Whether I’m listening to Lil Baby and SZA, playing the djambe (African drums), or composing my own rap songs, I find that music is really important to me. But I never realized the impact it has on my mental health too.

Every day, I spend about 2 hours listening to music. While it’s fun to hear the sounds and beats mesh together, the songs are so much more meaningful when you listen and understand the lyrics. Often times, artists talk about issues they have been through, and it can help a person feel like they’re not alone with their struggles. I also just love listening to music as a mood booster. Sometimes, when I’m sad, I love listening to happy music just to make me feel better.

Listening to music was also what got me into rapping. A lot of rappers love talking about motivation and being on the grind, and it made me feel motivated to share my life through music. I’ve adopted the rap and R&B style of the artists I listen to, and I’ve had a lot of growth since I started at 7 years old. Currently, I’m working with an artist Call Me Schosa, who’s sort of my manager, and he’s helped me start creating music. I’m even recording songs to publish an AP, plus making some music videos!

I’ve also ventured a bit out of the rap genre as I learned to play the djambe, a kind of African drum. I learned it in school for a year and a half, but after that, I was really motivated to keep playing on my own. So through a combination of lessons and self-learning, I became really good at the drums and even began volunteering to teach other students.

For anyone else out there who’s super passionate about music, there’s actually a really cool field called music therapy. The lab has added more information if you’re interested**, but it’s trying different music interventions to boost your mood and mental health. It’s things like listening to music, composing melodies, or playing songs. Personally, I do all of these already, and I’ve seen the positive effect it’s had on my mental health. I love that it combines my passions of music and helping others, so it’s a field I may consider in the future.

**Hello, this is a moderator from the SOVA lab. We’ve added a few links that explain
a bit more about the field of music therapy for anyone who’s interested.

https://www.musictherapy.org/about/quotes/
https://www.musictherapy.org/about/find/
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/8817-music-therapy