Senior Jaycee Cox poses with her hands in front of her face at Pepperdine University on Oct. 13. Photo by Melissa Houston
A hum in the bass, warm and unpredictable. Then a voice cuts through, unraveling heartache and healing in the same breath. The drums don’t shout; they sway. The keys don’t crash; they sing. This is soul — not just music, but memory.
A memory becomes motion through the sweet and smoke-filled sound of soul music. It’s love at 2 a.m., heartbreak at noon and surrender by sundown. You don’t just hear it — you feel it.
Joi Carr, Pepperdine English and Film Professor, has become well adapted with this motion of memory with her childhood saturated with the sound and later translating into her professional career as a soulful musician.
“R&B/Soul speaks to me below conventional language,” Carr wrote in a Oct. 2 email to the Graphic. “There is a hum and a moan that is present in this music that embodies the ineffable way I experience my life—the inexpressible, indescribable ways I feel a range of emotions in my daily life in my body, all my lovely particularities.”
The Sounds of Childhood
From dancing in the kitchen to cleaning on Sunday evenings to even opening gifts on Christmas morning, the sweet sound of soul music continues to linger in the hearts of listeners.
R&B music was the uniting factor in junior Kyla Randle’s family, where she said her shimmering childhood memories she holds so dearly are saturated with the chaotic sound of soul music.
“It always united us because the music was just a huge part of my family,” Randle said.
The music became Carr’s backbone from her early childhood. She wrote her family constantly had the music playing in the background of her fondest childhood memories.
While other families gather around the television to watch a movie, Carr wrote her family would gather around a radio, listening together as greats like Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì, Carole King and The Temptations took the stage.
“Just remembering that our home was always filled with these melodic and rhythmic sounds brings me back to our connection as a family,” Carr wrote. “Everyone in my immediate family sings too. We love music.”
Although senior Wells Faulstich didn’t dive into the sound until he was older, he said he enjoys listening to the music in moments that turn into memory.
“The vocals are just so beautiful,” Faulstich said. “You can just listen to it on the beach or driving and it always puts me in a really good mood.”
Cox holds a vinyl record in front of her face at Pepperdine University on Oct. 13. Vinyl records have been a popular form of listening to physical music since the 20th century.
The Birth of Rhythm and Blues
Rooted in the rich traditions of African American musical expression, R&B and soul music emerged as powerful voices of resilience, creativity and cultural identity.
The word “genre” is one that Carr wrote she believes is only for convention and commercial purposes, for billboard use. She believes the term rhythm and blues (R&B) music is trans-genre.
“[The music] embodies bedrock aesthetics that are derived from enslaved people of African descent in the colonies,” Carr wrote. “Their blend is of West African musical traditions, spirituals, gospel music, blues and jazz.”
Randle said listening to R&B with her friends has always reminded them of the beauty of their African American heritage.
Randle emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the fact African Americans created the blueprint for rhythm and blues, yet she has also enjoyed the evolution of the genre.
“The music originated with mainly Black artists but I also feel like it’s grown so much that it doesn’t need to just be a Black artist to have that soulful sound,” Randle said.
The Soul of Soul
The emotion of the artists within this genre convey their soul into melody form.
Faulstich said there’s a song within the genre to capture every emotion imaginable — even the ones too complex or subtle to name.
“The genre is called soul for a reason,” Faulstich said.
The rhythm, blue notes, melodic structure and the off-beat melodic phrases are what Carr wrote captivated her and what continues to inspire her.
“This music speaks to me and for me, sometimes.” Carr wrote. “When I listen to artists that I resonate with I feel at home, enveloped in love and understanding. I feel joy.”
Like Carr, Randle said there’s an irreplaceable feeling of joy that comes with the music.
“No matter what I’m doing or how I’m feeling, I always come back to this music when I want to experience any emotion,” Randle said.
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Contact Haylie Ross via email: haylie.ross@pepperdine.edu
