The musical artist Prince is symbolic of my life's journey.  My musical story all started when I was 9 years old. I started to love music because my family always had music playing in the house when I was a baby. My mom always listened to music loudly on the stereo and would dance a little, made sounds like “Yeah!” or “This is my jam!” as I kept staring at her looking like “what is she doing?”, but I kept laughing and nodding my head, not knowing that I would someday take an interest in music as a career. One day I was in the living room watching TV when a show called “So Random” came on a kid station. Lying on the floor watching, I saw a group called “Mindless Behavior.” Right away I fell in love with them and their performance to the point that I listened to every song. I remember all the words to all their songs. I begin to sing the words and to sing more often. I started to watch all the amazing performances. When Beyonce performed, I started to think “I can do that.” I felt amazed by singers. Now I have begun to write songs because of personal things with family and encouragement from my Auntie, and one artist keeps me pushing forward through my changes - Prince, the iconic singer and legend who taught me to use music as my remedy. Sadly, Prince died on the day of my birth: April 21, 2016. I hope to pass Prince's music down to future generations to help keep his legacy alive. To this day, I cannot listen to a Prince song without remembering the influence both he and my family have had on me to become a performer. Prince is going to be my heart, homeland memory. 

– Makaila Brown

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