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Music and art hit differently; they communicate truths that logical arguments sometimes can't touch. It's tricky because we often try to simplify creative expression into neat categories when the real power lives in the contradictions. Here I'll break down albums and music that moved me, provide commentary on artist interviews, and explore creative processes that aren't linear or easily defined. This space celebrates how creativity thrives when we embrace paradox rather than resolve it. I'm not interested in whether something is "good" or "bad;" I want to understand how it makes us feel and why that matters. Well, at least attempt at it.
MUSIC
Three Strikes and Still Swinging: What Stevie Wonder Knows About Refusing Limitation
A teacher told young Stevie he had three strikes against him: blind, Black, poor. He added "bow-legged" to expose the absurdity. This blog explores how Stevie Wonder refused every limitation framework imposed on him, turning perceived disadvantages into strategic advantages, and built one of music's greatest legacies through faith-based creative practice.
Tricky Sol
Feb 1514 min read
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Deep dives into rhythm, sound, and the music that moves us
Three Strikes and Still Swinging: What Stevie Wonder Knows About Refusing Limitation
A teacher told young Stevie he had three strikes against him: blind, Black, poor. He added "bow-legged" to expose the absurdity. This blog explores how Stevie Wonder refused every limitation framework imposed on him, turning perceived disadvantages into strategic advantages, and built one of music's greatest legacies through faith-based creative practice.
Tricky Sol
Feb 1514 min read
I Can't Stop Loving You
Kem's "I Can't Stop Loving You" isn't your typical Valentine's song. It's raw honesty about what happens when forever ends but love doesn't. To yearn for someone is to earn them in memory—even when y'all can never be together again. The sentiment is enough.
Tricky Sol
Feb 132 min read
Love Is the Labor: What Quincy Jones Teaches Us About Building Legacy Through Chosen Devotion
Quincy Jones Here's what everyone knows about Quincy Jones: he produced Thriller , the biggest-selling album in human history. He worked with everyone from Count Basie to Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson. He has 79 Grammy nominations and 27 wins. He helped break MTV's color barrier. He organized We Are The World . He's a living legend. Here's what almost nobody talks about: Quincy Jones built the most sophisticated love-based production system in music history, and he did it
Tricky Sol
Feb 1010 min read
The Black Godfather: What Clarence Avant Teaches Us About Building Legacy in the Shadows
Every time that front door gets slammed, find the back window left open. But here's the revolutionary part: you can make it better than what was behind the door. The back window isn't second-best. Being forced to find another way forces innovation that improves on the original. Clarence Avant didn't just find back windows—he climbed through them and built something better. Rejection becomes information. Barriers become redirects.
Tricky Sol
Feb 918 min read
The Grit Behind the Glove: Michael Jackson and the Cost of Vision
His work reminds me that the space I claim for myself isn't given — it's constructed. When I feel that surge of recognition listening to his music, I'm not being reminded of who Michael was. I'm being reminded of who I can become when I stop negotiating with my vision and start executing it.
Tricky Sol
Feb 84 min read
The Art We Make in Dark Times: 'Sinners' and the New Harlem Renaissance
What is the price of freedom?' Ryan's answer comes in layers. Community—you can't be free alone. Vigilance—stay alert to who's at your door. Gatekeeping—protect what's sacred. Being willing to say no to the money when it comes with chains. But there's another answer: 'Find something you're willing to die for and then live for it.
Tricky Sol
Feb 716 min read
As Soon as the Money Changes Hands: Understanding the Metaphor We're Living
They were fucked the moment they bought the mule.' In Sinners, the vampires aren't the real threat. The system already had them marked for death. The vampires just sped up what was always going to happen. And if you think that's just about the 1930s, you're not paying attention.
Tricky Sol
Feb 612 min read
The Blues We Carried: What 'Sinners' Teaches Us About Ancestral Memory
We can't build a future if we don't know what we're building from. We can't reclaim our power if we don't know where that power comes from. Sinners isn't just about vampires in Mississippi. It's Ryan Coogler excavating our inheritance—the music, the magic, the old ways they tried to make us forget. This is what saved us.
Tricky Sol
Feb 511 min read
I Just Want You Around
"I don't wanna kiss you, I just wanna feel you." This Snoh Aalegra line finally makes sense to me. I want someone to experience life with—palm trees, beach views, Innervisions on replay. Some level of consideration? Yes. But am I taking you into consideration when making decisions about my life's direction? No. And that's not cruel—that's honest. There's a difference between wanting someone and needing them, between experiencing and possessing. I just want you around. Not nee
Tricky Sol
Feb 44 min read
Never In Vain: What The Clark Sisters Taught Us About Building A Life That Lasts
There is a kind of legacy that doesn't announce itself with fanfare. The Clark Sisters built that kind—the kind that lives inside the way other people sound, move, and understand what it means to give everything to something that matters. Five sisters from Detroit who refused to shrink, turned reggae grooves into gospel anthems, and proved that legacy isn't built in moments of fame. It's built in the dailiness of devotion.
Tricky Sol
Feb 39 min read
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