thursday, august 16th, is the day this world lost ms. aretha franklin. i’m a young buck so i haven’t always been a fan of her work. growing up i’d seen her in the blues brothers but i didn’t understand why she was queen. i had to learn for myself. i heard her singing in a detroit church while watching some documentary style show about her. her voice gave me the chills.

a few weeks ago i was walking through downtown chicago early in the morning on the way to work and the skies opened. rain starts pouring down. my hair is so wet my leave in conditioner is running down my face. i stepped under some covering to clean my glasses. somehow my airpods managed to stay dry in my ears. suddenly mary, don’t you weep played and i heard that voice. i listened to the version recorded at new temple missionary baptist church. the background singers sing “mary, don’t you weep.” ms. aretha franklin came over the top with the gospel. i was standing in the rain on the verge of tears in the middle of downtown.

today isn’t the day to prove who’s a real fan and who’s a fake fan. we lost the queen of soul today and that’s all that matters. i wonder what you’ll listen to celebrate her life. i know what song i’m going with.