At first, because this genre of music was so urban, sometimes we would sing songs that were so aggressive. And my parents didn't like it. They would break my cassettes and say, 'That music is garbage.'
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I grew up listening to so much different pop and stuff other than just aggressive music.
All the music I loved as a child, people thought it was junk. People were unaware of the subtext in so many of those records, but if you were a kid, you were just completely tuned in, even though you didn't always say - you wouldn't dare say it was beautiful.
When I hear music that parents hate, or older musicians hate, I know that's the new music. When I hear older people saying, 'I hate Rap or Techno' I rush to it.
Using music to promote hate seems to be the bastardisation of music to me.
When I was a kid, there was so much talent outside of recorded music.
Music is part of us, and either ennobles or degrades our behavior.
You can rebel against everything adults say. When I want to find out what the new music is, I find out what parents hate.
I was a kid who got picked on in school, and now the guys beating up those kids were wearing red caps and using my music to fuel that aggression. But if they listen to the lyrics, the aggression is targeted at them.
Unfortunately, we are living in an era where plenty of songs with vulgar, objectionable lyrics are also becoming popular. It's a disturbing trend, and I feel really sad when I see small kids dancing to such numbers in television shows. In my career so far, I have refused any song whose lyrics I haven't been comfortable with.
A lot of kids have parents who say, 'Music is hard; maybe you should come up with a Plan B.' Whenever I hear that kind of 'advice,' I think it's bad parenting. I was lucky to have a parent who assured me it was a possibility to pursue music.