Reznet

Music: My Ally

By Christie Cooke

For so long, it seems, I've been fighting this battle to find normalcy and happiness.

Throughout music has been my ally.

I love music, all genres, but I'm partial to hip-hop and R&B.

"Good" hip-hop and R&B has soul, I think.

In high school, I owned the CD "Miseducation of Lauren Hill," by Lauren Hill. It was one of my favorite CDs for reasons unlike I know today.

Today, when I'm thinking about motherhood, Lauren Hill extols her love and purpose in life in these lyrics:

Now the joy
of my world
is in Zion.

I can easily relate. My joy in life is in Emma and Edward.

For the enjoyment of listening, and to fulfill my love of words, there are Kanye West's clever beats and rhymes.

When I think about writing my book, a dream that seems too large right now, Kanye West's lyrics reminds me:

Ain't no tuition,
for having no ambition.

I find myself humming this tune when I'm thinking about single motherhood:

You can't match my hustle,
You can't catch my hustle,
You can't fathom my love...

And thinking about being alone, Kanye West is "Mr. By his-self, he's so impressed."

And so am I.

For me it's more than just lyrics. There is meaning behind every word. I mean, an artist's work is supposed to inspire.

After two children and so many changes in my life, I'm just trying to find and inspire myself again, and there's no better place to examine your soul than through artists' work and the testimonies of their lives.

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Read Christie Cooke's previous Native Moms blog, "Recipe Hunt" 

Christie Cooke, Navajo, has a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from the University of Arizona. She is a graduate of the Freedom Forum's 2007 American Indian Journalism Institute.

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