My little sister seems to think I was from New Orleans in a past life and I believe her. I really love NOLA bounce music, and this song is in the bounce style, all while complaining about COVID-19. I really related to this song at the beginning of the pandemic.

Bad Religion is a favorite band of mine, and I came back to this song multiple times during the pandemic. The entire chorus, ” You and me have a disease, You affect me, you infect me…” is very relatable for the times we are in.

Type O Negative has to be one of my favorite bands ever, and this song was always in my rotation, even before the pandemic. I had to come back to this song during the pandemic especially because sometimes, it really does feel like life is killing me.

This song is also another favorite of mine. Kendric Lamar is one of my most favorite rappers, and this song comes off of my favorite album of his, To Pimp a Butterfly. The album itself mixes Funk and Mowtown-like sounds, which remind me of the music my parents listened to growing up. The title of the song itself, “These Walls”, reminds me of when my mom talks about how the furniture in our home is ‘mad’ at us because we are using it more than normal. It makes you wonder, if my furniture, the walls in my house, and the appliances in my house could talk, what would it say?

Like I mentioned earlier, To Pimp a Butterfly is one of my favorite albums, and this song is another one that stays in my rotation. The Blacker The Berry is such a powerful song to me, and when I first heard it, I almost cried. It truly encapsulates how many Black Americans feel about themselves, and in this country. Being Black in America is almost a dichotomy, I often feel like this place isn’t my home because of the way my people and I are treated, yet it is home because I was born here. The lyrics really express how Black People in this country and even around the world have to fight constant anti-blackness, all the while having to keep your head held high. This song was played especially at the hight of the Black Lives Matter protests because watching the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, and the countless other Black people who are murdered by the police simply for being Black,  really angered me, and this song calmed my nerves.

I have a soft spot for old-school funk music, and James Brown is one of my favorite artists from that era. The title of the song speaks for itself, I’m Black and I’m Proud. This song was also in heavy rotation during the Black Lives Matter protests, because this song kept my energy up. This song was a road trip classic when I was a kid, and it helps to remember to stand 10 toes in my blackness and to be proud of who I am. Every time I listen to this song, I feel a wash of pride in who I am as a Black Woman.

This song has always been a bop, and it also is in a playlist that I play regularly now. After the Verzuz Battle between her and Jill Scott, all of their music has come back into my regular playlists. Neo-Soul is also another favorite genre of mine and Erykah Badu has songs that were played throughout my childhood. This song really spoke to me because now, with the pandemic and the stay in place rules, it feels like life is going on and on and on.

Chloe X Halle has put out one of the best albums this year, and this is one of my favorite songs off of their album of the same name, Ungodly Hour. This song was in heavy rotation this pandemic simply because they just put out an album earlier this year, and it is one of my favorites.

STREETS!!! Streets. My sister is absolutely tired of this song with the number of times I have played it throughout the pandemic. I play this song almost once a day. It’s one of those songs. The melodies and harmonies are so addicting and Doja’s voice is so mesmerizing. Doja has to be one of my favorite artists right now, because all of her music is phenomenal, and this song is my favorite. The title of the song in itself, ‘Streets’ makes me reminisce when I could be outside without care or worrying about COVID. I miss those days.

This song was on heavy rotation in the last week with the victory of Joe Biden. Sadly, I was not able to be out in the election celebrations because of COVID and my location, so I had my own little celebration with this song.