Author: Zuri Ward

August has been one of the hectic months for me this year. I have been traveling and visiting with friends and family for the past three weeks. I’ve been so proud that I have been able to stay afloat on this 30-day challenge. As they say, “pride cometh before the fall.” Day 12 was 2 days ago, but I’m back like I never left. I chose a perfect song for today’s challenge—a song that you love from 2011. ‪Lupe Fiasco‬’s “The Show Goes On” helps me to remember that sometimes you…

In middle school, I spent countless weekends and summers watching The Temptations movie and singing along with my sister or my friends. Although the movie shared a lot of the inside goings on with the group, it was told from one side and sort of grazed over the psychedelic music of the 70s. Today, I had to pick one of my favorite 70s songs. This song isn’t actually one of my favorites. It’s a song that has always creeped me out. It probably gave me an unreasonable fear of people…

I’m struggling to write this because I can hardly picture having a wedding, not to mention the song that I would want playing at my wedding. I can only assume that the song would depend on my vibe with the lucky groom and the kind of wedding we decide upon. For Day 14—a song you want playing at your wedding, I’m just going to pick a song that with a title that represents the feeling you get when you just love looking at the person next to you. If you…

I just want to let everyone know that this 30-Day Music Challenge is really bringing me joy. Thanks to everyone who has participated, commented, and read about all of the drama surrounding my picks. Your tolerance is greatly appreciated. On Day 16, I’m picking one of my favorite songs from a movie. When I’m home spending time with my mom and sister, we all fall into our own little domestic roles. In my case, said roles includes managing the Bluetooth speaker in the house and the aux cord when we’re…

We are moving closer to the halfway point of the 30-Day Music Challenge. Today, I get to share a dope song that features my favorite artist. It has been only a few months since I made the conscious decision to determine my Top Five. I have always been of the mindset that “I like what I like.” Anyone who knows me personally has probably seen me adamantly refuse to answer the “who’s your favorite rapper” line of questioning that I often get from (male) strangers. As I grow older, it has become…

Critics rip apart the music I love for glorifying drugs, killing and the general gangsta mentality. While a case can be made, either way, I will always defend hip-hop because the genre is filled with misinterpreted cautionary tales. Not to mention, glamorized gangsterism dominated pop culture long before hip-hop came along. On Day 18 of the 30-Day Music Challenge, I picked a song from my birth year that gave fair warning to the youth about the consequences of choosing a life of crime. Slick Rick’s 1988, “Children’s Story” may be…

I am sick and tired of being called a millennial. In some ways it's become a derogatory term, used to classify young people as strange, whiny and weak. I have to admit that I use the term here and there when more sophisticated words fail me. For example: I'm currently visiting a friend and her fiancé in Queens and their apartment is beyond beautiful. There is lots of chrome on everything and there are big windows everywhere. Not to mention, her fiancée did his thing on the decor. After waking…

Today, I'm going to cut a few corners by referring you to a Mother's Day tribute I did with the GrungeCake team a few years back. Call me a cheater, but today is a song that reminds you of your mother, and I can't think of one any different then the one I chose before. So check out Songs That Remind Us of Our Mothers on GrungeCake and then comment and tell me what song reminds you of your mom.

Day 21. We are almost halfway through the 30-Day Music Challenge. The music gods gave us unlimited choices today. There are almost as many songs with a person’s name in the title as there are people with names.  Don’t Google it. Just go with it. I have a few favorite songs with a person’s name in the title and those favorites stretch across a few different genres. I decided to veer a little from the instructions by picking a song that isn’t necessarily a favorite.  In fact, I try to stay…