his own shortcomings in giving love. It can be difficult to focus on love when there is so much negativity in the world. However, practicing love can serve as an antidote that can help us overcome these challenges. In some of the most impoverished places, love shines and helps people live enriched lives. As Common mentions, love requires us to be vulnerable and honest. It also asks us to listen and be patient with those we love. As humans, we crave love. It influences many of our actions and emotions, but yet we don't fully understand it. This book is powerful because it encourages us to do our own self-assessment of love in our lives. While reading, I often thought about how love has operated in my life. I realized that the people I love are those that have made the greatest impression on my life. They have invested love into me, and I can only hope that I have done the same for them. Love is strengthened when it is reciprocated. Though it may not solve all of our problems, leading with love is the way to ensure that we are on track for progress and healing. Let Love Have the Last Word is also a good read for artists, as it provides insight into Common's creative process. He describes creativity as a way to experience love through divine expression. Art requires us to be vulnerable and be comfortable exposing ourselves to the world. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It provides a great conversation about love in its many forms. It's not too often that you get to go inside of the mind of one of your favorite artists. If you want to check out Let Love Have the Last Word, feel free to order or preview using the link below. Thanks for reading!

Book Recommendation: Dreams from My Father

My latest read is Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by former president Barack Obama. The book is a memoir, first published in 1995 that recounts Obama's early life leading up to his enrollment at Harvard Law School. Throughout the book, Obama takes a deep dive into exploring the many experiences he faced growing up as a young biracial man in America. Dreams from My Father is split into three parts, which represents three distinct chapters in his life. The first part is titled "Origins", and analyzes his childhood experiences in Hawaii and Indonesia. He speaks on his relationship with his grandparents, his mother, and the one time in which he was able to meet his father. As you will see by reading, Obama's relationship with his father is a recurring theme throughout the book. He often struggles with the contrast between the physical distance of his father living in Kenya and the intangible influence that follows him around the globe. The second part ,"Chicago", speaks on Obama's time as a young community organizer in the city's South Side. Readers are able to gain a sense of the beautiful struggle that created an intimate bond between Obama and the city of Chicago. It is amazing to see how this period foreshadowed the rise of the future politician. The final part is titled "Kenya", in which Obama takes readers along for the monumental journey of visiting his father's home country. In Kenya, Obama meets members of his paternal family and learns of his rich ancestral history. This was an incredibly powerful part of the book, as Obama is able to gain a sense of himself through exploring this vital piece of his identity. I enjoyed Dreams from My Father not only for its autobiographical perspective of a future world leader, but also for what it had to offer in its story of self-discovery and interconnection of culture. I encourage you to check out this powerful memoir for yourself, which you can do by ordering using the link below. Thanks for reading!

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dreams-from-my-father-barack-obama/1100832650#/ 

Dex Meets Dexter Review!

On April 6th, Famous Dex released his debut album titled, Dex Meets Dexter. The album consists of fourteen tracks, with features from Drax Project, Wiz Khalifa, A$AP Rocky, and Diplo. Throughout the project, Dex offers his distinct rhythmic flow over a variety of dynamic beats. His lyrics seem to take a carefree approach and provide a rock star aesthetic. He showcases his range on this album, going from laid-back tracks like "PROVE IT" to more hype songs like "CHUMP". The project is filled with energy and makes for good music to turn up to. Famous Dex definitely represents the younger generation of rap. As seen throughout this project, his music is focused on living for the moment and enjoying the material wealth that comes with stacking money. Reading the track list, I was familiar with two songs, "JAPAN" and "PICK IT UP" featuring A$AP Rocky. It's a fun project to listen to and you'll find it hard not to dance along with its rich production. My favorite tracks on the album are "LIGHT" and "TAKE HER". Thanks for reading!

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Turns 7!

Seven years ago, Kanye West released his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The album consists of thirteen tracks, with features from Bon Iver, CyHi the Prynce, Jay-Z, John Legend, Justin Vernon, Kid Cudi, Nicki Minaj, Pusha T, RZA, Raekwon, Rick Ross, and Swizz Beats. It stands as an important piece of Kanye's discography. During this period, Kanye was under much scrutiny for a controversial interruption during Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. This among other pressures, led him to undergo a self-imposed exile in Hawaii. In some cases, artists make great work during times of turmoil. It's similar to finding a diamond in the rough. I certainly consider this project to be one of those cases. It was reported that West never slept a full night at the house he rented in Hawaii. Instead, he chose to take power naps in the studio, and had rented three rooms so that songs could be crafted simultaneously. He flew in a variety of premier artists and producers to collaborate with. One of the most interesting stories I found surrounding the development of this album, was that Kanye hired two private chefs, one for hot food, and one for cold food. The album is regarded as one of the most expensive albums to make, with an estimate listed at $3 million. He really invested his all into this project. Listening to the album, it's evident that plenty of time, thought, and energy was put into the composition of this album. It's truly a work of art. Through expressing himself, Kanye allowed us to experience his mindset during this time. You can feel the emotion he puts into crafting tracks like "Blame Game" and "Lost In The World." There's a theme of dealing with pressures of the celebrity lifestyle, relationship/personal issues, as well as internal struggles. This theme resembles the pressures Kanye faced in real life during this period. Throughout his career, Kanye's work has always reflected the essence of his current lifestyle. His work is a realist perspective of his life. For this reason, it's unfair to divide his career as "old" or "new" Kanye. He's the same artist in a different space. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was a "dark" space that yielded "beautiful" music. My favorite tracks off the album are "Gorgeous" and "Runaway." Thanks for reading.