Jam Journal: Sometimes I really do miss home and family

As an A&E editor, music consumes a large part of my life. So much so that I don’t watch shows or movies — sorry to my writers that pitch me stuff about that, it’s not my forté. I listen to a range of music from different countries and their subgenres. So you’d think that with this column idea it’d be hard for me to narrow it down to a single topic. Nah.

I’m not one to feel so homesick that my day is ruined and I’m in a depressive state for that moment, but I do feel some small bursts of “Damn, I wish I was back in Jersey with my family and the boys.” I find myself playing “Mama” by Aminé multiple times every month, and it just has me thinking about my mother — obviously — and also my family. 

So I start to dig myself into a hole, listening to more songs based on family. “Mama” is basically a letter to Aminé’s mother appreciating & reminiscing the times they spent together, essentially giving her a song to listen to when he’s away. It’s evident when he melodically raps, “I’ma write you a song to put on everyday / So the times that I’m gone, you could smile when it plays.”

Earlier in the song, Aminé has a verse where he raps, “Used to promise when I’m rich that I would get your favorite whip / You was my lift before the Lyft, so you deserve you a coupe / Twenty-plus years at the Post Office (Yeah)  / You was workin’ graveyard shifts for the both of us (Yeah) / You deserve a long vacation, a standing ovation,” and later remarks, “I’ma take you to the GRAMMYs in a yellow suit / Put ya in Chanel just to show ‘em how my mama do.”

It reminds me of the same goals I have, watching my mother go to work at a factory six days a week on minimum wage, sometimes working 10 days back to back, and wanting to just help my family out financially in the future. And that’s why I chose journalism, the most lucrative major known to man — it’s not, not even close. 

It also doesn’t help that Aminé brought Charlie Wilson to feature on the track, who, for me, is one of the greatest feature artists out there. His vocals on the track just make the song hit harder and remind me why I still need to do fairly well in school, ‘cause I want the best for my mama and my family. 

Other songs that remind me of my family are “Grow Up” by King Lil G and “Summerhouse” by Kota The Friend. In “Grow Up, ” the Los Angeles native talks about growing up in a difficult neighborhood with a single mother, and feeling like he disappointed his mother because he got involved in the gang lifestyle. While I may not share those exact sentiments, I do feel that sometimes I do things that may disappoint my mother, and it hurts. 

Sometimes I don’t act in the best manner towards my mother — it’s all love at the end of the day — which causes me to think, “Why the fuck am I acting like this? She works so hard to give me as much as she can and I’m here pissing her off.” That’s just on some occasions though. For the most part, I’d say I’m very friendly and loving towards my parents. 

The latter isn’t strictly about family and life, but Kota does rap about those topics for a few bars. Towards the end of the song, the New York rapper says, “Momma call me, I’m gone now / All she want is some FaceTime / Baby boy he all grown now, she just want us all home now,” and wow, that shit hits harder now than when I first listened to it after the album dropped in 2020. Also, the voice memo of that little kid saying, “Hello did you miss me? I missed you. I’m back,” melts my heart — it’s fucking adorable. 

It also reminds me of a conversation my dad and I had when talking about me moving to Cali to study. He said it reminds him of when he left El Salvador and was thousands of miles away from everyone. But it’s different for me. There’s no Boss Revolution cards they have to buy to talk to me, all they gotta do is FaceTime me. If I want to go back to Jersey, I just have to buy a ticket, there’s no asking the United States government for permission to leave for El Salvador. 

There’s plenty of other songs I love that talk about parents and family, like “Dear Mama” by Tupac, “Dance with my Father” by Luther VanDross and “Bloom” by bLAck pARty, with the latter being a track bLAck pARty dedicated to his younger sister. I always thought about making a playlist full of songs that are family oriented, but I always forget to do it, like I do with so many things. Oh, and “Family Business” by Kanye West is another classic. 

Remember to call your parents, siblings, friends or anyone else back home. I haven’t called my mom and sister in like two weeks, and wow does it suck being busy. I’m definitely calling them after writing this article.

“Jam Journal” is a rotating column featuring a new Daily Trojan editor in each installment commenting on the music most important to them.