To: Uncle Tom💐

a dedication and a smol reggae Valentine's playlist

“When Uncle Tom came back from India, he brought you the Tracy Chapman cassette, he said it was his gift to you!” This is what my mom told me this week, while on a call with her. I have a very vivid memory from my childhood, where I was with my uncle in our living room, browsing through my parent’s cassette collection, that was on a display shelf too high for tiny me to reach.

He was standing at eye level with the shelf, and I stood on a seat next to him. Tom was holding the Tracy Chapman’s cassette, and I remember curiously asking him, whether the person on the cover was a boy or a girl. I can’t recall his response.

I come from a family that loves music. My parents have an extensive cassette collection, and my grandparents had an extensive LP collection, which I was lucky enough to receive (upon request). Growing up, my dad would switch off the tv on Sunday evenings, and we would all be forced to listen to music. The Tracy Chapman cassette always stood out from the rest. Most cassettes came in a clear plastic case, but our copy, which was her first album, was in an opaque white case.

This week, I have been listening to Lucky Dube’s I’ve Got You Babe on repeat, and it has made me really miss my uncle. I have never before questioned how my taste in music came about, but the recent conversation with my mom, made me realize that the music I love is heavily influenced by the music my dad and uncle listened to. My mom put it beautifully, she said “subconsciously, these songs evoke good memories from your childhood,” and she is right.

If you are curious about the kind of music I enjoy, here are some links; Nadina Mbilia Bel, Massu Franco & le T.P. O.K Jazz, Yolele Papa Wemba, anything by Tracy Chapman, Lucky Dube, the list is endless. I hope this helps paint a picture.

Finding out that I was gifted Tracy Chapman’s first album at a young age, listening to Lucky Dube’s songs on repeat, and figuring out where my taste in music originates from, has been an emotional full circle moment for me. It has been difficult to listen to Romeo by Lucky Dube without crying.

My uncle passed away last year in November, a month before his birthday. He was my dad’s brother, the third born in his family and my favorite uncle. I was lucky to be able to see him a day before he passed away. Tom was gentle, kind and a lover boy at heart. When we were kids, he lost his serious long-term girlfriend in a road accident, and for many years he wore her ring (which she had accidentally forgotten in his house, the morning of her sudden death) on his little finger.

For Valentine’s this year, I would like to give Tom his flowers by saying thank you for greatly influencing my taste in music. As a celebration to him, I would urge you to listen to two of my favorite songs by Lucky Dube’s i.e. I’ve Got You Babe and Romeo these are also great Valentine songs as well.

Tom loved Lucky Dube.

PS: Listen with headphones for the full Lucky Dube experience.

{Uncle Tom at the beach}

{Tom and I}

❤️Here is the link to the Valentine’s playlist that I created yesterday, enjoy!