It all began in 1989 upon my arrival to the U.S. I was 10 years old. One of my earliest memories of moving to the U.S was listening to music. Since I was a very shy kid who did not speak English and did not have any friends, I spent most of my days indoors. One day, I was snooping through my sister's drawers and found her cassette collection. It was like a pot of gold. I quickly grabbed one and ran to my room. It was Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation. I didn't exactly know who that was or what she was singing about, but I didn't care, it was English music and I wanted it.
In the coming weeks, I would listen to that cassette over and over until I learned every single word of every song. I did not know how to say "may I please go to the restroom" or "where is the classroom?" but I did know how to say "Love will never do without you" and "Escapade", which is what every 10 year old kid really needed to know how to say.
So it begins. After discovering the radio, I would listen to R&B music all day and slowly learn to speak the language. I don't really remember knowing what 'shoop' actually meant, but it didn't matter. I was speaking English and that's all that really mattered. Little did I know at the time, how uncool it was to listen to the genre where I grew up. But soon, I would find out. I had the knowledge.
Janet Jackson The Knowledge
Janet Jackson Escapade
Janet Jackson Love will never do (Without You)
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