I feel like any time I talk to people about music I am constantly shut down. You see I'm a lover of all music, but I have a strong pull towards the country genre. Most of the time the majority of people, and my own friends, have a lot to say when I put on my new favorite country song in the car to jam out to and beg me to change the song in exchange for the most recent and most popular rap song. But, what makes that genre so much more acceptable than country? What does pop and rap music have to offer that country can't deliver?

I know the first thing anyone who hates country music is gonna say: "country music is all about beer, boots, and guns." But if they gave it a chance maybe they would see what I see. When I listen to country songs I automatically am drawn to some emotion that I don't find in any other genre. Sure, a lot of country music is about "beer, boots, and guns" but those songs should not be taken for just their face value. To me, those songs are solely focused on people having a good time. I get happy and excited when I put on songs with the common country theme. They are just fun. They don't talk about disrespecting girls, making money, and popping bottles, they are about people getting together and enjoying life in a care free way

But country music also offers things that I don't think other genres can. They talk about topics that most pop and rap songs don't ever cover. For instance, Eric Church's "Springsteen" seems to be just about going to a Bruce Springsteen concert with a girl he liked at the age of 17, but it's so much more than that. It's about the experience that music gives to you, and the ability for a song to hold a memory in it. I don't see any Fetty Wap or Drake songs delivering the same message. You see, country music is an emotion, a feeling. It's not meant to be catchy or boastful. It's about taking an experience or thought and making it into music. Its so much more than just cursing and being as rich and as attractive as you can be, like you tend to hear in other music.

Don't get me wrong, like I said before I like all music. Trust me, I can be seen enjoying a lot of rap and pop in my free time. What I am trying to get across is that the stigma of country music isn't one that I take to lightly. Country music means something, and connects to my life. Whether it's a beautiful day that I have the windows down and a happy Eric Church song blasting in my car, or its a somber George Strait number while doing homework, this music is important and meaningful and doesn't deserve the heat that it gets. So next time you are quick to judge the twang, take a second, listen to their emotion and give it a chance.