Boom! Shake the Room by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince

Photo by Matty Adame on Unsplash

Ever wrote a whack jam? If you’re anything like me, then I’m sure we’ve all missed the mark with what we do at times. Love the idea though. A whack jam! Something we do that doesn’t quite hit the heights we wanted it to. Thankyou DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince for this inspired lyric. To be honest, I’m going to be ignoring most of the lyrics, but there are some corkers in Boom! Shake the Room.

For starters; My life is a cage but on stage I’m free. There’s this idea in the song that there are some things we do as humans which are just so us.

How do I know? because the crowd went hoooo. In response to the way that I was kicking it; smooth and individual, rhymes always original.

These are the things that really make us feel unique, liberated, whole and in the moment. For me, when I drum, no matter what the circumstances of the rest of my life, I have an enormous sense of freedom and wellbeing. A sense of being original and individual. In the moment. Yet there is also a communal element to this individuality. OK, the crowd don’t always (read ever!) go hoooo. But there is something reassuring and encouraging about being ourselves in the public arena.

And I f-fumble every word for word I utter. So I just try to ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chill, but it gets worse-a but worse-a but-but-but worse still. I need the see-see-see-crowd to k-k-k-kick into it. They help me calm down and I can get through it.

I’ve thought for a while now that true independence leads us to recognise our inter-dependence. To be ourselves we need the support of others. Liberation isn’t separation but finding our creative and imaginative place in the wider community. And you know what, it’s doing it recognising that we will sometimes make a whack jam. We’re not always going to perform to our best, but that shouldn’t stop us.

So, what can we take from Boom! Shake the Room. I think it’s the idea that we can increase our wellbeing when we truly find our self as a unique part of the wider community. Independent and co-dependent. Then we might just hear the crowd go: Boom! Boom! Shake-shake the room.

Need some more boom in your life? Why not consider booking an appointment with the author, Dr Dave Wood.

Taken from the album: