What Your Favorite Playlist Can Teach You About Culture

Think about the music you listen to every day. Maybe your playlist has hip-hop, country, pop, R&B, rock, or a little bit of everything. Music is one of the easiest ways to experience cultures that are different from our own. We might listen to an artist because we like the beat, the lyrics, or the way a song makes us feel. But behind every song is a culture, a history, and a story that helped create it.

Hip-hop is a great example. What began in Black and Latino communities in the Bronx during the 1970s eventually became one of the biggest cultural movements in the world. Today, people across the globe listen to hip-hop, wear its fashion, use its slang, and follow its artists. But how often do we stop and learn about the communities that created it? Appreciating a culture can be a positive thing, but understanding its history is just as important.

Learning about the origins of music, fashion, food, and other cultural traditions can help us appreciate them without separating them from the people who created them. There is a difference between appreciating a culture and treating pieces of that culture like trends while ignoring the people and history behind them. We love the music certain cultural groups make, but hate acknowledging the story behind it.

The next time a song from a different culture becomes your new favorite, take a few minutes to learn where it came from. Look up the artist. Learn about the genre. Read about the community that influenced it. Something as simple as pressing play can become an opportunity to learn.

Culture is everywhere around us, and pop culture gives us countless opportunities to practice curiosity, respect, and inclusion. Anti-racism does not always begin with a protest or a major campaign. Sometimes, it begins with asking a simple question.