INBLK RECAP: Music and Our Thoughts
Presented by I Am Me Inc. | October 13, 2026
Last night on INBLK, we talked about something almost everybody has a relationship with, whether we realize how deep that relationship is or not. Music. Not just what sounds good. Not just what makes us dance. We talked about what music does to our minds, our emotions, our children, our culture, and even the way we see ourselves.
Peach opened the show and welcomed everyone to LGBTQ+ INBLK, but because she was losing her voice, she handed the hosting duties over to Zae for the evening. Before turning over the conversation, Peach reminded viewers that the opinions shared on the show belonged to the individual panelists and did not necessarily represent I Am Me Inc., INBLK, or I Am Me Philly. Zae came ready with the topic “Music and Our Thoughts,” and from the first question, the panel had plenty to say.
Music Will Put You in a Mood
We started with a question that sounds simple until you really think about it. Does music change your mood, or does it just reflect whatever mood you're already in?
The room pretty much agreed that music can absolutely shift your energy. Maxine shared how writing and listening to music can become an emotional outlet for her. Tim talked about his love of house music and how music is connected to feeling, movement, vibration, and emotion. He gave the perfect example of how one familiar song can come on in a quiet room and suddenly people are moving, talking, dancing, and connecting.
Peach agreed that most of us have certain music for certain moments. We have music for when we're in love, when we're mad, when we're trying to get motivated, when we're creating, and when we need to get our minds right. But Peach also raised a deeper point. Sometimes there may be messaging inside the music affecting us even when we aren't consciously paying attention to it.
And that is where the conversation started getting deeper because music isn't always just background noise. Sometimes we are taking in much more than a beat.
Is Music Therapy or Does It Just Make Us Feel Better?
This was probably one of the most interesting parts of the conversation because everybody didn't completely agree.
Some members of the panel viewed music as therapeutic. Tim explained that the music you choose when you're going through something can absolutely affect what happens next. If you're already angry and put on something that keeps feeding that anger, don't be surprised when you're even more worked up twenty minutes later. But if you intentionally choose something that calms you down and gives you space to think, the outcome may be completely different.
Peach came at it from another direction. Her perspective was that music can be an incredible form of expression, comfort, release, and even temporary relief, but we have to be careful about calling every emotional release therapy.
You can sing about the pain. You can write about it. You can dance until you're sweating. You can put on gospel music and shout all over the house. You can scream the lyrics to your favorite breakup song like that artist personally wrote it after reading your text messages.
And when the song ends, the issue can still be sitting right there waiting on you.
Peach's point was especially important when talking about the Black community. Sometimes we have learned how to survive pain without actually healing from it. We know how to pray through it, sing through it, work through it, laugh through it, and keep moving through it. But surviving something and healing from something are two different conversations. If the issue is deep enough, sometimes you need to actually address the issue and get professional help.
Music might help you through the moment. Healing requires you to deal with what happens after the music stops.
Watch What You Feed Your Mind
The conversation then shifted toward being intentional about what we're listening to, especially when we're emotionally vulnerable.
Kailani made the point that intentional listening shouldn't only happen when we're upset. Music is somebody else's creativity, emotions, experiences, and expression entering our space. When we're consuming it, we're opening ourselves up to whatever was being communicated when that music was created.
That doesn't mean every song is secretly controlling somebody's mind. It means we should recognize that what we repeatedly consume can affect how we feel and what we're thinking about.
Tim talked about choosing music that helps move him out of difficult emotional spaces rather than deeper into them. Dre shared a similar perspective. If you're already depressed, why intentionally create an environment that keeps feeding the depression? If you're already angry, you might want to think twice before putting on the soundtrack that's about to have you ready to fight everybody on your contact list.
Sometimes protecting your peace includes protecting your playlist.
Why Do We Love Our Music Icons So Much?
Then Zae took us into LGBTQ+ territory and asked why our community has historically connected so strongly with artists like Beyoncé, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Whitney Houston.
Baby, now everybody had something to say.
Peach offered a perspective that might make a few fan clubs uncomfortable, but INBLK has never been about everybody agreeing.
Peach questioned whether sometimes we look outward for something that really needs to be developed inward. There is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying an artist, buying a ticket, singing every word, or supporting somebody who supports our community. The concern comes when admiration starts becoming identity.
Peach's position was simple. You should want to be you.
There comes a point in self discovery where you stop needing another person to be your blueprint. You can appreciate somebody's talent without wanting their life. You can celebrate Beyoncé without needing to become Beyoncé. You can love Gaga without becoming Gaga. When you know who you are, your support can come from appreciation instead of imitation.
The panel also discussed something that deserves more attention. LGBTQ+ people have helped shape music culture in ways that haven't always received proper credit. Our creativity can be found in choreography, fashion, dance, styling, performance, language, nightlife, visual presentation, and the culture surrounding some of the biggest entertainers in the world.
One panelist made the point that some major careers have benefited tremendously from LGBTQ+ creativity while LGBTQ+ artists themselves haven't always received the same opportunities or visibility.
That brought up another uncomfortable question. How can we give celebrities we've never met unlimited loyalty while talented LGBTQ+ people right in our own communities struggle to get support?
That's worth thinking about.
Sometimes Music Is an Escape
Tim brought another perspective into the conversation that really tied everything together. Sometimes people aren't looking for anything deep. They're trying to escape.
Life can be heavy. Bills are heavy. Family can be heavy. Relationships can be heavy. Being Black can be heavy. Being LGBTQ+ can be heavy. Being Black and LGBTQ+ can come with another entire set of experiences.
Then that song comes on.
For four or five minutes, you aren't thinking about the bill that's due. You aren't thinking about the person who hurt you. You aren't thinking about discrimination, work, family drama, or whatever else was sitting on your shoulders.
You're somewhere else.
That's part of the power of great entertainers. They can create an experience large enough to temporarily pull you out of your own reality. Tim connected that ability to why certain artists become larger than life within LGBTQ+ culture.
There is nothing wrong with escaping for a song. Just remember eventually the song ends.
Are We Listening to the Beat or the Words?
Another major part of the conversation focused on lyrics.
Because some of these beats will have you dancing until you finally look up the lyrics and realize you have absolutely no business singing what you've been singing.
Dre shared that he looks up lyrics because he wants to know exactly what an artist is saying. That becomes even more important when young people are listening. Tim agreed and said newer music especially makes him want to check the lyrics and understand current slang because you can easily enjoy a beat without realizing the message behind it is something you don't agree with.
Maxine brought the conversation directly into the household. She shared an experience of hearing her children playing a song and stopping to actually listen to what was being said. Once she heard the lyrics, she made it clear that the song wasn't going to continue being played in her home.
That's where parenting and accountability entered the conversation. We can't complain about everything children consume while never checking what they're consuming.
Sometimes you have to know what they're watching.
Know what they're listening to.
Know what they're repeating.
And most importantly, talk to them about it.
Is Today's Music Influencing Our Children?
When Zae asked whether music about violence, sex, money, and toxic relationships is influencing today's children differently than music from previous generations, the panel wasn't completely on the same page.
Maxine felt strongly that today's music can be a problem, particularly when adults allow children unlimited access without paying attention to the messages they're consuming. For her, some responsibility has to come back into the home. Parents and guardians have to decide what they are comfortable allowing their children to hear and normalize.
Another perspective challenged the idea that music is creating all of these behaviors. Sometimes music is reflecting what already exists. Violence didn't start with rap music. Toxic relationships didn't start with streaming. Sex didn't arrive with TikTok. Some artists are describing environments and experiences people are already living.
That panelist also pointed toward something today's generation has that previous generations didn't have at the same level. Social media. Trends now move across millions of screens almost instantly, and younger people are being influenced by music, videos, celebrities, creators, algorithms, peers, and viral culture all at once.
Peach brought it back to something even bigger. Some of the problems we're seeing today aren't new at all. We simply live in a generation where much more of it is visible.
We've been dealing with trauma.
We've been dealing with dysfunctional relationships.
We've been dealing with violence.
We've been dealing with emotional pain.
Now everybody has a camera.
So instead of pretending one song created every problem in our community, maybe we also need to start asking what was happening before the song ever came on.
The INBLK Takeaway
Last night's “Music and Our Thoughts” conversation showed exactly why INBLK exists. Everybody didn't agree, and they weren't supposed to.
Music is personal. What heals one person might irritate somebody else. What motivates one person might trigger another. One generation might hear art while another hears disrespect. One person hears entertainment while somebody else hears programming.
That's what makes conversations like this necessary.
What we can agree on is that music has power.
It can make a room move. It can remind you of somebody you haven't thought about in twenty years. It can make you cry over somebody you swore you were finished crying over. It can make you feel sexy, powerful, spiritual, angry, motivated, nostalgic, loved, or understood.
But with that power comes responsibility.
Pay attention to what you're listening to. Pay attention to what your children are listening to. Pay attention to the artists receiving your money and loyalty. Pay attention to how certain music affects you emotionally. Support the artists within our own communities. Appreciate your favorite celebrities without losing yourself inside somebody else's image.
And when the music is helping you escape something that actually needs to be addressed, don't be afraid to turn the music down and deal with what's underneath it.
Because sometimes the most important conversation begins after the song ends.
LGBTQ+ INBLK the Series is presented by I Am Me Inc., creating space for Black LGBTQ+ voices, perspectives, conversations, and community. Tune in Tuesday's at 8:30pmish!
The opinions and perspectives expressed by individual INBLK panelists are their own and do not necessarily represent the official views of I Am Me Inc., INBLK, or I Am Me Philly.
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