Coffee with Chuck

Song: Window Seat (2010)

Artist: Erykah Badu

Album: New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh)

Thoughts: Happy Monday! In seven days I start my qualifying exams. I am not gonna lie I am nervous, not nervous thinking I’m not going to pass. But nervous about what happens when I do pass. When I pass that’s when the real work starts. However, to ease my nerves I have been reflecting and preparing. In preparation, I have been thinking about those who inspired this project and laid the groundwork for me to do this work. If you follow my personal Instagram you will have seen that I have been posting these folks on my story. I have posted the likes of Muhammad Ali, Sun-Ra, Basquait, MLK, RZA, and others. By posting these folks I am calling attention to them, paying tribute, and showing my appreciation for them. I think it is important for me to do this because we are never alone in this process of life nor do we do any projects by ourselves. Every new project or idea is an extension of the past. Thus this project that I am beginning is an extension of the projects of these individuals. So today, I posted Erykah Badu, and when I was thinking about her I realized that I really got to grow up with her. Meaning, yes she is 51 years young but her debut album Baduizm dropped the year I was born. And that album has been a part of the soundtrack to my life. I have been blessed to watch Erykah Badu mature as not only an artist but as a person. I am so for grateful that I have been able to sit passenger and watch her journey. One day I will have to take the steering wheel and that is what life is all about. Watching those who go before you and gaining their wisdom so that you can impart it to those who come after you.