I have received some of the most, if not the most, deeply meaningful compliments I have ever gotten in my life, from two kids: A 6-year-old, Omer, whose mom is a Facebook friend, watched “I Love My JewFro” five times over, and not only loved it but also said to his mom, “Is that a grownup?”
Damn, if I didn’t know before, I know now that I’ve been living my life right.
Then 9-year-old Shprintzy, whose mom is also a Facebook friend, watched the video and left me this message, which had me in tears, I was so moved by it. And her mom added, “I think your music speaks to the inner child.” Which also meant so much to me!
Being really, truly OUT THERE is challenging, because it’s not typically encouraged. To the contrary, it’s typically slammed and shamed. Case in point: Music bloggers hated this song. Even the ones who previously wrote about my music. I got comments along the lines of my voice being “annoying” – which, as I thought about it, seems all tied up in expectations about women to always be “pretty.” Pretty pretty pretty.
Fuck that.
The delight I emanate in the JewFro video – the wild abandon, carefree fun, pure and unbridled joy – comes from decades of challenging myself to rise up and speak up and stand up, even when I was terrified, even when I was risking it all, even when there was no plan B. It’s come from decades of challenging and allowing myself to publicly sing and dance and yell and smash bottles. It’s from giving myself my own damn permission to get all the gunk out, because it’s not mine, and do it at full volume, and to completion, social mores be damned.
And that open-faced, open-hearted smile at the end – the one that not only shows on my face but sparkles in my eyes, as my boyfriend likes to say – is the product of the radical commitment and fierce willingness to be authentically ME.
If my music can speak to children, and inspire adults to let their inner child out…Well. What higher accomplishment in life is there? Thank you Omer and Shprintzy! – Love, Loolwa
If you find value in my work, check out the KHAZZOOM online store, where you’ll find my albums, books including The Flying Camel, and swag like my band’s t-shirts, masks, and tote bags. Hot tip: All my books, including The Flying Camel, are currently 20% off to the general public and 40% off for Patreon members!
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