One Song a Day

I watched a YouTube clip where Code Kunst talked about his routine of making one song every day. If he misses a day, he makes up two the next. It was only after watching that video that I finally became curious about his music. I’d seen him speak kindly and thoughtfully on variety shows and thought he seemed like a good person, but I never really felt the urge to listen to his music. Hearing him say he writes a song each day made me want to listen. I’m writing this now while his music plays in the background.

It feels different from the usual hip-hop tracks, which are often busy dissing or boasting. This feels somewhere near Lo-Fi, at least to my untrained ears. It sounds like hip-hop made by someone who speaks gently. It isn’t rough. It’s composed. And still, it says what it wants to say. Now that I’ve heard his music, I find myself liking the person even more.

That clip struck a chord with me because I think writing should be approached in the same way. Whether it’s a piece, a chapter, or a paragraph, something should be written every day. I know that only through time and consistency will I be able to call myself a writer without hesitation. Watching that clip, my own shallow laziness stood out. All the little excuses I use to delay writing at night – work is busy, I’m tired, I’m not in the mood, I might be getting sick – they suddenly looked flimsy. That short clip shook me awake, quietly but firmly.

It also made me want to stop being so selective, not just with food, but with everything. Saying “I don’t like hip-hop” or “It’s not my taste” and using that as a shield to avoid even the smallest bit of curiosity doesn’t come from refined taste. It is stubborn ignorance. You can’t know what you like or dislike without first giving it a try. But I have this habit of putting away anything unfamiliar. I never really explored other sides of hip-hop beyond gangster rap. Only three days ago, I learned about Lo-Fi as a subgenre and how helpful it can be when I need to focus. And today, I learned that Code Kunst’s music is calm and composed, with a quiet kind of strength. If I hadn’t seen that clip, I still wouldn’t know. It was a moment that revealed how narrow my world has been.

A short twenty-minute variety show made me reflect. A clip of a producer who makes one song a day nudged me to write one piece a day, too. Maybe the reason we’re curious about how others live is that we’re really trying to understand how we’re living ourselves. Even when the days pass quietly, watching someone else’s life, just for a moment, can stir something. Suddenly, I want to spend my day with more thought.

Today passed uneventfully, too, until I listened to Code Kunst’s music and wrote this. I’m ending the day with this small note. I think I lived well today.

This is the clip I watched. It’s in Korean, though.