In the article, “How Noname Helped Me Make Sense of My Relationship With My Mother,” the author speaks about the challenges of being a gay woman and how it affects the relationship between her and her mother. The article is written in a way to use Noname’s music as a source so the reader can understand the relationship between the author and her mother. The author wrote this article as a way to understand that relationship with her mother because she is still discovering what that relationship really is. The mother can’t comprehend her being the mother of a gay woman, while the father is trying to comfort her at one point saying, “I should have told him I was gay before I tried telling my mother.” Noname’s music helps the author relate to the role of being a mother so she can get an understanding of what it is like to be one, but also try to use Noname’s music as a justification for the relationship because she can relate to many of Noname’s songs. She also mentions Tupac’s “Hey Mama,” which is a song dedicated to Tupac’s mom explaining everything she’s done for him and how she’s important to Tupac. It originally was a letter Tupac wrote dedicated to his mom expressing himself but he later turned it into a song that became one of his most popular songs. The author states, “One day I will pen my mom a “Hey Mama” article to bring her tears, and I anticipate she will do the same for me in her own way, but for the time being, we must do the work of finding each other.” It is sad to see that the relationship between the author and her mother is struggling, but with the power of music, the author is able to find meaning behind it.

Music has played a major role in understanding relationships better. Someone’s music taste helps me identify what kind of person they are and what they’re interested in. In my case, music helped me grow closer to my father. I grew up listening to a lot of hip-hop, specifically The Game’s “The Documentary” and 50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die Tryin’.” As I got older and started discovering music for myself, coming across those albums felt like nothing new to me as I found out I up listening to those artists, and as a kid, I would always ask to listen to them. Then I started getting into house music and my parents would tell me all the stories of them going out and traveling saying how house music was the go-to genre and they had amazing times hearing the music at clubs and festivals. Hearing that inspired me to do my research on house music and learn about different parts of the world that I want to travel to just so I can experience the house music scene. Music can honestly make or break relationships, there is no better feeling than meeting people who enjoy the same types of music as you, but meeting people with completely different tastes requires an open mind and not being judgemental. When I meet people who have completely different tastes than me, I try to put myself in their position and listen to the music and ask myself “why do they enjoy this?” Eventually, it would come to me as to why they like certain genres and it helps me get a better understanding of them and what they might be going through.