Amel Larrieux is MAGIC

I love iHeartRadio. As soon as I get to work in the morning, I open a web browser and head straight to their website. iHeartRadio is open before ANY of my programs needed for work! For the first half of the morning, I usually catch the last couple of hours of a morning radio show. Then, I spend the rest of the day hopping from custom station to station. Because I have such an eclectic taste in music, I have quite a few custom stations set up under my profile.

One of my favorite stations is my Amel Larrieux station. For those of you know don't know who she is, Amel was the lead singer in the 90s group Groove Theory (their biggest hit was the R&B laced single "Tell Me"). After leaving the group a few years later, she went on to release her brilliant debut album in 2000 entitled Infinite Possibilities.

For a soulful, spiritual, and fecund genius like Larrieux, her debut album's title was fitting. However, in order to immerse her talents into highly creative musical masterpieces, she had to eschew major label demands. So, she left and started her own independent label with her husband.

Over the years, Amel has released 3 albums on her indie label and has maintained a strong following, allowing her to continue to tour and share her remarkable gift with the world. I am certain her lack of "commercial" success has given Amel the freedom as an artist to operate freely in her originality. 

My Amel joint of the day is "Magic". Her music is known to dictate the plight of the average working person, and this song accurately captures the struggles of anyone out there who is just "trying to make it."

I can relate to EVERY lyric, but I'll share some of my favorite lines with you:

• "The budgets bent, and our credit's jacked up."
• "The Stress Level's High and the Morale's Low" *this is my job in a nutshell*
• "Were we just born to work, rather than born to live..still paying for your education when you're 66." *if this isn't an accurate description of American life, then I don't know what is*

Despite Larrieux's lamentations about a hard worker's life, she reminds us to take time and tap into our "magic". When you are at your breaking point and thinking to yourself "this can't be life", remove yourself from the situation and tap into whatever (positive) source brings you pure joy. 

For me, my "magic" is writing because it is therapeutic. I can channel my frustrations in a positive and safe way. For Amel, her "magic" is making incredible music and using her vocal gifts to uplift and inspire others.

Take some time this week and find out what your "magic" is. Is it making others (and yourself) laugh? Is it doing artwork? Is it listening to or making music?

Furthermore, can you take your magic and turn it into a fruitful career so you can wake up everyday and do what you love. Amel Larrieux has done it. So can we!

Follow Amel and me on Twitter @amellarrieux and @poetrymusiclife AND check out "Magic" on YouTube with this link *all rights reserved to the respective owner(s) of this song*

Love Magic,

-T. Amour