I must admit, hip hop is my mother, my sister, my cousin, my friend. It means so much more to me than music, more than some song to dance to, it’s been my best friend, 22 years going strong. In short, I deeply love it. For that reason, I can’t choose not just one song, but two albums that mean so much to me.

American Gangster by Jay-Z. I hated him passionately until The Black Album. But to the point, American Gangster actually is pushing me to accomplish my current goal that I’ve been tabling and denying that I have to do. If it wasn’t for that, I would still be a failure, a statistic actually.

The Cool by Lupe Fiasco. It pushed me to do my internship, to remember that I am intelligent, to remember that I have nearly indominable will, that when my mind is focused, I can withstand any setback, overcome any obstacle, including the Cool itself. Thank you hip hop. You saved my life.