Hey everyone,
I love icebreakers. I usually encounter someone new every day, whether that’s at work or in my personal time. I appreciate the purpose icebreakers serve in bringing people closer together and making people realize we may have more in common than we think. I’ve seen a variety of icebreakers throughout the years, but recently I’ve discovered one that will be my favorite going forward.
My coworker started doing this particular icebreaker in the past decade. Whenever he meets someone new, he asks them what their favorite song is. Your favorite song says a lot about you as a person, as people usually have different musical tastes. He asked me this question a month ago and I couldn’t think of an answer, which I think is the beauty of the icebreaker. I love so much music that it was hard to pinpoint one single song that I would label as my favorite.
I decided to put more thought into actually figuring out what I would consider my favorite song and I’ve narrowed it down to four different songs that represent how I’ve changed as a person throughout the years. I wanted to share them with you today.
I’ve been listening to music for as long as I can remember, but I started to develop my musical tastes in middle school and high school. My favorite song from my high school time was Lil Flip’s “Look At Me Now”. From the first time I listened to Lil Flip I was instantly a fan and it’s pained me to see how his career was derailed during his now infamous beef with T.I. I spent many days as a teenager listening to his albums Undaground Legend and U Gotta Feel Me, at both regular and slowed-down speeds.
When I went to college, my music collection began to grow as I was exposed to even more music. I would spend most of my days scouring the internet looking for new songs to download and enjoy, but my favorite song and album was one that I had on a physical CD. That album was none other than Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter and during this period of my life, my favorite song was Lil Wayne’s “This Is Tha Carter”. This song and album was my first time taking Lil Wayne seriously as an artist and not just the little kid from “Bling Bling”. I would consider Lil Wayne to be my favorite artist currently, and this song played a huge part in that, but I wasn’t done growing musically.
When I graduated college, I moved to Roswell, Georgia to live with my aunt and uncle. I got my first job working in an office sitting behind a laptop. I spent a lot of time blogging about new music, as this was the peak of The Blog Era, and I made some life-changing discoveries. The most impactful was none other than Lil B, commonly referred to as The Based God. My favorite song during this period was “Birth of Rap” from Lil B’s album 6 Kiss. Lil B would receive a lot of criticism for his radically different approach to what a rapper is, but he was super influential to so many artists that would emerge after him. I resonated with Lil B because of his fearlessness and the way he embraced being a unique individual with his own unique story to tell.
The longer that I’ve lived in Atlanta, the more I’ve come to respect and appreciate the city’s unique hip-hop culture. My musical tastes would continue to develop as I embraced Atlanta rappers and their distinct sounds. The artist I found myself gravitating toward the most was Lil Baby. My list of favorite Lil Baby songs grows daily, but the one that made me a fan initially is “Sold Out Dates” with Gunna. I appreciate Lil Baby’s lyricism, but the thing I love the most about his music is his quality control. I’ve never heard a bad song from him at this point, and I’ve never heard of a feature where he didn’t give 110%. As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m a huge fan of consistency.
If I was asked that question again now by my coworker I would have these four songs to point to as my favorites, but now it’s your turn. Let me know what your favorite song is.
My Icebreaker Top 4:
Return of the Mack - Mark Morrison
Duffle Bag Boy - Playaz Circle
D'yer Mak'er - Led Zeppelin
Electric Feel - MGMT