No this isn’t an editorial concerning Diana’s 1983 hit “Mirror, Mirror” no this is mainly a small commentary on an oft-repeated meme that is mostly connected to the genre of Hip Hop music but from time to time is co-opted for other musical genres. What I wanted to discuss for a few lines this evening is the concept of the music as a mirror of society.
The mirror is innocent, it only reflects what is in front of it no more, no less. For better or worse some mirrors(translation:celebrities) are magnified more than others… sometimes that can be a good thing and other times that can be a not so good thing. Ultimately, we can only be responsible for our reflection, but we can choose how we light our rooms that house our mirrors. That light embodies all that we consume, what ideals we subscribe to, who we choose to support politically, socially, culturally… maybe the litmus test for the light that we choose is to determine how much love is contained in the filament that allows it to
illuminate.
Here we often challenge the music and the message to be “Grown” which in my estimation simply means responsible, not perfect but responsible. I mean why would you willingly give support let alone money to anything or anyone who would label you as less than? No need to go into the room to question the mirror as to why or why not, just turn that light off.
Ivan Orr is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, performer, and writer. A native of Charlottesville, Virginia Ivan was involved with the forming and nascent days of The Music Resource Center as its first Program Director. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Music, Ivan currently resides in Richmond, VA where he maintains an active performance and production schedule while serving as the Music Editor for Grown Folks Music, a position he has held since 2010.
