Good music can soothe the soul, even if your soul is filled with emptiness.
Have you lost anyone close to you recently? Maybe you suddenly lost a longtime friend far too young. Maybe you heard somebody from your hood had been senselessly shot to death. Maybe you lost an extended family member that was so close, you used to live under the same roof.
I’ve seen all three within the last six weeks.
While the most recent HHSR Podcast was dedicated to the late Anthony Houston, and saw us ride out with Pac pouring out some liquor, today I find myself playing Nas & Quan’s “Just A Moment” repeatedly in remembrance of my uncle Fred Bradley who returned home yesterday.
Do records like this actually help or hurt in times of grief? It’s hard to say, but “Just A Moment” (along with the slightly different album version) is a dope record nonetheless that is good for stirring up emotion, especially at times like this.
My uncle was 67 years old when he passed, and though he did a lot for me over the years, he would tell my brother and I how he was forever indebted to us for introducing him to hip-hop in the early 2000’s, with Nas being one of those primary artists to whom he gravitated. He was in his 50s at the time, yet he understood language, appreciated the inventiveness and empathized with the struggle of the street poets of the day.
Hip-Hop music is a beautiful thing. It can help bring family members closer together, even if they were birthed nearly four decades apart.
What songs have helped you get through when times got hard? Please comment below.
My heart aches for my mother, and I’ll miss my Uncle Fred dearly, but hopefully this song will bring some light during your darkest times like it’s doing for me right now…
If only for just a moment.