Me Está Gustando el Reggae

I find the reason I’ve gotten into reggae to be kind of funny. My dog, the same dog who prevented me from going to see Bad Bunny in Medellín (we won’t dwell on it), got me into reggae.

Checo is a bundle of nerves. We both take the same anti-anxiety medication in the morning (so sweet), and he gets to take extra anxiety medications every day just to get through the day. When he was a puppy, we started playing different kinds of music to drown out noises he was afraid of (the wind, people getting on/off the elevator, someone whispering 100 miles away, etc.). That got me to researching if specific kinds of music relaxed dogs more than others. I learned that dogs like soft rock, reggae, and classical music, but they get bored by classical music quickest.

I have the average American’s exposure to soft rock, so I decided we would try reggae music. For a long time, I didn’t pay attention to the music, I just put on a doggy-reggae playlist I found on Spotify because it seemed to help Checo get and stay calm easier (obviously after he was already high on gapabetin and clonidine).

Then, I found the reggae music channel on TV. And now it has taken over Checo’s and my life. We have it on throughout the day to soften the noise of daily life around us. I think I like reggae music because it reminds me of the familiar beat that permeates reggaeton songs, and with both kinds of music, I feel energized, I can appreciate some of the cultural context that the songs have (and I’m learning about other cultural contexts for the songs and the genre–see my AI-slop powerpoint below), and honestly, a lot of the songs make me want to put on some makeup and a tiny dress and go dancing =).

Currently, my favorite songs are (1) YOU by Yendry, feat. Damian Marley; (2) Ghetto Queen by Blvk H3ro and Wayne J; and (3) Who Knows by Protoje and Chronixx.