My Walkout Songs
I recently was on Dr. Jordan Hutchison’s podcast Game Film where we discussed my work as an advisor and guide with clients at Santiago. It was a great conversation and you can check out the full episode here.
At the beginning of the episode Dr. Hutchison asked me what my walkout song for speaking would be and why; I knew immediately what my answer was—J. Cole’s “Middle Child”, which has been my answer for years now. I created a short clip so you can hear the reasons why I love that song and how I relate to it.
During my morning meditation today two songs popped into my head as alternate walkout songs depending on the engagement, the crowd, and the vibe I want to create.
It should be no surprise that both songs are hip-hop.
It should also be no surprise that one is another song by J. Cole and the other is by Kendrick Lamar.
J. Cole, “Love Yourz”
This is one of my all-time favorite songs because of the message—I almost always get goosebumps when I listen to it. I will never forget the feeling I experienced when I saw J. Cole perform it live with Ang, Roman, and Leo a couple of years ago.
Love Yourz is a slower and more mellow song with a message to love the life that you have, which I view as encouragement to find your authentic life and love that life and version of your Self.
Kendrick Lamar, “Man At The Garden”
When I first listened to Kendrick Lamar’s GNX album, I immediately noticed the nod to Nas’ One Mic in the composition and delivery of the “Man At The Garden” and smiled—that’s one of my favorite Nas songs.
I obviously loved how Kendrick repeated “I deserve it all” throughout the song—I often use lyrics in songs as reminders or motivation for my Self. “I deserve it all” was easy to attach to when thinking about the authentic life I’m pursuing.
When I think about going out to give a speech, I love the idea of Kendrick’s “I deserve it all” encouraging the crowd to believe that they too deserve to have the authentic life they are pursuing and reminding me that I deserve to be on the stage getting paid.
We deserve it all.
And it’s not just the repeated phrase of Man At The Garden that makes this a great walkout song, the entire song speaks to the authentic life—it addresses the “good” and the “bad” showing how it all plays a part in our lives.
Plus, Kendrick has said that it was his favorite song on the album, which makes me feel confident in my pick.
What song(s) would you choose to walk out to give a keynote talk?
Keep purusing,
JC
