of my first memories were sitting with
my mom learning songs like the ABCs and
twinkle twinkle little star but how many
y’all knew that those two songs had the
exact same melody you didn’t you did
it’s okay if you didn’t because I didn’t
either
matter of fact I didn’t know that until
probably very recent – a matter of fact
– a point where I was almost embarrassed
to tell you
matter of fact I’ll tell you right
before I wrote this speech okay music
it’s been a powerful tool in my life
I’ve loved music I love all genres of
music of course as you could tell I love
hip-hop of course I love R&B I love jazz
I like 80s pop music I like 90s rock
music country I’m still working on it
you know like we’re dating right now
we’re trying to figure out we like each
other you know but I like all different
types of music to fit my moves and
styles and everything
see music is this powerful tool this
powerful tool that can be imaginative
and matter of fact it’s so engrained in
our day-to-day lives that I couldn’t
imagine a life without it and I’m pretty
sure you couldn’t either for instance by
show of hands who here has sang with a
group of their friends at the top of
their lungs possibly kind of sorted in
unison maybe Anki maybe not you might
have been enumerated I don’t know not
judging alright hands down second
question how many guys here while you’re
commuting back and forth to work maybe
buying it while you’re in traffic you
listen to some of your favorite albums
to help make the time easier anybody
nice okay keep your hands up if you’re
one of those people who like dance in
the cars if nobody’s watching I love
y’all y’all like my form of
entertainment when I ride faster lastly
how many you guys here have ever played
a sad sad love song
you were heartbroken that’s part we also
say uh you ministered it’s okay but see
music is imaginative its creative it’s a
powerful tool that enhances our
emotional states see it’s so powerful
that they can turn every day a brush or
comb into a microphone matter of fact
it’s such a powerful tool that if you
play the right song at the right time it
can make a whole room filled with
strangers feel like a reunion between
the best of friends like for instance if
I turn around and saying just a small
town girl living in a oh she took the
midnight train going look at y’all oh my
god the TED talk is done thank you okay
but it can create this community this
sister togetherness right I often felt
like music was the closest thing that I
had to playing God because with it you
can change where a person thinks where a
person acts and most importantly the way
a person feels all in an instant
I believe if we use this tool properly
not only can we entertain but we can
change people’s lives we can heal we can
connect as well as possibly potentially
save lives one of my favorite singers in
the world Michael Jackson once said let
the madness and the music get to you
life ain’t so bad at all see I first
learned how powerful music could be when
I was about 17 18 years old at a concert
not in the way you would think I just
got two tickets to an R&B slow jam
concert right and I plan on taking this
girl I had a thing for right right
before I went to go pick up she called
me she told me she cancelled that was
probably also say uh say you’re too late
did you missed it you missed it
but she canceled on me so I did what any
young single kind of handsome depend on
the angle that you look at him type of
guy would do and I call I scroll through
the numbers and names that I had tried
to find a replacement I seen on these
issues and quiches and leases and found
out the Essure Keisha and Lisa didn’t
want anything to do with me and so I did
the next best thing actually wasn’t even
the next best thing
actually I just asked my dad if he’ll go
with me I don’t know if anybody has ever
been to an R&B slow jam concert with
your dad but I will tell you firsthand
it’s awkward okay
extremely awkward but it ended up being
one of the best experiences of my life
because up until that point my dad was
just my dad he was a army guy
it’s very strict very stoic he always
noticed every little thing I did wrong
very seldom did he praise what I did
right because I was supposed to do right
because it is right but at the concert
my dad became human we got she got a
chance to talk like I learned stuff
about my dad that I never knew like he
knew all the words to the theme song of
Fresh Prince of bel-air and that he
actually had great advice when it came
to relationships like what would he know
he’s married right you know what he knew
everything but then also one thing that
crazy happened right
I accidentally cursed in front of my dad
I was like oh my god no now as if it’s
not embarrassing enough that I’m at the
concert with my dad my dad’s gonna pull
up his belt and whoop me in front all
these people
but actually he didn’t say anything I
was surprised see the music created this
environment that allowed us to remove
the pressures of being the perfect child
and the perfect parent and allowed us to
be ourselves something unique happened
where my dad was able to look at the
music that I was listening to and relate
to where I was in life he was able to
draw this connection and then I was able
to in turn turn around and see all the
sacrifices that he made for me and I
seen that he genuinely loved me see
music has this way of being this
generational bridge and when it came
together it created this bond now when
making these bonds especially as parents
with children there’s one key thing that
we need to keep in mind of not to do do
not pass judgment say with me not pass
judgment give people the space to like
what they like to make what they make to
voice their opinions even if you don’t
understand it even if you don’t agree
with it see the goal is not to judge or
to correct
initially the goal is to empathize to
create this understanding once someone
sees that you can be trusted with
something that they hold valuable
they’ll be more willing to let go and to
engage with things that they are more so
like guarding deeper issues another
thing that I always used to love one of
my favorite songwriters man this guy
could describe the world better than
most people who could see Stevie Wonder
he said music at its essence is what
gives us memories the longer song has
existed in our lives the more memories
we have of it as a songwriter I started
to learn firsthand how powerful music
could be see there’s something freeing
about being able to write your
experiences down whether happy or sad or
in between so you were able to write
down your thoughts and capture these
memories and and these feelings while at
the same time simultaneously processing
them often felt like writing music was
like the therapy that my parents could
never afford
there was something amazing that used to
happen when I used to make music I used
to turn around and release into the
world and then it somehow someway would
get to people who never seen me didn’t
know me didn’t walk on my block but felt
the exact same way I did and let me know
I wasn’t alone see this therapeutic
writings had started to turn into
therapeutic listening and it created a
symbiotic relationship where me as the
artist at first I was writing to help
myself but then I started releasing it
and I started figuring out that wow this
is helping other people but there was a
third step because my music at first I
felt like I’m validating their
experiences but I found out in the
process that they were actually
speaking of existence when it comes to
music sometimes you got to go through a
process where you even question your
existence another one of my favorite
songwriters Donny Hathaway Chicago
native as well he said for all we know
we may never meet again before you go
make this moment sweet again one of the
worst experiences that I had in my life
was in 2013 I was watching the news and
then they announced something that’s
something that we as people from Chicago
hear unfortunately far too often there
had been a shooting three people were
shot and one person was killed they
didn’t say who it was but I remember I
got this distinct feeling in the pit of
my stomach that something wasn’t right
the next day I got a phone call from one
of my friends and he said did you watch
the news yesterday and he proceeded to
tell me that a kid that we once taught
as camp counselors was shot and was
at that moment I felt this is pain
there’s pain that even while I was
writing the speech I have a hard time
describing and to this day I have a hard
time accepting to know that he’s gone
that I won’t get a chance to talk to him
again as I found myself feeling this
this feel a feeling of defeat feel like
I had fought against this city that
seems to snatch the lives of these
little boys and girls taking their
innocence and their lives without any
signs of remorse I felt like I failed
him as I found myself fighting
depression one of the things that seemed
to help me the most was like listening
to songs listening songs like Stevie
Wonder’s I never dreamed you leaving
some songs that seemed like they
described what I was going through
better than I ever could songs that
allowed me to be vulnerable songs that
allowed me to get out these feelings
that I was internalizing it also
reminded me of the good times it made me
think about the last time I used to talk
to him when he would ask me to rap while
we were supposed to be doing other
activities but to see the joy the joy on
his face
the happiness like music allowed him to
escape his reality if only for a moment
it allowed him to be the kid that the
streets didn’t allow him to be I often
think what his life would have been like
had somebody gave him an outlet well if
somebody would have gave him a
microphone instead of a gun sorry song
started echoing back in my head and one
in particular was uh ironic by aligning
one set and in it she said life has a
funny way of sneaking up on you
life has a funny funny way of helping
you out
I used that experience of loss as well
as the things that I’ve been learning
about music and I use it as a call to
action
last year in 2016 we created a free you
studio called Haven studios Haven
Studios is a partnership with guitars
over guns and the Mount Pisgah
Missionary Baptist Church
we built the studio in the basement of
the church and we gave the kids a place
to be Monday through Friday 10:00 until
6:00 I say six loosely because nobody
ever leaves at six but the kids and the
teenagers and young adults are able to
come in and make the music that they
want to make this freedom has led us to
discussing deeper issues issues such as
addiction gun violence depression
suicide and even molestation the kids
from recording around each other were
able to see that they weren’t the only
persons only people going through that
it helps to create this community this
sense of camaraderie to know that you
had a safe space where you could vent
both socially and creatively like we had
so much success since we opened up our
doors we’ve been on all these different
outlets but one of the things I’m most
proud of is saying that we were able to
rectify relationships with kids and
their families we’re able to improve
attendance at school and even one of the
greatest things that I’ve said I found
was where we stop kids who used to sell
drugs and rob people and help them find
positive alternatives they came a moment
when I felt like at least I thought that
history was going to repeat itself two
teens had issues with each other and I’m
saying issues so deep that one of them
wanted to kill the other and had the
capabilities to do so they had just lost
a friend of this to gun violence and one
of them wanted to retaliate
but the other one was tired of this
never-ending cycle of violence their
anger and their frustration led them to
fight each other me knowing that what it
feels like to lose a student as well as
their history with guns I knew that time
was of the essence luckily for me the
students came in the very next day to
the studio they walked in one of them
seen the other and he said looked at me
he said – out of respect for you I’m
going to leave but when I see him again
it’s a wrap I immediately told everybody
else to leave the studio and I set the
two down away from the naysayers and and
the people who could interrupt and I let
them have this conversation this very
intense conversation but this
conversation mirrored the music making
process where the kids were able to be
honest with each other
they were able to be vulnerable they
able to say the things that somebody
else may not agree with they said things
that I know I didn’t even agree with but
they were able to get a better
understanding about each other from
listening with the intent of listening
they got closer because of the
experience I’m proud to say to this day
these kids now are like the best of
friends they record with each other they
collaborate with each other they play
video games with each other all day but
they came so far had it not been for the
fact that they had this mutual
appreciation for music
they wouldn’t have considered the studio
to be this sacred ground
they wouldn’t have been willing to have
this conversation in this place had it
been on the street it might have ended
tragically see music can be one of the
greatest foundations that we can build
relationships on it has the ability to
make a person feel confident special
unique loved cherished if you do so much
with music when we actually apply it as
something bigger than just entertainment
because music is not just entertainment
it’s a form of communication if we can
get thousands of people to come to a
concert or to a TED talk to sing journey
all in unison imagine what we could do
when we use it as a tool for change
thank you he’s loved [Applause]