I’m a person of phases. Most hobbies and interests I have never become more than a phase. They’re just stages of my life that I quickly move on from and rarely revisit. I especially go through phases in my music preferences. I obsess over a song, artist, or genre until I can no longer bear to listen to it. 

My most recent obsession is the song If You Wanna Be My Man by Lady Wray. I can’t get enough of this song. It has a classic soul and R&B feel, beautiful vocals, and is easy to sing along to. I had already been a fan of some of Lady Wray’s music, but I just recently heard this song for the first time. Since then, it’s been on repeat.

I’ve gone through phases of discovering new music. When I’m sick of what I’ve been listening to and nothing naturally sparks my interest, I’ll turn to Spotify or TikTok to find something new. Spotify makes it super easier to discover new music by formulating personalized playlists. 

Another way I enter a new phase of music is after watching a movie with a good soundtrack. After watching If Beale Street Could Talk I became obsessed with the song Agape. The week following the premiere of Black Panther all I was listening to was Kendrick Lamar and SZA.

Oftentimes, when I come across a song I like I’ll take a deep dive into that genre. For example, listening to the song Wilshire by Tyler the Creator led me down a spiral of rap. For that few weeks all I was listening to was rap.There are some artists and songs that I was never able to move on from. These I consider my all time favorites. Ex-Factor by Lauryn Hill, Chamber of Reflection by Mac DeMarco, and Broken Clocks by SZA are in this category. No matter how often I listen to them, they remain my favorites.