At 16 years old, I decided to become a fashion designer. Soon after, I booked my first fashion show that triggered my journey to learn how to brave it out through the night. When I had an upcoming event, it had become a habit to work on an average of 3 hours a night up until the night before. I could’ve been working on a custom order, or my new collection for a show; I have never been a fan of coffee, so my go to’s were snacks and the music that I had to blast through my earphones, otherwise risking falling asleep at my work station.

This year has been a weird one, to say the least. The world has been flipped upside down and we’re all getting used to this new way of life. Wearing masks, social distancing, and the constant use of hand sanitizer! But, this new way of life has also has a plus side: WFH! Working from home has become the new normal, and for most of us that’s pretty great.

The nights are shorter, the days may be growing brisk for you in whatever part of the world you are, and the stores are stocking up on decorations and pumpkins . . .

'Gotta Get Up' by Harry Nilsson. 'Coconut' is genius. Daft, but genius. And, for years, along with 'Without You', that was all that I knew about this singer-songwriter. (And, even then, I only knew 'Coconut' because of 'Reservoir Dogs.') However, thanks to the dark, and delicious 'Russian Doll', I discovered 'Gotta Get Up.' And, my life is richer for it. Not least as, like most songs, it acquired meaning due to what was happening in my life at the time. I stumbled across it whilst in 'lock-down', an event I don't think I would have got through without this song. I'm swimming in happier waters nowadays; 'Gotta Get Up' played a massive part in that.

To the Beat is back with a brand new playlist featuring the songs you shared in your stories this August. The music preferences of our creators cover a vast range, so this month's roundup includes a bit of everything. This time around we have some oldies (but goodies), 90's throwbacks, and 00's hits, with some indie jams, K-Pop, and a bit of rap sprinkled in. No matter what you're in the mood for—from 1930's jazz to August's new releases—you'll surely find it on this month's To the Beat.

For some people, meditation looks like sitting still with your legs criss-crossed and chanting "om" while paying attention to your body. For others, it's practicing yoga or focusing on a candle flame for many minutes. If you're like me (and I'm so sorry you're like me), none of these traditional meditation techniques have an effect on you. Sitting still and breathing heavily puts me to sleep, and my stress only worsens when I try to strike yoga poses perfectly - so I don't make the effort!

Ten Songs That Will Make You Feel Happier:

I believe that for the most of us music is an essential part of our lives. Creating a playlist is always a serious business, when it comes to perfect summer music, there is no time to kid around.

𝙸𝚏 𝚒 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚛 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌, 𝚒 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚝𝚎𝚍𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎【２０００ｓ】e𝚛𝚊. 𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚢, 𝚛𝚊𝚙, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚘𝚙 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌, 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝚘𝚗 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘𝚘. 𝚃𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚛𝚊 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚙𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌 𝚜𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚜, 𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚋𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚎𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜. 𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚒 𝚠𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚒 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚛𝚊 𝚒𝚏 𝚒 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗𝚎.

The New Groove is an easy-read article that helps you discover new music every single month! Last month was all about the black women in the music industry who have been, and still are, providing us with amazing tunes to listen to. This week I’m zooming back into the world of new music and giving you all the info on who to discover this month!

Your stories this month have inspired us to make the perfect summer playlist. July's roundup is particularly exciting as it features this month's new album releases from Taylor Swift, Ellie Goulding, BTS, and more. We also have a healthy dose of indie, classic rock, and rap to round out this month's collection, making it perfect for every summer activity.

Remember the times where making a personalized playlist for a love one was a great act of love? Well... I wouldn’t know because I wasn’t born then. However, I do love the idea of making personalized playlist with an acquired taste. And with the mountainous rise of lo-fi music being streamed today in platforms such as YouTube and Spotify, I thought to myself, “Why not make a playlist of songs I want to hear, and share them with the world?”