Ezra Lamesh: Music Is My Soul, Rhythm Is My Heartbeat

Music can bring the world together in many ways. Ezra Lamesh shares how it has influenced his life and inspired more than just his taste in genres.

Music is my soul. Rhythm is my heartbeat.

My name is Ezra Lamesh and I’m a music enthusiast. I love everything music-related, from album covers to live performances. From a young age, I was exposed to all sorts of music, like classic rock, Latin jazz, Afrobeat, reggae.

Rhythm is inherent to my body. When I hear music, I can’t help but move. I’ve always loved to dance. As a kid, I used to spend hours dancing to Michael Jackson and The Rolling Stones.

The power of music is real. For me, I express it through dance, but I believe it can show up differently for everyone. Music is more than just collective sounds played on instruments. It’s a language, a personal experience. When I play music, I can share with others what makes music special for me. The language of music is so vast and uniquely different to everyone. From listeners to musicians, everyone can find common ground and come together through music.

My personal experiences with music have helped shape me and provide context to my journeys, experiences, and relationships. Music has even helped me process some of my deepest emotions. I constantly find myself hyper fixating on different artists and music genres. I’ve learned a lot from these deep dives.

One major takeaway for me, is the density of stories and experiences that artists tell and recount through their music. It’s truly incredible how I can trace so much American history through music. I can actually listen to the emotions and Musical Expressions throughout the decades. The origins of the blues, doo wop, the vastness of jazz, soul, funk, disco, psychedelic rock, r&b, pop, and countless other genres all tell stories and contain memories for people, not just in America, but all over the world.

Overall, I believe that music is a powerful tool, an instrument, if you will, that makes life easier. It makes me happy, holds memories, tells unique stories and teaches me about other cultures. My hope is that everyone can find their own relationship with music.

With a Perspective, I’m Ezra Lamesh.

Ezra Lamesh is a student at Petaluma High School. His piece was produced with the KQED Youth Takeover classroom program. Tune in to Youth Takeover from April 22nd to the 26th when teens will share their stories across KQED programs.